Cat advise please.

mrsma

Please could somebody help? 3 months ago we adopted a cat from Cats Protection, Tish, she is about 12 months old. She is not yet going outside. To begin with she was very tmid, but with lots of love and encouragement she has become much braver. She has been a bit of a challenge for a number of reasons, but nothing we felt we could not handle. until a week ago. when she started, for no apparent reason weeing in a corner of the sitting room carpet. We have done everything we can think of washing the area well to remove any smell,sprinkling bicarbonate of soda, spraying citrus oil. putting down orange skin, but she still goes back there and wees every chance she has despite us telling her 'no!' Her litter tray is always clean and accessable and she uses it to poo. There has been absolutly no change in the house or her routine which may cause her to be stressed. Any advise very welcome.

mandeb

Hi there I have four rescue cats at the moment but in my heyday I have had ten at once! It is difficult when homing rescue animals because you don't know what has gone on in their lives before being adopted. Cats are by nature clean animals but a couple of suggestions for you- are you removing the poo from the tray sometimes cats don't like dirty trays. Try putting a tray in the spot she is going, cats will go back to the same spot hence its important not to keep moving the tray. Is the tray in a traffic area ie kitchen, again cats like 'privacy' when going to the toilet.

Hope the above helps

mrsma

The tray is in a quiet room where she can be private and I always remove the poos so it is always clean for her. I don't really want to put a tray in the corner where she is going as it is in the sitting/ dining room , would prefer to find a way of discouraging her from going there. Just can't understand why she has just started doing this, but as you say don't know what has happened to her in the past and she is a bit 'strange' compared to cats we've had in the past.

NewShadow

Have you considered giving her two trays?

I had a cat that couldn't abide using the same tray for both so had two at 90degrees from each other - she could just step from one to the other :rotfl:

calicocat

NewShadow wrote: »

Have you considered giving her two trays?

I had a cat that couldn't abide using the same tray for both so had two at 90degrees from each other - she could just step from one to the other :roll:

I haven't had a cat like this myself, but it can apparently be a problem with some.


Do you remove the pee too? And not just poo?...mine won't use the tray if a big clump of pee is there.

Has anything changed in the house?, anything that could suddenly stress kitty out?

mrsma

We use silica litter and remove the waste a couple of times a day. She has just used the tray for a wee, so is not refusing to use it at all, I think she is just marking in the corner for some reason. Nothing at all has changed since she arrived .

calicocat

To be honest I have never had a cat do this.

However I do know others who have had problems with the same, and it usually means the cat is stressed for some reason . I have also known owners who can not fathom at all what could be causing it....but for some reason it has been stress ( diagnosed by vet each time).

It does sound like stress though if nothing has changed and kitty was fine up until recently.

Could you keep her out of that room when you are not in to try and break any habit forming?

Play with her lots for a few weeks?

Joanthebone

I would suggest stop using anything smelly to clean up where she wees, its best to use diluted white vinegar, it neutralises the smell. Very often they will keep weeing in the same place to cover up the smell of the cleaning stuff... worth a go.

WeAreGhosts

I haven't had this experience either, but I always suggest having the largest tray you can for any toilet-related issues.

also try spraying some feliway in the room you want her to 'go' in.

Beckyy

Could you put the little tray in that corner to try and get her into the habit of using it?

YorkiePud_3

If possible, wash the area with biological washing powder (such as Ariel) ... it breaks down the enzymes in the urine, (nothing else does) getting rid of the smell ... once a cat wees somewhere in the home they usually go back to the same place, smelling the urine from where they previously weed ...