[Peggy]

I had a similar situation, but was pretty sure which cat was the culprit, given that I caught him in the act a few times.

Things had gone well all summer (I brought cat #2, the culprit) home from the barn at the beginning of the summer. But, when I went back to work the delicate balance collapsed. And that's when the peeing started.

So I took him to the vet. No physical issues. Added a third litter box, kept the two cats separated when I wasn't there (quite the trick in a <1000 square foot house), locked the culprit in the bedroom that I'd originally used as his cat "sanctuary" when I first brought him home, used Anti Icky Poo everywhere I knew there'd been a problem, etc. I also let the culprit out during the day even when I wasn't home, something I don't love to do. And the peeing stopped, as far as I could tell. But it made me realize how much they didn't get along. Cat #1 would walk into the room and cat #2 would get a haunted look in his eye and jump up on a surface.

I felt like the two cats and I were like a diatomic molecule--two nuclei that repel each other (the cats) held together by mutual attraction for the electrons that they share (me).

Who knows how long that would have continued, but at the beginning of Oct we found out that we were going to be able to move to a barn across the street (a very small street) from the original barn. So I stuck it out and, earlier this week, brought the cat back to the new barn. So far, he's in a crate (yes, you can crate a cat) in the office and I haven't had the nerve to let him outside the office yet. We were going to try today but there weren't a lot of people around due to the rain. Also I want to warn the people that now own the barn where we used to be and they looked very busy with a gelding clinic.

In our case, the Feliway did nothing.

[Laurierace]

Well, one cat is locked in my office and the one I suspect to be the culprit is free to roam. Whichever one turns out to be responsible has a vet appointment on Monday. I bought $27 worth of litter that guarantees 100% litter box use and a fresh litter box as well. So now we wait.

[Laurierace]

Took both of them to the vet and they both got a clean bill of health pending results of the blood work. Vet thinks it is behavioral.

[PaintPony]

Sorry to hear that! It can be so frustrating when they pee outside the box for non-medical reasons.

When I was younger, my family had to put our wonderful cat Peanut down for that reason. We had tried everything the vet could think of, including daily doses of kitty Valium!

It got to a point where she was peeing on everything (beds, the piano , etc.)and would growl at you if you caught her doing it. In hindsight I think she must have developed a brain tumor or something - she was the most affectionate/friendly/sweet cat ever and the personality change was very sudden.

I hope you are able to figure out why it's happening and can manage the behavior!. IMO cat pee is one of grossest smells in the world.

Best of luck!

[Laurierace]

Well the carpet downstairs is ruined in spite of all my different attempts to clean it up with every product known to man so as long as they don't move on to a different spot in the house, the damage is done.

[Peggy]

Well the carpet downstairs is ruined in spite of all my different attempts to clean it up with every product known to man so as long as they don't move on to a different spot in the house, the damage is done.

Did you try Anti-Icky-Poo?

[Laurierace]

No, never heard of that one. I used several different types of nature's miracle including one made especially for cat urine. I have shampooed the carpet several times with different cleaners made for pet stains. I used a homemade version with peroxide and baking soda. My favorite is Urine Gone but none of them seem to do the trick once it gets a chance to dry.

[Peggy]

Might be worth a try. My cat vet said that they did an experiment in vet school and it was the only one that removed the scent so cats couldn't smell it. Not sure what their experimental protocol was. OTOH if that's the only place you have what Donald Rumsfeld might call a known known which has its benefits.

[Laurierace]

The reviews on Amazon.com were pretty bad but what the heck?! I bought the pre-treater too since it says you need that if you have tried cleaning it up with something else. I have used plenty of something else! I did not pay the $9 for the carpet injector aka 30cc syringe with a needle since I have a box of those in the first aid kit. I guess it nothing else I really can say I have tried everything!

[Laurierace]

Bloodwork including an organ function panel came back normal on both. I guess one or heck maybe both of them is a b%$&*

[Peggy]

I hope the Anti-Icky-Poo works for you. It definitely helped in my situation. The stuff is pretty useful: I threw some in with the laundry detergent when washing a particularly nasty set of standing wraps and it got rid of the smell and much of the stain, I've used in on the carpet on old vomit stains and it helped there, and I threw it in the wash when I washed a quilt that I think the cat peed on while it was in a pile on the floor. I didn't get the syringe either, but the only one I had at home was a 6 cc one, which is less efficient. I also felt a bit silly injecting my sofa and my carpet (what will the neighbors think!) but so be it.

[ML]

This is such a problem with a older cat here. I broke down and use the dog pads for her instead of a kitty litter box. http://www.antiickypoo.com/p-aip_gallon.html never heard of this before so figure would share a link on it for others.

Normally just use this for this http://www.homedepot.com/OdoBan/h_d1...#/?c=1&4iu=4iu any one know which is better of the two of them?

[kellidahorsegirl]

Laurierace,
May I suggest reading through this site http://www.catfaeries.com/feliway.ht...FckWMgod4nYABw

I have 4 cats and the 2 older cats have RUINED my carpeting...and clawed my furniture to death... We just finished replacing bathroom with tile and the main flooring is next month.....
But, I went ahead and tried the Feliway. The thing is, you MUST read all the directions and protocols behind it. I went ahead and got just the spray first and the cats seemed to calm down....so then got the whole system (room diffuser like a glad plug-in and the spray). The diffuser is in my living room (You can't smell it) and then EVERY DAY (for a while, says in instructions), I spray the pee areas and my furniture.

I have noticed in the week and a half I've been using it... they do NOT claw the furniture anymore and I have yet to notice a new pee spot. They are still peeing on the floor around their litter in the basement on cement, but I started this experiment on the main floor. So far, I think in my situation it's working. It's a pherimone that is the same as what they rub on things with their face... so when the happy smell is around, they won't pee on it or mark it otherwise.

The link I posted tells about all kinds of situations. The thing is that once they start doing this and health is ruled out, it's very difficult to stop. It takes a LOT of dedication on the owner's part because cats are super picky. I had enough of my house smelling like cat pee, so I just said it was time to do something. The whole set of diffusers and sprays ran about $80 and that was my "at cost" price from working at our vet's office. I think it was worth it though!!

[Laurierace]

I am in Las Vegas now so not sure how things are progressing at home but before I left things were going well. The vet thinks that maybe by locking the cats up for a couple days I may have restarted their continuous litter box use again. One can hope! I did switch to cat attract litter when I locked them up so that might be helping as well. I didn't get a chance to use the icky poo stuff yet.

[Laurierace]

Well, so far so good. The cats are using the boxes 100% of the time even when I was out of town so they didn't get cleaned for a week. One is an automatic box that cleans itself and there are 4 other boxes so there was always a relatively clean place for them to go while I was gone. The question is, do I have to keep using the cat attract litter or did we fix the problem and can go back to the regular litter?

[Lori B]

I have 4 cats and 4 litter boxes and one cat is what I call an anxious occasional pee-er. None are ill, it is NOT biological, it is behavioral.

My trick is that I give her 5 mg of prozac a day, and she wears a pheromone collar:
http://www.petco.com/product/109457/...er=51515407555

When I keep up with this, there is no inappropriate peeing. Good luck.

[Laurierace]

I wouldn't know which one to give the meds to and right now they are using the litter box so hopefully we are good. I just don't know if I have to keep using the insanely expensive litter or not.

[JumpQH]

I just don't know if I have to keep using the insanely expensive litter or not.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it!