Desperate situation...need advice!

[Purr-tender]

I have a HUGE problem! My cats started peeing in the house about 7 months ago. No matter what I do to try and resolve it, does not work, in fact it has even gotten worse. I have 14 cats and pretty much feel that it is a territorial problem. I moved 8 of the crew out to a cottage that I have fixed up for them. Through the day they come in and out of my house but before dark I move them back into their cottage. The main ones that I have actually caught in the act of spraying or peeing are living in the cottage. But, even the ones that I thought were my good babies are doing it. It is no longer just the walls and carpet that are their target. Someone peed in my new recliner during the night a couple of days ago and last night my quilt was the target...with me under it! Needless to say, no one will be sleeping with mom from now on. That hurts because I love having a couple of my "kids" curled up with me. I don't think that what is going on is physical, too many are doing it. Someone is even peeing outside the litter box. I keep their boxes very clean and put a pad down in front of the boxes. They poo in the box and pee on the pad! Uggh!! I know a lot of you have multiple cats in your homes too. I love these guys with all my heart and it is breaking my heart that they are ruining my home. I am going to have all my carpet and padding removed, the subfloor sealed and probably have a laminate floor put down. The walls will all be washed and repainted as will the baseboards. I hate to think that even that may not solve the problem. Any of your own experiences or help would be greatly appreciated! I am way beyond desperate!

[moosmom]

The more cats you have, the higher the chances are that it might happen. HOWEVER, rule of thumb is one box per cat. So if you have 14 cats, you need at least 10 boxes.

First rule of business is to rule out any kind of medical problem, like UTI, crystals, stones, etc.

[mruffruff]

I have laminate floors and 12 cats. A couple of the cats like to leave puddles.

I worry ALL THE TIME about wet spots causing lifting at the edges of the laminate. I had a couple of places get wet and buckle where the seams are. I opted for vinyl that looks like laminate when I re-did the cat room recently.

Maybe others have had good luck with laminate getting wet, but I can't recommend it.

I have one litter box for each cat and one extra. I scoop once or twice a day and replace all litter weekly. I recently added one more in the den where I find a puddle most often. Only time will tell if this will solve the problem.

I also have a call in to Nancy, the pet psychic, to get a little insight about one of the worst offenders. In the past she has said that she was picking up the feeling that some cats think there are "too many cats". Since none of mine are going anywhere, they'll have to adjust---or I'll have to get used to wiping up a lot. I use Simple Solution to eliminate the odor. Washing and painting won't remove the deep-down odor that draws the cats to pee there again. That's probably why some of the "good" ones have started. You need to use a generous amount of an enzyme cleaner such as Simple Solution or Nature's Miracle.

I definitely understand your frustration. I have had my bed marked, two loveseats soaked, my sofa annointed and all throw rugs drenched. I keep my bathroom door shut so the rug will stay dry for a while. Curtains are another common target.

I hope we both find a solution to this maddening problem.

[Purr-tender]

Well, I don't have 10 litter boxes, I have 3 large ones in the house and 3 in the cottage (4 of my 14 are just 9 months old). As far as ruling out any medical problems, that's tough. What we did do today was buy a security camera. My husband is mounting it where we have the biggest problem. If we find that it is always the same cat or cats doing the inappropriate peeing/spraying, then that will be the one who is checked by the vet. Last fall I did take 2 of the cats that I had caught peeing to the vet. One did have crystals and was treated. It's just hard to imagine that so many would have medical issues. Also, all have been spayed/neutered.

[Taz_Zoee]

I only have one cat, but I recall reading that many cats do NOT like change. My cat is an exception to that. But maybe because you moved those cats out to the cottage, this is their way of telling you......we don't like this!
I hope the camera will show you who it is and you can get them checked.

[Purr-tender]

I know cats don't like change. I didn't move them to the cottage until the peeing got completely out of control in the house. I wish you all could see their cottage. It is one large room. I painted the walls a cheery yellow and the upper portion a soft sky blue. They have a nice big couch and chair, a large window with a padded shelf to bird watch from, another long shelf to chill on, a big condo, their own stereo, and these 2 great cottages from Drs. Foster and Smith. I put up a white bifold door in the rear with their litter boxes for privacy. Sorry, got off track.
We are definitely hoping the camera will work. I don't want people to think that I don't keep a clean house and that the cats are just rebelling. I am anxious to have our house back and would love to have all my kids back in here with us. It is so hard to look out my back door and see my kids looking out the window of the cottage at the house. They don't understand.

