I am having a bit of a problem as of recent with my cat, Lily. She's about 5 months old, and as of recent she's gotten this huge problem of peeing on the rugs.

She doesnt just pee anywhere, she has several (about 10) different spots where she will go. I've tried yelling, and spraying her with water, and nothing seems to help. I keep the litterboxes constantly clean, and I saw her pee behind the couch the other day a minute after i completely cleaned her box and put fresh litter in it. (oh, and she knows its wrong cause everytime i catch her doing it she runs and hides)

I am moving to a new apartment next week and I am urgent to find a way to rid her of this bad habit.

Anyone have any suggestions???

Have you had her urine tested? Sometimes bad toilet behaviour can be a symptom of a urinary infection.



Yelling and spraying her won't work unless you catch her in the act. Personally, I don't think negative reinforcements work very well. Maybe keep an eye on her, wait until you see her squat, then scoop her up and put her in her litter box and give her lots and lots of praise.



Every spot that she's peed in has to be thoroughly cleaned. There are special products available that get rid of cat urine smell. It's important that the only place in the house that smells like pee is her litter box.



If you notice that she has preferred spots, try putting some aluminum foil down on it. Cats hate it.



Good luck!

I haven't, I've heard that might be it, but she doesnt seem to just go whereever, she seems to have special spots. I have to take her to get her spayed soon within the month, so I will ask them to test that.






That is a great idea! Thanks!!!

Anndroid,

I feel your pain. We just had to put our kitty to sleep (see my avatar) and we really struggled with this same issue for a long time. Do a search on this forum and you will find a few helpful suggestions on how to get rid of the smell. Unfortunately Tiger's problem was a painful physical problem so nothing we tried helped for long. I strongly suggest getting your kitty checked out ASAP because it really could be serious. If it's not serious, thats great, but at least you know for sure!! Once you rule out a physical problem, then it will be easier to focus on getting the pee cleaned up so she doesn't keep going in those spots.

In my opinion, she's probably trying to tell you something. She could be mad at you for something, she might not like the litter you're using or a million and one other things. I don't advocate using negative reinforcement either.

i agree negative doesn't work, it's all about praise. watch her closely and when she starts sniffing around or eyeing one of her usual spots, grab her gently and put her in the litter box. even if all she does is stand there or sniff around, pet her and tell her what a good kitty she is. any and every time you see her use the box or even go to investigate it, praise her. act like her bodily functions are the most amazing thing you've ever seen



if it keeps up most definately take her to the vet, to rule out an infection or worms or a blockage etc.



what litter do you use? if it's a clay-based litter, especially clumping, i recommend switching to one like yesterday's news which is pellets of recycled newspaper. clay-based litters are actually known to cause respiratory infections and bowel obstructions in young cats and respiratory problems and allergies in people. and the newspaper stuff is dirt cheap. my cat adjusted to it without any problems, i had to switch after he got an upper respiratory infection that wouldn't go away, i put 2 and 2 together after i saw him coughing in his box right after i'd poured in clean litter.



also where is the litter box and what is near it? when had several camping/biking trips in the summer we were in the habit of dumping all the gear on the basement floor til the next weekend, within easy reach, but the cat decided it was too close to his potty space and peed all over all our gear. didn't take long to figure out he was ticked off at the stuff being in his path from the stairs to the box. or else ticked at us for leaving him alone and associated the camping gear with us leaving for 2 days at a time

basically make sure the box is in a clean, uncluttered and quiet space and not in a major traffic area. some cats are modest and don't like peeing where people are constantly walking by. or if the box is too close to the food dish. that's a turn off.



just some ideas, hope you sort it out before the move but try to be patient with her, she's doing it for a reason

I'd be interested in hearing how the problem changes after she is spayed.