Use of Feliway

cyberbob

Mupette wrote: »

that may calm them down, but to get the smell out i would try scrubbing with non bio washing powder

You need to actually use Biological washing powder not non bio. The enzymes in bio washing powder work on the smell and traces if you use a non bio cleaner it will not remove all traces.

lallysmum

I have tried bio powder.. will keep trying though.

Thanks

EmptyPockets

lallysmum wrote: »

I have tried bio powder.. will keep trying though.

Thanks

How are you doing it?

When I've had to deal with cat pee in capets before, I've put two tablespoons of biological washing powder in an old mixing bowl, filled it with warm water and really 'whisked' it up until there's loads of foam/soap suds. Then I soak a sponge in the water, use that to soak the affected area, and then used the sponge to apply all the soap suds. I work it in really well, giving it a right good scrub, then use tons of kitchen roll or paper towels to press-dry the carpet again.

Doing it that way completely gets rid of the smell, and my cats did not pee there again.

MCMitten

My cat Mittens started peeing in awful places but the last straw came when he tried to pee on me when I was sleeping in bed :eek:
He was whisked straight to the vet who gave him tablets incase he had a urine infection but this didn't stop the problem. The vet then prescribed a Feliway plug-in diffuser incase he was stressed out. This, along with me shutting him out of the rooms he was doing his business in, worked wonders (took a few wks before he was aloud back in these rooms)

It is a little expensive, but with firework night coming up it might also help them through what can be a very stressful evening. I plugged the Feliway in last night so Mittens will be feeling the benefit come the 5th.

Good Luck

Mupette

cyberbob wrote: »

You need to actually use Biological washing powder not non bio. The enzymes in bio washing powder work on the smell and traces if you use a non bio cleaner it will not remove all traces.

yeah sorry about that, i was in a rush to finish my post, and having brain refusing to work ms day... could not remember which washing powder, thanks for correcting me

topsyhenri

The feliway won't stop the behaviour but may make him less stressed.

Along with washing the carpet and shutting the door so he can't get in there, you need to work out why he's doing it in the first place. Initially I would take him to the vets to make sure there is no veterinary problem.

Do the cats have free access to outside, or do they share a litter tray inside?

If they have free access and no inside litter tray, it may be that something has frightened him outside so now he doesn't want to go out to pee. If they have just one litter tray inside, it may be that he doesn't like going where the other 3 go so has chosen another spot. If its only just started happening after a period of time all being ok, it would appear that something has happened to make him not like the litter tray/going outside.

You could try getting another litter tray and moving it to a different place in the house and introducing him to that. If he takes to it, over a period of time move it closer to the other litter tray (or back door if there's no litter tray at the moment) until eventually its right by it. Leave it there for a week or so and then remove it so you're back to one litter tray.

If its outside or the cat flap he's been frightened by, you'll need to do some work getting him to think its a nice place again. Encourage him outside and spend some time giving him bits of tuna (or whatever is their favourite treat), and lots of attention, over a good period of time - couple of weeks or more. You can do the same with the cat flap - secure it open and encourage him back and forwards through it with treats giving him lots of praise. Again you'd need to do this over a period of time to get him to forget he was scared.

HTH .
(Btw, just finished a BSc in Animal Behaviour so not talking b*llocks!)

Margaret_Skinner

topsyhenri wrote: »

The feliway won't stop the behaviour but may make him less stressed.

Along with washing the carpet and shutting the door so he can't get in there, you need to work out why he's doing it in the first place. Initially I would take him to the vets to make sure there is no veterinary problem.

Do the cats have free access to outside, or do they share a litter tray inside?

If they have free access and no inside litter tray, it may be that something has frightened him outside so now he doesn't want to go out to pee. If they have just one litter tray inside, it may be that he doesn't like going where the other 3 go so has chosen another spot. If its only just started happening after a period of time all being ok, it would appear that something has happened to make him not like the litter tray/going outside.

You could try getting another litter tray and moving it to a different place in the house and introducing him to that. If he takes to it, over a period of time move it closer to the other litter tray (or back door if there's no litter tray at the moment) until eventually its right by it. Leave it there for a week or so and then remove it so you're back to one litter tray.

If its outside or the cat flap he's been frightened by, you'll need to do some work getting him to think its a nice place again. Encourage him outside and spend some time giving him bits of tuna (or whatever is their favourite treat), and lots of attention, over a good period of time - couple of weeks or more. You can do the same with the cat flap - secure it open and encourage him back and forwards through it with treats giving him lots of praise. Again you'd need to do this over a period of time to get him to forget he was scared.

HTH .
(Btw, just finished a BSc in Animal Behaviour so not talking b*llocks!)

Mine's still doing it - Feliway doesn't seem to have made any difference to anything and my indoor front door mat is now minging! Reading the above though made me wonder if I should try going back to a litter tray for him? He IS peeing outside but I don't know how frequently and it may well be he's been frightened while doing it at some point and just isn't keen so will prefer inside. He also does it in the bath but then that's not quite so bad cos easily washed away! The rug in the sitting room is awful though although looks okay on the surface but I can't afford to keep renewing rugs etc. and I ruined part of it using the washing powder to clean one of the patches. The indoor front door mat is really difficult to clean being coir matting but we're on our 7th version at the moment!

Do you think the litter tray is a good idea or are we regressing there?

925dancer

Offering a litter tray would have been my first stop after a vet check TBH.

My two much prefer going outside but the litter tray is always there should they want it or need it overnight as I keep them in.

Litter tray deposits and habits are a great indicator of overall feline health, some people have only known their cat is sick because of litter tray deposits. I would never advocate complete removal of litter trays for this reason.

picklepick

Margaret you must have the patience of a saint. I cant belive you've done all that cleaning and buying new rugs for all this time!

I'd have got a litter tray straight away aswell 925dancer.

I dont think its regressing. Both my cats use a litter tray although they go out. They're picky!

Margaret_Skinner

picklepick wrote: »

Margaret you must have the patience of a saint. I cant belive you've done all that cleaning and buying new rugs for all this time!

I'd have got a litter tray straight away aswell 925dancer.

I dont think its regressing. Both my cats use a litter tray although they go out. They're picky!

Ha-ha - well I love the little guy and I suppose I never expected it to go on for this long - also know he's not doing it on purpose - if only they could talk lol!

Wish I'd thought of the litter tray idea earlier though - I suppose I didn't want to go back to it remembering how it used to go EVERYWHERE but when I balance it up with cat pee smell and ruined rugs I suppose there's no contest!

Will keep you updated as to progress