Anyone with multiple cats had sucess with innapropriate elimination??? UPDATE 11/12

[Catlady711]

Has anyone with multiple cats actually had 99%+ sucess getting the cats to use the litterbox all the time????

I'm at my wits end here! I mean to the point if I find cat pee outside the box I'm having instant and severe panic attacks, can't get to sleep, racing heart, hives, and having nightmares of cats peeing everywhere!!

It's not like I'm not trying here. I'm so frustrated. When we confined Cami into the spare bedroom by herself, everyone went to using the litterboxes most of the time. In nearly a year I only had maybe 3 accidents, not great, but liveable.

This most recent round started last month and had gotten to finding pee once a week. Most common targets are a particular spot in the bathroom, and a spot on the side of my bed about 2 feet from a litterbox! This has progressed to finding pee twice this Tues. I shampooed all my carpets on Thurs since my spot cleaning didn't seem to completely eliminate the smell if you put your nose right on the spot it's faint.

I did urine samples on the cats and Sabrina had an infection so we did 2 weeks of antibiotics and I still found pee. So I did another round of urine samples and Josh came up with lots of crystals and is now on Methioform for the Ph, and antibiotics. I still have to get samples from Bear, Pooky, and Sabrina yet.

I never see who's doing it so I can't even be sure which cat(s) are the problem!!!


I'm using an enzyme cleaner, Nature's Miracle. I blot up as much of the wet spot as I can then spray the crap out of it with the cleaner, then blot that up. I usually follow by spraying it the next day or two and blotting again. You don't smell it in the room, but if you put your nose on the spot I can smell it faintly

I switched the litter to Dr. Else's Cat Attract

I switched 4 of the litter boxes to HUGE storage tubs instead of hooded ones

I moved 2 litter boxes into the dining room because the cats seem to prefer that, although I don't.

I clean those 2 boxes twice a day since they are the most frequently used

All the boxes get cleaned once a day like clockwork and some of those aren't even used on a daily basis

When I clean the boxes I wipe down the sides with Nature's Miracle and lid if it has one since some of my cats pee up the sides of the boxes. I've even taken to using a battery fan to air out the boxes when I clean them.

I have a total of 6 litterboxes throughout the house on different levels with absolutely no room for more.

I've found the pee in a few repeat places; a spot or two in the bathroom, one next to hubby's side of the bed (2 feet from a litterbox), twice a spot on the side of one of the couches, and most recently a totally new spot dang near on one of my outlets!!!!

I tried the Feliway spray and I swear it encouraged them to pee more if anything.

I tried the Feliway plug in's and aside from that it didn't do anything, the plug parts got so hot I started having panic attacks worring about my house catching on fire so I quit using those.

The dr's where I work don't reccomend using drugs to deal with this because they don't like the possible side effects

I do have some intercat agression starting that I haven't had to deal much with since Cami was removed from the rest of the herd. Nothing serious but I'm sure the dominant ones are fairly annoying to the one's they're picking on.

I never had any litterbox accidents until after I had to have Dusty PTS back in '07.

I have done everything we tell our clients to do at work and I'm still finding pee!!!! I realize that it's possible I still have another cat with an infection that I haven't gotten a sample from yet, and I know that Josh still has a week left to go on his antibiotic.

But I can't take these panic attacks over it!!!

I've gotten to the point I swear I smell cat pee everywhere, even in places there is none! I know at this point that's probably a mental thing, but it's not helping the panic attacks everytime I think I smell it.

I'm trying to hide all this from my, fortunately, non observant hubby. I don't want my landlord finding out my cats are doing this or I could lose my home and I can't afford to the rent in the other places around here, let alone no one will rent to me with cats if that happened.

After going through this with Cami there is simply no responsible people to rehome any of the cats with where they could be only kitties, and since I don't know which cat(s) are the problem, I wouldn't know who to rehome anyway.

