HUGE cat urine problem...help!
 

I have 5 cats. 4 out of the 5 have decided that my living room carpet is now the litter box. I am at my wits end. They do not have health problems like uti's or anything.

There was a dog that lived in this house before us that I suspect had accidents on the carpet so now my cats are marking their territory.

I have used every product imaginable to clean this. I haven't found a professional company that has good reviews regarding this issue.

It is disgusting. The smell...ARGH! We rent this house. My cats have never done anything like this before. It's so embarrassing. This is one time where I'm glad that I don't have people who visit me.

If you've read my other posts, you know what kind of stress I'm under anyway :mad:. We've talked about replacing the carpet but I'm afraid that the cats have become so accustomed to doing this that they will continue it and ruin more carpeting.

The house has an open floor plan and it would be very difficult to block them from this space. It would cost us a fortune to replace the carpet with tile or laminate because there is a set of two curved stairs that are about eight feet wide.

I guess this is more of a rant than anything else. I just do not know what to do! The husband just wants to get rid of the cats of course. Not really a viable option for me or my kids.

I'm just joking...sort of...:o...but maybe the cats want hubby to leave and this is their strategy. :p ;) :D Okay, seriously you're probably going to have to confine them to one area of the house but I know that's virtually impossible.

Have a look at this recipe for a cleaner that is supposed to work......http://www.catsofaustralia.com/urinestainremoval.htm

If you try it let us know how it works! :)

Cats can mark out of their boxes for several reasons.

unclean box, smell of other animals in their space, urinary tract infections, but the big one is stress. Cats can become stressed so easily.

Here is what I reccomend that you start with.

Strip out the area and CLEAN it well with a urine remover cleaner. Amazon and so on has many great products.

#1 get a NEW box. Dont just clean the old one. Make sure you have at least 4 boxes in your home. ONE box for 5 cats is just too few. it sets them up for competition, and marking. Put them away from each other and out of the public areas such as the kitchen or the hall where folks can watch them urinate. They, like us want to be hidden from view when we tinkle.

#2 use an UNscented litter. Petco sells a good product that is scoopable, and easy to use and keep up to. Cheap too!

I use a product called Feliway. its a pheromone that is secreted by the momma cat to her babies and its very calming. So, if they are stressed about another animal smell, it will help them relax and not feel as if they need to protect or mark the area. It can take a few days to start working, but on really stressed animals it can work within minutes. They sell a plug in, like an air freshener. A spray that you can spray on the area that is affected by urine, or a collar that they can take with them everywhere, and stay calm, even out of sight of that spot.

http://www.amazon.com/Pack-Feliway-E...1427486&sr=1-9

Over crowding, into one litterbox or even 2 boxes with that many cats can be upsetting. Cats are very clean, and dont want to pee on top of someone elses pee.

Stress in the house can also cause behavior issues (i know you and hubby have been struggling lately) and the pheromone would be helpful there too.

Do you have a place for your cats to climb in the house? a tree house? a ledge? a high window? a shelf? top of a bookcase? Cats are tree dwellers and love to climb up high to relax and unwind. If they are forced to stay on the ground where the dog smell is, it may keep them stressed. Help them find a way to get up off the ground. Mine hang out on top of the kitchen cabinets, or on a tree house. Its a great place to go destress, and it only smells like them.

If you are leaving this house, dont bother replacing carpets and wasting money on a place you are not staying in. If you are going to give it another go, and decide to stick it out again, then it may be worth the investment to at least pull up the rug, even if you are just exposing the sub floor. At least it wont be full of dander, wee, and mold anymore.

I hope that helps. :hug:

Thanks Dej and Kelly. I have four litter boxes in the garage away from any activity in the house. They are all new and kept clean. I've spent enough money on feliway that I could've replaced the carpet :).

I've used anti icky poo which I've read great things about BUT I don't think I used enough. We are talking about just ripping up the carpet and living with the concrete underneath. Then just replace the carpet when the lease is up.

I can't take all of the cats when I leave because I'll be staying with my dad for a while and my kids will be staying with their father and don't want me to take away their furbabies. I have to get this done before I leave.

The problem with getting rid of urine is that once it dries under the carpet, it turns to crystals which are very hard to penetrate with liquid from the surface. Also the urine spreads underneath where you can't see it. I have read so much about pee that I feel like an expert ;).

I will try the litter you recommended Dej. Removing the carpet seems to be the best idea. I know my cats are stressed just like the rest of the family. Two of them are very old so it's doubly hard to retrain them (21 and 18 years).