I use an enzyme cleaner (OUT) and follow up with Mr. Clean. I have had my carpets professionally cleaned numerous times using products for cat urine and it didn't help.

[Freedom]

For 14 cats you do not have nearly enough litter boxes! You need 15, or 10 and clean multiple times per day.

Cats do not like having many of them living in close quarters. I am at my lmit here with 8 cats in rooms. Have to keep the cellar door open a lot sothey can go down there. So it may be territorial but if it is, then they are not going to stop. Spreading them out to the cottage was a good start.

Please add some boxes for them!

[Purr-tender]

WOW, 15 litter boxes!! I wonder if it matters how many per space? Like in my laundry room, I have 2, then the guest room I have another. Would I need one in every room? That's not a pleasant thought...although neither is cat pee everywhere :rolleyes: . Out in the cottage I have one by the front door and 2 in the rear. They use the big, long, open one by the front door more than the others. There is an open box and a covered one in the rear. That is something else I was experimenting with...whether they preferred covered or open litter boxes.

[catmandu]

I HAVE 7 FOR THE TEN FOUND CATS, BUT 3 OF THEM ARE EXTRA WIDE RUBBERMAID BOXES.
WE ARE SORRY TO HEAR THAT YOU ARE HAVING TROUBLE WITH SPRAYING
AND WE ARE PRAYING THAT YOU CAN FIND A SOLUTION. THERES NOTHING THAT RUINS A HOUSE MORE THAN THAT SMELL THAT NEVER SEEMS TO GO ANYWAY.
GOOD LUCK FROM US ALL.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v621/catmandu/cat%20angels/cats1011783.jpg

[Purr-tender]

Thanks, Gary. I bought a couple of those extra long and deep boxes the other day. That's one of the boxes they use the most out in the cottage.

I try so hard to make sure that my house doesn't smell like cats live here. There isn't much that smells worse than cat urine.

Your cats always look so content. That's a sweet pic of the three sharing the chair.

[Taz_Zoee]

Oh, sorry, I didn't realize the issue started before you moved them to their own huge kitty condo. :) That place sounds great!
Well then, I guess I have no advice for ya, sorry. :(

[krazyaboutkatz]

I'm so sorry to hear that you're having peeing problems.:( I have 6 cats and I had some minor peeing issues compared to yours last June. I only had 4 litter boxes at the time and 3 were right next to each other and one was across from them.

I have now added 4 more litter boxes and this has helped a lot. So I have 8 litter boxes for 6 cats. All of them are uncovered except for 2 of them. I have one in my bedroom and one at each end of the hall and one is even in the dining room. One of my cats was peeing very close to my front door so I had to put a new litter box there and I moved it gradually down the hall until it was where I wanted it permanently. You may want to try the same thing. Wherever they pee the most, put a new litter box there for a while and then hopefully you'll be able to move it to a better location later on.

Another great thing to use is cat attract litter (http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2751734&cp=2767033.2845025&sr=1). My vet recommended this and it really worked for me. You can buy it online or at Petsmart. I just added it to the top of my current litter and they started using it. Once the peeing problems stopped I then started using this (http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2754842&cp=2767033.2845025&fbn=Taxonomy%7CLitter&fbc=1&clickid=topnav_dropdown1_link10&parentPage=family&keepsr=1) which you can also buy at Petsmart.

I'm also using feliway or nutri-vet plugins and spray. I don't know how much this helps but I figure it can't hurt. I also use Simple Solution enzyme cleaner but luckily I haven't had to use it for peeing problems lately. All of my peeing was due to behavioral problems. Now I hope that I'll never have these issues again. I also hope that you'll find a solution to your problems too. Good luck.:)

[Medusa]