I don't want to lose my cats or my home and I can't live like this!!! I feel like I can never have anything nice again for fear the cats will pee on it. At this point I'm afraid to put our warm comforter and heated matress pad on our bed for fear of pee, so I can't crawl into a warm bed out of fear of pee. I can't begin to describe how upset I am over the whole thing.

Has anyone with multiple cats actually had 99%+ sucess getting the cats to use the litterbox all the time????

I'm feeling darn near a nervous breakdown here. HELP

[Craftlady]

I'm so sorry your having these potty problems with your gang.


I've had 100% success with litter boxes.

I've been very lucky 3 litter boxes 6 cats no problems.
2 litter boxes 4 cats no problems (was this way until this summer when we got Carson and Abby and I added a third box upstairs)

I do scoop them out several times a day, I'm a "domestic engineer" so it's easy to do this.

Only problem I have is keeping the two DOGS out of the boxes.

[Medusa]

Your post sounds like where I was just a few short years ago. Specs got pee wars started and I felt like I was living in a giant litter box. I tried everything you've mentioned w/the same results. They even peed on the Feliway plugins. I actually bawled in my vet's office one day and that's when he told me about Clomicalm. I'm sure you know about it b/c you're a vet tech but I was ready to try anything. If he would've said that I had to stand on my head and stack beebees I would've done it. He told me that it might take several weeks to begin working but I saw immediate results. The trick is not to miss a dose. I get their blood work done each year and so far, no problems, no side effects either. They get such a small dose, 5 mg. at bedtime. Specs gets it twice a day; he's a Maine Coon, a big boy, and the troublemaker but I can assure you that he suffers no side effects whatsoever, no drowsiness, no personality change, nothing but no inappropriate peeing.

Before Clomicalm Specs sprayed my dining room server so many times in the same spot that one of the doors actually came off the hinges and it warped the wood. That's what sent me to my vet w/the crying. He told me that it was made for dogs w/separation anxiety and/or aggression but that it was being used successfully on cats. Yes, I was reluctant to try a drug but I was not willing to have my entire home ruined. I'm happy to say that my house is now a "pee free zone". They use the litter boxes w/no problems whatsoever. Perhaps talk to your vet about Clomicalm and see what s/he says. It's been a godsend for me.

Good luck. I truly know how upsetting it is and I can so relate to your anxiety. Keep us posted.

[krazyaboutkatz]

I'm so sorry to hear that you're still having pee problems. What kind of food are you feeding your cats? My Storm had to have PU surgery because he became blocked 2 times and even when he was put on Royal Canin Urinary S/O he would still sometimes get UTI's. He also had struvite crystals. All of my cats are now on grain free diets and eat both dry and canned food and now Storm's urinary problems are over.

One summer I was having aggressive problems with my cats and both Storm and my RB Starr started peeing on my carpet. I took them to the vet and they were both fine so it was behavioral. I also tried the Feliway spray and plugins and they seemed to work at first but later they seemed to become immune to it and it didn't seem to help with the aggression.

My vet suggested Cat Attract litter and this worked immediately. I also put out more litter boxes in the areas where they were peeing. One of them was peeing by my front door so my vet suggested that I put a litterbox there and then gradually pull it down my hallway into a different location. I did this without any more peeing problems. I always scoop 2 times a day. I also use an enzyme cleaner called Simple Solution. I've also used Zero Odor on my litter boxes and it really works well to hide the urine scent. It does kind of smell like bleach though.

I tried to put Storm on some meds to help calm him down but none of them worked well for him and they did change his personality. I tried Clomicalm which made him very lethargic but I think he was on a higher doseage than Mary's cats. He was also on prozac which worked great at first but then he became anorexic and lethargic. He was also on an herbal pill for a while which really helped at first without any side effects but later on it didn't seem to help and then the company started adding wheat to it which I didn't like. Now Storm seems to be better about his aggression but he still has his moments. I think that my RB Starr may of had something to do with it as well as my RB Sunny. Time will tell though when my kittens are grown up. Storm loves kittens but then seems to not tolerate adult cats very well.