Here's a cleaner that will work:

2 cups hydrogen peroxide
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 drops liquid dish soap

Mix ingredients (may need to make in larger quantities) and saturate the offending areas. Let sit 24 hours, blot remaining cleaner out of rug and allow it to dry slowly. Don't be surprised to get a "RUSH" of stench when you pour on the solution!

www.planeturine.com also has some good products.

As for the peeing itself--I suggest going straight to the "big guns." PROZAC! Your vet can prescribe it and it does work. I have a "pee boy" who reacts to stress in the home and prozac straightens it right away. Prozac is not very expensive as it's now in generic.

Good luck.

Yeahhhhhh, Prozac. I've been on it for years and I hardly ever pee the floor, anymore..:D:p:D

:Funny-Post:

I'm so proud of you Sally.

Oh NO!!!!
 

This has GOT to be very distressing for you! :hug:
I've always used NATURES MIRACLE and it has worked very well.
Yep, you may have to get new kitty boxes and several of them. Cats don't like stinky boxes and will stop using them if the box disagrees with them.

You may have to fix the problem and then hire a pro to clean the carpet.

I have decided that carpet needs to be ripped out. Yesterday I noticed that a piece of it in front of the sliding glass doors was lifting from the tack strip. I pulled it up. Disgusting! This carpet is old and filthy underneath! The padding has started to disintegrate. My landlord is a nice lady but I know she can't afford to replace it nor do I expect her to since my cats have done their dirty work on it.

At this point I would have to saturate the room in cleaner with no guarantee that it would even work. Now I have to make the dreaded call to the landlord to let her know that we're removing the carpet. She can be a bit hysterical about things. It's her personality :rolleyes:.

I'll let her know that we plan on replacing it when our lease is up. I wish I didn't have to tell her but it would violate the terms of our lease. More stress that I absolutely do not need. 'Sigh'

There are a ton of places that come out and do rock bottom prices for carpets with next day service, and most offer payment plans. We did that when we sold our old house. We replaced a ugly colored carpet for a neutral colored one and paid it off when the house sold. They came next day.

Make sure the sub floor under it is clean. If the stink is into the wood the cats will continue to seek it out as a potty, and then you will have to replace the sub floor.

Good job!

Ok, here's my 2 cents. Ask the landlord if you can put down laminent wood floor instead of carpet. It might be more money but will br worth it in the long run. People want solid floors imstesd of carpet anyway. Cats won't pee on floors.

I personally love cats- they taste good with catsup, but I can never eat a whole one by myself...

Hey Dej! Thanks! The subfloor is concrete. It is sealed according to the husband.

Earl, you are just so funny.....not!:p

Cats
 

I am sorry you are having trouble with your cats. I am a staunch cat lover, and I sure do hate to hear when there is troulbe. It has been my experience that once the cats does this, it doesn't stop. I had to replace carpet in one room that my cat found a spot to pee on. The cat wound up leaving at he did go to the new carpet also. I had tried putting a litter box right over the spot. I was also told to put fresh boxes on any suspected area and treat with a solution. I think the solutions do not penetrate to the sub surface, therefor the cat can still smell. Try multipal boxes set over a treated spot in your living area. There are also outdoor pens you can purchase through speciality catalogs. These are enclosures so they can have fun outside, and of course do their business in the box Outside. Cats are subborn critters, and I really hope you find a solution. ginnie

It is very rare in my experience to have more than 3 or 4 cats living in one house without inappropriate urination issues. You have gotten good pointers so far and the only thing I can think to add is that I would bring some litter boxes inside for more easy access and the rule of thumb is 1 litter box for every cat +1.

Good luck believe me I know how distressing this can be which is why I only do hardwood or laminate floors so I can throw cheap oriental type rugs down and toss them when they aren't able to be cleaned.

I have 3 cats that share 1 litter box. It's a big tote type container that I'm using as a litter box. None of them have ever gone anywhere but the box.......but now I'm wondering if I need to have an additional box. Or even one for each of them. They'd probably all continue to share and all use each of the various boxes. :rolleyes:

Since I'm home all day every day I scoop the box out numerous times a day so it never gets bad. I'm just wondering if getting an additional box(es) is just going to double my scooping duties. :confused:

Sorry for the hijack. :o

I don't mind if you hijack, Kelly :). I say stick with what's working until you get tired of scooping more than once a day. You know how our cats don't like change :rolleyes:.

Yeah....:rolleyes:. Wouldn't want to disturb their perfect world!

Tigger will sit by the box and wait for me to scoop it out if he feels there are too many presents left in there. I'll walk into my bathroom and there he sits.......looking at me like "well, what are you waiting for?". They're so spoiled. :o

That is so sweet though, Kell.:D