Discouraging a Cat from Urinating on the Floor

I have been having problems with one of my 3 cats urinating in a couple of different areas lately and the house is starting to smell horrible. We took him to the vet's to see if he had a urinary tract infection and it was negative, and he still keeps going. He is going on rugs, new hardwood floors, and the basement floor.

I have tried Nature's Miracle (does not work), numerous products from Fosters and Smith (none worked) and numerous other cleaning products that also never worked. We heard about cats not liking citrus, so we put lemon juice in a few bowls in the problem areas and the cat drank them! I am going to try a mixture of peroxide, baking soda and vinegar. Hope this works. Any other suggestions would be great!

By Craig from New Oxford, PA

Answers:

Discouraging a Cat from Urinating on the Floor

If it isn't an infection problem, then it is probably a behavior problem. Those are harder to treat. First if you have 3 cats, then you need at least one litter box for each cat plus one (so 4!). Make sure they are in different locations and cleaned daily. You can try different kinds of litter (clumping, pine, clay, crystals). They recommend open litter boxes not the covered kind. Make sure they are in quiet locations, not the center of the traffic area of the house.

Make sure if you have an old cat that the litter box is low enough so it can get into it. Some cats get arthritis as they get older and can't get in and out of the litter box as well. Make sure the litter box is big enough. If you have a really big cat make sure they aren't getting in the litter box, but not fitting and give up and go to a rug somewhere.

If all else fails, try locking one cat up at a time with a litter box and see who it is that is causing the problem. There are medications you can put them on to help with behavior problems. But it must be used in conjunction with these other things to stop the bad behavior. You also have to rule out infections, bladder stones, and diabetes as possible causes. (12/31/2007)

By Candy

Discouraging a Cat from Urinating on the Floor

I had great luck using just plain, white vinegar. One (or both!) of my cats urinated on my bedroom floor and the room was just awful. I found a tip on this site and someone suggested pouring straight vinegar on the spot. I soaked the area. Then I put a piece of plastic wrap on the spot and covered it with a bowl (or something so the plastic stays put).

I had to keep it like that for a few days, but it seemed to work. If I put my nose to the carpet I think I can still smell traces, but at least it's not wafting through the air. I suppose some good carpet cleaner might take the rest out.

A few days after that one of them urinated on a spare bed. It soaked into the mattress and I did the same thing. Voila! Smell gone.

Good luck! Kathy (01/03/2008)

By khilde

Discouraging a Cat from Urinating on the Floor

The cat may have a kidney or bladder problem. My daughter's cat started peeing on beds so the vet said a kidney problem and my daughter got the cat food made specifically for this problem. (01/03/2008)

By Darlene