Right now I have 5 litter boxes for 6 cats and it works out well. Sometimes they don't even use them all. I'm also using Dr. Elsey's Unscented Precious Cat Litter which everyone seems to like. I haven't had any more peeing issues since that horrible summer several years ago. I hope that you'll be able to find a solution to your peeing problem. Good luck.

[Cataholic]

I totally get your panicky feelings, totally! I have 7 cats, and two weeks ago, I could have told you my pee problems were 99.99% non existant. I have had multiple cats for years, and can only say there have been a handful to times I had pee issues. This last week I have had 4 episodes of peeing, the last time on my bed, as I slept.

I suspect it is Minnie, my feral. I spent just under $400 to rule out the medical. I believe it is behavioural. So, what do I do? I up my scooping, I don't leave anything on the floor (including the bath mat), and this time, I am trying to pay extra attention to her. I was medicating her for potential infection, but now that it has been ruled out, I am not. I grab her and go into the bathroom for about 10 minutes of loving. That is about all she can handle.

One thing you said struck me...that it was almost as if the feliway CAUSED the peeing. I had just switched my plug in, and the peeing started. I am removing it this moment. Is it a coincidence? Maybe...but I am not taking any chances.

I have learned that if you don't get the pee smell up, they will pee again. I absolutely swear by Odorxit. I know others use other products...but, I have yet to experience what Odorxit does. I had someone use those plastic under the bed storage bins as a litterbox. The clothes were saturated, dried and saturated again. The Odorxit totally removed it. I think it is online only, and I need to re-order.

I guess I don't have any real answers for you, but wanted to sympathize with you for what that is worth. Usually, it is temporary. Good luck.

[Freedom]

Oh how I know the feeling!

Once I put Mandy in a bedroom by herself, back in July, it all stopped, here.

So, I am wondering it you can identify a "culprit," and put that one in the room with Cami? See if this calms things down?

Meantime, Cami gets some company and you get to see how that goes!

I put one cat in with Mandy overnight now and again. As long as it isn't Tommy, they get along fine. That darn boy, he is 3 times her size and seems to think he has to PICK ON HER!

[moosmom]

Yes, I have six cats. 4 females and two males.

I had a problem with Buddy when he first arrived.He would pee in my kitchen and bathroom (I was grateful he didn't pee on the carpet). I took him to the vet to rule out a UTI. Vet said it was behavioral and handed me a spray bottle of Feliway. It has a particular enzyme that only cats can detect. Calms them right down.

Let me tell you, it worked like a CHARM!!!!! Buddy was confused as to where he belonged. He had been in 7 homes in less than a year. I was miserable without him so I went and got him.

I sprayed my bathroom with the stuff (shake before spraying, DO NOT spray on animal). Just hold your arm over your head and spray the perimeter of the bathroom 10 minutes before putting cat in. Make sure he had food, water, litterbox and bed. I guarantee you it DOES work. Hope this helps.

[catmandu]

I had some pee issues when I brought in Porch Cats as they had no idea of what litter boxes were there for
Tubster Panther is a lot better, but he still sprays , once ina while on me!!
We are praying that you can train your Cats as Cat Urine can ruin things permanantly

[mrspunkysmom]

Spunky has pee issues, but his are behavioral. He knows I have to clean it up so it does it purposefully, mostly when I'm watching. This is his way of expressing his disappointment with me when I'm late or if I ignore him.

What he does is stand up in the litter box and pee straight back. I solved the situation by putting boxes close together and white board against the wall and leaning on the boxes so the pee ends back up in the boxes. I also put a cheap area rug underneath the boxes and some plastic runners.

For sprays I use OUT which neutralizes the odor fairly well.

I also do not let it freak me out. I rent too and don't wish to be in trouble with the landlord. I figure Spunky can sense my disgust so I'm trying reverse psychology on him.

I think the other suggestions are excellent also, esp if it's a multiple or multi-cat issue.

Good luck and I do understand.

