Best strategy for stopping kitty from peeing where she isn't supposed to

[mommylamb]

****Update in post 22****


A couple of months ago, one of my cats peed on my stairs 3 times, which was totally out of the normal for her (I posted about it). So I took her into the vet and we found out she had bladder stones. Her urine PH was already pretty low, so the vet thought that her stones likely wouldn't be helped by the prescription food and that she would need surgery (or this other procedure called urohydropropulsion) but she suggested that since it wasn't life or death that we at least try the food for a month. We did that and low and behold, to everyone's surprise, the stones are now gone .

Which brings me to my current problem. I suspected that she was continuing to pee in that spot because it kept stinking even after I scrubbed, but I didn't have proof-- I never found it wet or caught her in the act anyway, and I wasn't sure if it was just the urine smell being hard to remove. But now I found it wet once, and I'm pretty sure she now just thinks this is an ok spot to pee. I am really not happy about it.

Any products for stopping cats from peeing that you recommend? If I were to replace my carpet, would she no longer do it because the smell would be gone, or do you think she's just focused on the place regardless of smell? I would hate to put new carpet in and have her pee on the new carpet! We do need to replace the carpet at some point, though I didn't want to do it right now. These stairs are the ones leading from our main level up to the upstairs where our bedrooms are. We have wood on the main level, and the carpet starts on the stairs and goes through all 3 bedrooms, so it's a sizable part of the house, but it does need to be replaced. I am afraid to do it though now!

The other thing I'm considering doing is getting another baby gate to put at the bottom of the stairs there and prevent her from going upstairs for a period of time, in the hopes that she forgets about that spot after a while and that I can get the smell out without her reoffending. They (I have 2 cats) don't need to go upstairs, as their litter box and food are down in our finished lower level, but they do spend a lot of time up there and they usually sleep with us every night, so I'm not sure if that will just piss her off more.

[dogmom]

It is possible she's not peeing. Our cat died 5 years ago and this past summer was the first time I did smell cat pee on hot, humid days. We've cleaned, used Natures Miracle, steam cleaned multiple times. Our cat started going under one of our couches at times. Once they stop it's hard to get them to stop. I our aluminum foil under there for a while because she didn't like the feel. She stopped for a year then picked up again. I finally got rid of the couch she was going under and it stopped. I think the baby gate idea is a good one.

[123LuckyMom]

I doubt the baby gate will work. I've never met a cat who couldn't scale a baby gate! If you do replace the carpet, you will need to treat the material under it to get rid of the smell. Is it wood? Honestly, if it's one step, I would replace the entire step when you change the carpet. If it's cement underneath, they make a cement treater. Unfortunately, I don't know what it's called.!

It may be that it's not the smell, though. I would clean the step again as best you can and then put down aluminum foil. Cats hate it and will not step on it. Then watch to see if the cat does any other extracurricular peeing. You may need to make another trip to the vet. Bladder issues like you describe can be persistent and recurring. If your cat has an inflamed bladder, a regular dose of cosequin can sometimes help. It's designed for arthritis, but it seems to reduce bladder inflammation as well.

Also, have you tried feliway? I've heard it works well, though I've never tried it myself. It's a spray deterrent.

[elliput]

Don't just scrub the spot. Soak it completely with Nature's Miracle (or other enzyme cleaner). You need to get the liquid all the way through the carpet and pad to the base material.

And IME, a baby gate doesn't stop a cat unless it is overweight and doesn't jump.

[mommylamb]

My cats are both totally deterred by baby gates. I don't think they realize they can get over them. I've ordered some Nature's Miracle, so we'll see.

I assume that it's wood under the carpet and not concrete (but not nice wood that you would finish). My house was built in 1995, so it's not very old, so I doubt concrete would have been used. I'm a little afraid of using aluminum foil because I'm concerned she'll try to eat it. She has an odd habit of eating certain things-- tape, wrapping paper, plastic of any sort. I can't imagine it would be good if she ingested aluminum foil.

She was last at the vet a couple weeks ago when we found out that the stones were gone. The vet didn't say anything about an inflamed bladder. We have her on the prescription food for good now to prevent new stones from occurring.

I'll check out feliway.

So sad about this.

[EllasMum]

I have a cat who peed repeatedly on an area rug. I tried BUCKETS of Nature's Miracle and it seemed to have no effect at all. I finally had to throw out the rug. The cat will still pee on other rugs or towels left on the floor, but I have discovered that using any brand of enzymatic cleaner WITH Febreze Pet Odour Eliminator seems to do the job. Regular Febreze doesn't seem to help but the pet version is great. I do find that you have to clean up the pee as soon as you possibly can. If it starts to dry, that's the death knell, IME.

Good luck!

[MommyAllison]

You can also try Cat Attract http://www.amazon.com/Precious-Cat-L..._petsupplies_2 it is a litter additive, and when we bought it years ago, there was a money back guarantee (we bought it from the vet, not sure how that would work w/Amazon).

[BunnyBee]

We use Dr. Elsey's Cat Attract litter. It's saved one of my cat's lives. Cheapest on amazon than anywhere I've found. Take the cover off the litter box. If you haven't replaced your box in a while, get a new one. Don't use citrus cleaners or deodorizers in/around the box because it's a cat repellant. If you think it's behavioral, you can do a sensory reset by confining kitty in a small space (spare bathroom) for 2-4 weeks. This usually works when kitty is stressed from a move, new pet, life change... We worked with a behaviorist through a university hospital who recommended that. Yes to Nature's Miracle for cleaning future accidents, but if you have old accidents in a concentrated area, you may need to replace the carpeting, padding, even subfloor in that area to get rid of it.

And of course, get kitty checked by a vet for UTI or kidney issues, which you've done. Also, thyroid. It seemed to have been a combo of thyroid and behavioral issues for my cat. He liked the couch and the carpet at the top of our stairs. Hope you figure it out soon. I know how frustrating it is!

Edited: with two cats and two levels, you may need another litter box upstairs. Supposed to have 1 per cat or floor. They don't like to wait in line, though mine will to poop in a clean box. It's pretty funny to watch them line up when DH is emptying it.

[JCat]

We use a product called Anti Icky Poo. It's an enzyme type cleaner that managed to get the smell out and the cat stopped peeing where we put it.

[jench]

This doesn't really stop the behavior, but it has saved our floors! We put puppy pee-pads down in our cat's favorite spots, she prefers to pee "on" something so will go there. She has kidney & thyroid problems that were causing the peeing, and it has gotten much, much better now that she's on thyroid meds, thank goodness!

like these:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Blue-Ribbo...-Dogs/12167568