I have 7 cats and 9 litterboxes. You need 15 litterboxes. Putting a pad down in front of the litterbox is not going to solve the problem. They probably feel they are allowed to pee on it. Clean the litterboxes a minimum of twice a day, in your case probably 3 times, since you have so many cats. And, once you find out who the real offenders are, try Clomicalm. It's a medication for behavior problems and since I started my offenders on it, there have been no "accidents" around here. I know many people don't like to medicate their cats, I being one of them, but I also don't want to resort to living in a giant litterbox because my cats have bad manners. Clomicalm saved us. If not that, Prozac is getting great reviews for just this problem. Your tearing out carpet, etc. will help but it's the cats' behavior that really needs changing and, if it doesn't, they'll ruin your laminate and walls and furniture again. However, you do need to find out if it's a physical problem w/one or more of your cats. If only one has a UTI, for example, and pees somewhere, the others will pee there or nearby to cover up that smell. Good luck. It's tough, I know. :)

[emily_the_spoiled]

I would not recommend laminate flooring. I put that down and I now have to replace it (because it has started to peel). I am going to have ceramic tile put in instead. One of my guys is a "pee'r" and I ended up replacing all of my carpet with either laminate or ceramic tile. The tile is hard to lay down, but it sure it alot easier to clean up!

[Purr-tender]

I have tried Feliway, in the plug-in and spray...didn't help...spent $80 for both!!

You probably read where we bought security cameras yesterday. My husband is still working on setting them up this afternoon. Hopefully we'll find out who the worst offenders are.

Without the pad in front of the box the pee would just soak the carpet, because regardless, pad or not, they pee outside the box, for some reason just in the guest room, can't figure that one out. As far as cleaning, I scoop first thing in morning and before I go to bed at night, and usually at supper time, too. I keep the boxes wiped down with special litter box cleaning cloths too.

The flooring issue is difficult. I have brought it up on PT before. I don't want to put anything down that will affect the resale value of my home, plus price is of course a big factor, too.

[Medusa]

Is it possible to place all your litterboxes together in one spot? I know it's probably a lot to ask since you have so many cats. I have all mine in the basement and that helps, too.

[Purr-tender]

My laundry room isn't large enough for more than the 2 that I have in there. Same goes for using a bathroom. You can imagine how attractive that would be in one of my main rooms. I do have room for more than the 3 that I have out in their cottage, but I don't have the problem out there :rolleyes: From what everyone is telling me, I need more boxes, but if I keep the ones that I have scooped I don't see how that will help.

Mary, I'm jealous that you have a basement, that is perfect. My friend has 11 cats and at night she tucks them in her basement like you do yours. When you go in her house you would never know that she has cats! It always smells Spring Fresh!! They know where their bathroom is and go downstairs when they need to during the day. I think that makes a huge difference, plus there's plenty of room for all the necessary boxes. What I don't understand with my kids is why if they have a fresh clean box that they would pee outside of it. It's not a dribble either, like when there is UTI or crystals.

[Catlady711]

You DEFINATELY need more litterboxes. I have 7 cats, and 7 extra giant litterboxes (some of my cats are big).

Yeah they don't look exactly like framed artwork for decor but they get the job done. I have 3 in my front porch area which is actually the front part of my livingroom. I have 2 in a spare bedroom upstairs, and 2 in my own bedroom. I figure I'd rather look at, and have my company look at a whole bunch of litterboxes, than have my house smell up and be ruined with cat urine.

Get a few more boxes and it should help at least a little until your video cam catches the culprits so you can have them vet checked for UTI's.

Good luck.

[Medusa]

From what everyone is telling me, I need more boxes, but if I keep the ones that I have scooped I don't see how that will help.

I can only venture a guess here but I think it's because they more or less claim a litterbox as their own. Then if another cat does use theirs, there is one extra that's clean. It definitely helped to get more litterboxes plus, as you say, having them in the basement. My house is the same way as your friend's, no odor unless a neighborhood cat walks by and has the audacity ;) to sit on my patio or in my shrubbery, then they might spray against a window. :rolleyes:

[krazyaboutkatz]

Mine don't do this but I've heard from others that some cats prefer to pee in one box and poop in another. Since you don't have very many boxes and they poop in them then this may also be a reason why they're peeing outside of the litter boxes. Some cats are very picky and won't even use a box that others have used. I only have to scoop 2 times a day and mine hardly ever use all 8 boxes but they are there if they need them. I'd also rather put up with looking at and cleaning more boxes than having pee and urine odor throughout my place. I sure hope that something will work for you. Good luck.:)