[karlyb]

I have trouble with a couple of my males spraying all over the house. I'm sure it is behavior and not medical. There are 15 adult cats and one tiny kitten that I'm hoping to find a home for (who am I kidding - he's probably staying). I have lots of high-walled totes for litter boxes and one 15 gallon tub that I bought at the feed store. The alpha male doesn't spray, it's mostly the next two males on the hierarchy that spray all over. I clean with Simple Solution and Nature's Miracle when I see them spray but there is still odor and I'm embarrassed to have anyone come to the house. A spray bottle filled with water has helped cut down on aggressive behavior. At this point drugging them sounds like a good idea if it stops them peeing all over.

All these cats are rescues, well-fed, well-cared for, and much loved. Most of them came knocking on my door looking for a home. I got the oldest boy (almost 18 y/o) from a friend, the next cat from the shelter, the last three from my elderly neighbor who couldn't take care of them, and the rest were strays. Look for me on an upcoming episode of Hoarders (just kidding!).

[Catlady711]

Thank you everyone for the support and suggestions. I'm a little calmer tonight, no pee found...so far, so I can think a bit clearer.

I actually bawled in my vet's office one day and that's when he told me about Clomicalm. Perhaps talk to your vet about Clomicalm and see what s/he says. It's been a godsend for me.

I'll have to ask about it. Normally our vets don't use drugs with behaviour problem cats for whatever their personal reasons are, or it could be our client base just doesn't ask for them. I'll look into it if this keeps up and everyone checks out after antibiotics/urine samples.

What kind of food are you feeding your cats?

Everyone but Jack eats Hills C/D (crystal diet) because of past problems with Ph and crystals mostly struvite, but a few oxilates now and then. Jack has to have W/D for his Megacolon problem since he won't eat fiber any other way and he hasn't had a bad urine report in about 6 years.

I have learned that if you don't get the pee smell up, they will pee again. I absolutely swear by Odorxit. I know others use other products...but, I have yet to experience what Odorxit does. I think it is online only, and

I'll look into that one.

So, I am wondering it you can identify a "culprit," and put that one in the room with Cami? See if this calms things down?

Meantime, Cami gets some company and you get to see how that goes!

I can't put anyone else in with Cami. I took Pooky (who used to be her more prefered playmate) in a few times and it desolves into a hissing/swatting fest within a few minutes.

I'm thinking the only way to identify my main peer(s) is to spend alot of money and get a bunch of wireless web cams but I don't have the $$ for that and no clue how to set them up anyway.

What he does is stand up in the litter box and pee straight back. I solved the situation by putting boxes close together and white board against the wall and leaning on the boxes so the pee ends back up in the boxes. I also put a cheap area rug underneath the boxes and some plastic runners.

That's what Bear does! That's why I upgraded to a storage tub. The ones I use are Rubbermaid 39 gal I believe. Keeps the pee inside the box. I measured Bear's rump to know how high I had to buy them. I leave them as is (no cutting an entrance hole) and put a stool against them to make it easier for them to get in. Look like this....

For sprays I use OUT which neutralizes the odor fairly well.

I'll look into that one also.

[Ivy]

Your post sounds like where I was just a few short years ago. Specs got pee wars started and I felt like I was living in a giant litter box. I tried everything you've mentioned w/the same results. They even peed on the Feliway plugins. I actually bawled in my vet's office one day and that's when he told me about Clomicalm. I'm sure you know about it b/c you're a vet tech but I was ready to try anything. If he would've said that I had to stand on my head and stack beebees I would've done it. He told me that it might take several weeks to begin working but I saw immediate results. The trick is not to miss a dose. I get their blood work done each year and so far, no problems, no side effects either. They get such a small dose, 5 mg. at bedtime. Specs gets it twice a day; he's a Maine Coon, a big boy, and the troublemaker but I can assure you that he suffers no side effects whatsoever, no drowsiness, no personality change, nothing but no inappropriate peeing.

