Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello - I'm new here!

My name is Heather and my kitten, Bogart, is about 4 months old. When I got Bogart I fell in love with him. I got him as a companion for Shyanne, my 12 year old cat. Shyanne and Bogart get along perfectly.

Both are males, Shyanne is neutered but Bogart is too young to neuter (according to my vet). After one month Bogart for an unknow reason jumped on my boyfriends leather sofa and urninated on the sofa and a blanket. I didn't catch him in the act so I couldn't punish him. About two weeks later I was folding laundry in my room and walked in on him urinating on my bed. Because he was caught in the act, I yelled no, grabbed the scruff of his neck, pressed his nose to the urine said "NO, bad kitty" and took him to the litter box.

I took him to the vet where they ran tests for a UTI but nothing was found. As a preventative measure he was given amoxi for a week. All has been well for the past four weeks...until today. I walked into our bedroom and found that strong odor of cat urine. After searching the carpets I realized he peed on my bed..AGAIN.

Has anybody else had this happen and does anybody have any answers? This type of behavior while hit and miss is not acceptable. If I allow this to continue what's next the sofa's, the carpets? That is not an option .. I love this little guy and don't want to give him up because of his behavior, but I'm desperate for help.

The vet doesn't have the answers, but i know sometimes reaching out to others that have encountered the same problems helps to find some answers!

Thanks to anybody that can respond!

Heather & Bogart

First off, congratulations on your new kitten. It is great that your two cats have hit it off so well!!

On to the issue.....first thing, punishment for this behavior doesn't really work. The best thing to do, is to go thru some checks. When this is happening, is anything else unusual going on? Is the litter box dirty? How many boxes are there? Most everyone recommends 1 litter box per cat, plus one. Are you using a scented kitty litter? Some cats find the scents a bit too much for them. Are you using clumping or clay? Some prefer one over the other. Are the boxes hooded? Many cats don't like using covered boxes, as they can't keep an eye on "incoming dangers". Litter box location-are the boxes located conveniently, in a consistently quiet area which allows a good range of vision while it is being used?

Once you have checked that list and ruled out a medical cause (you have already had him to the vet about it, GREAT job!), you need to go about cleaning the soiled areas properly. Normal laundry detergent or stain remover simply doesn't do it, you need an enzyme remover to break down the enzymes that the urine leaves behind, otherwise they are likely to repeat to areas that have been used before. Natures Miracle is one, but there are many others available, check your local pet supply store. If anything stressful is happening when these accidents are occuring, try and minimize the stress. Some cats don't feel safe when the house stimuli is increased, so say you are entertaining friends, he may not wish to use the box. If the box is near the laundry, and you are doing laundry, he may be afraid of the noises the machine makes, thus not wanting to use that box while the machines are in use. Also, don't scruff him and rub his nose in the urine, it doesn't work. Pick him up gently and place him in his box, then clean up the mess. Cats don't associate the message of "don't do that here" very well, and if you reprimand him he may just find other places, or develop a fear of your hands and bite. I am including a link below that has TONS of info on litterbox issues, along with a help line that you can call if need be. Good luck, he is a young fellow and by no means, should this be an irreversible behavior at this point.
Good luck!!
Terri
Cats International

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Mia Liger Fluffy Banzai Smudge Hazy
& Midas ~ Golden Retriever and honorary cat

Terri - Thank you so much for your prompt response. I am a member of a bird chat board and get fast responses regarding my conure and I was a little worried that I may never hear anything about Bogart and his potty issues.

I currently have 2 litter boxes, but do plan to expand that into three. They are hooded, and I use clumping litter by Arm and Hammer it seems to work the best and Shyanne (my 11 year old cat) likes it the best.

Bogart is going in the litter box. In the almost 2 months that I've owned him he has only done this a total of 3 times. When he went on my bed last time I cleaned it and flipped the comforter over as I didn't have any enzyme cleaner, but where he went this time is a totally different spot and on a different comforter and totally different sheets. I did wash my sheets twice and still noticed that distinct smell so I found some Fabreze and used that...today I make my Target and PetCo run for a littler box and some Natures Miricle which I used when I had my Schipperkees.

I'm hoping it's not a behavioral problem. I thought maybe that he was somehow stimulating himself on the blankets but I don't know if cats really do that, I'll check out the link that you attached. He's not doing it on the carpet and the bedroom where he normally sleeps well he's not doing it there either. I'm hoping it's a passing fad or perhaps it's just a LARGE marking as he's not yet neutered...I have to wait another 2 months but may see if the doc will do it sooner to rule out him marking.

Thanks again for the helpful infomation...and I'll discard putting his nose in it if I catch him. I'll just tell him no if I see him and take him to the box! Then if I see him in the box try to reward him somehow.

Thanks!

Heather, Shyanne (11 yrs), Bogart (3 months) and Skittailz (the Green Cheek Conure)

Heather....

Great hearing back, and hearing that you are trying the enzyme remover and such. While it may not be the perfect cure, it also can't hurt. You may want to set up the 3rd box with a different type of litter and, just as an experiment, something unscented perhaps and maybe no lid on it and see if that changes anythings.
Cats are strange beasts and then some, they are quite clear with the messages they leave, but one never knows exactly what they are saying when they say it. Don't give up!!

Terri
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Mia Liger Fluffy Banzai Smudge Hazy
& Midas ~ Golden Retriever and honorary cat