Before Clomicalm Specs sprayed my dining room server so many times in the same spot that one of the doors actually came off the hinges and it warped the wood. That's what sent me to my vet w/the crying. He told me that it was made for dogs w/separation anxiety and/or aggression but that it was being used successfully on cats. Yes, I was reluctant to try a drug but I was not willing to have my entire home ruined. I'm happy to say that my house is now a "pee free zone". They use the litter boxes w/no problems whatsoever. Perhaps talk to your vet about Clomicalm and see what s/he says. It's been a godsend for me.

Good luck. I truly know how upsetting it is and I can so relate to your anxiety. Keep us posted.

Hi My name is Victoria and I am new, and joined just to talk to you, I had to take in my article of this forum to my vet and come this monday, he will decide on prozac or the clomicalm, even though he said it would be up to me, because it is not FDA for cat (He said it was in other places) Just not the states, so I seen you were from OHIO and told him, This is what I want if I have to order it on the black market, it is either that or get rid of my cat, I have tried effexor, and some other pill. She is a smart cat and is hard to pill, so I was doing the transdermal thing, but it's not working, the doctor told me the prozac comes in a liquid but I dont want to waste anymore time, so should I just figure our a way to get her to take it! And go with the Clomicalm? Your my only hope, please help! Oh by the way my cats name is Ivy and she is a calico app. 9 pounds, This is just making me so sad! Thanks for your time..... ps. have your tried the prozac? Is the Clomacalm expensive? Thanks again Victoira

[Medusa]

Hi My name is Victoria and I am new, and joined just to talk to you, I had to take in my article of this forum to my vet and come this monday, he will decide on prozac or the clomicalm, even though he said it would be up to me, because it is not FDA for cat (He said it was in other places) Just not the states, so I seen you were from OHIO and told him, This is what I want if I have to order it on the black market, it is either that or get rid of my cat, I have tried effexor, and some other pill. She is a smart cat and is hard to pill, so I was doing the transdermal thing, but it's not working, the doctor told me the prozac comes in a liquid but I dont want to waste anymore time, so should I just figure our a way to get her to take it! And go with the Clomicalm? Your my only hope, please help! Oh by the way my cats name is Ivy and she is a calico app. 9 pounds, This is just making me so sad! Thanks for your time..... ps. have your tried the prozac? Is the Clomacalm expensive? Thanks again Victoira

Hi Victoria, welcome to Pet Talk! Let's see now, I've tried amitryptilene which worked in the beginning but then stopped shortly thereafter plus it had a sedative effect on my cats, which I didn't like. I also tried Buspar w/no success whatsoever. I have not tried Prozac b/c once I found Clomicalm, it worked so well that I had no reason to try anything else. (If it ain't broke....)

Clomicalm comes in smaller doses, I think as low as 5 mg. but don't quote me b/c I'm not sure. I've always gotten the 20 mg. and quartered it b/c I had 4 pee cats. (One just passed away last week, sadly.) That comes out to be 5 mg. per cat and the quarter of a pill is so small that they hardly even notice that I pop it in their mouths. However, if I crush it up in their food, the little snots won't eat it. LOL The trick is never to miss a dose. On occasion, when out of town, if my cat sitter wasn't able to get a dose in one of them, they would pee. You may have to play w/the dosage for a while but I'd say 5 mg. will probably work b/c one of my cats weighs that much. Unfortunately, Clomicalm is rather pricey, depending on the vet. My vet always charges more for everything but I have a local vet from whom I can get it for about $35 a bottle which is a month's supply. You may be able to get it online for less but you'll still need a vet's Rx to buy it.

I hope this helps. I know all too well the destruction that a pee cat can do. Don't be offended but I'm assuming that you had your vet check out your kitty to be sure that it isn't any medical reason why she's peeing. Sometimes a URI will cause it. Once that's ruled out and you do start Clomicalm, give it some time. My vet said that it could take up to 8-12 weeks before it begins to work. I was one of the fortunate ones b/c it started working almost immediately. I hope the same happens for you, too. Good luck and feel free to PM me if you have any other questions or concerns. And btw, I LOVE calicos. My heart kitty, Puddy, was a calico. We would love to see a pic of her when you have time.

ETA: For getting pee smell out, I use Urine Gone, which I buy at Bed Bath and Beyond; some grocery stores carry it now, too. You must get out as much urine as possible, then saturate the soiled spot w/the Urine Gone, scrub it, then saturate again and let it air dry. It really does take the smell out. However, humans may not be able to smell it but cats can so don't be surprised if she pees on the same spot again, until you get her on Clomicalm, that is.

[GILL]

We use the storage tubs, but I do the cut out. The only problem we have with the tubs is Timmy is so large that he does not get completly in the tub. Every so often he forgets to turn around and his butt hangs out. With the CREW that we have in house we still get a couple that get ticked off and use other areas. We can always tell when Bailey is mad he goes right in front of the door to the TV room. When Lucky gets mad he goes in front of the basement door. So it happens they get yelled at and it stops for a week or two.

[Ivy]

Hi Victoria, welcome to Pet Talk! Let's see now, I've tried amitryptilene which worked in the beginning but then stopped shortly thereafter plus it had a sedative effect on my cats, which I didn't like. I also tried Buspar w/no success whatsoever. I have not tried Prozac b/c once I found Clomicalm, it worked so well that I had no reason to try anything else. (If it ain't broke....)

Clomicalm comes in smaller doses, I think as low as 5 mg. but don't quote me b/c I'm not sure. I've always gotten the 20 mg. and quartered it b/c I had 4 pee cats. (One just passed away last week, sadly.) That comes out to be 5 mg. per cat and the quarter of a pill is so small that they hardly even notice that I pop it in their mouths. However, if I crush it up in their food, the little snots won't eat it. LOL The trick is never to miss a dose. On occasion, when out of town, if my cat sitter wasn't able to get a dose in one of them, they would pee. You may have to play w/the dosage for a while but I'd say 5 mg. will probably work b/c one of my cats weighs that much. Unfortunately, Clomicalm is rather pricey, depending on the vet. My vet always charges more for everything but I have a local vet from whom I can get it for about $35 a bottle which is a month's supply. You may be able to get it online for less but you'll still need a vet's Rx to buy it.

I hope this helps. I know all too well the destruction that a pee cat can do. Don't be offended but I'm assuming that you had your vet check out your kitty to be sure that it isn't any medical reason why she's peeing. Sometimes a URI will cause it. Once that's ruled out and you do start Clomicalm, give it some time. My vet said that it could take up to 8-12 weeks before it begins to work. I was one of the fortunate ones b/c it started working almost immediately. I hope the same happens for you, too. Good luck and feel free to PM me if you have any other questions or concerns. And btw, I LOVE calicos. My heart kitty, Puddy, was a calico. We would love to see a pic of her when you have time.

ETA: For getting pee smell out, I use Urine Gone, which I buy at Bed Bath and Beyond; some grocery stores carry it now, too. You must get out as much urine as possible, then saturate the soiled spot w/the Urine Gone, scrub it, then saturate again and let it air dry. It really does take the smell out. However, humans may not be able to smell it but cats can so don't be surprised if she pees on the same spot again, until you get her on Clomicalm, that is.

OMG thanks for getting back so soon, I was afraid I would have problems getting on this site! Well the just vet called and there are no problems with her health, I do think he is pushing for the prozac, only because I had problems getting those pills down her! Plus I think he is worried, because he has never put any cats on clomicalm. It will be on my head, if something happens, but it's just like any other meds. we give to our kids right! I have to make to best choice for our family but because I was willing to by them on the internet, I think he would rather give me the script! I hope I have the right cat! They are so darn sneaky! But she is the only one that hisses, is compulsive and when I go to the bathroom, she rubs up on my leg and her tail shakes, but she has never gone pee on me. One time my older cat was sick, so I kept her in my bathroom for a week, with her own box, and water and food and a blanket, and now about every 3 days I go into the bath room and where bellas blanket was their is pee, and where her box was, there is pee, what the heck some days I take turns putting 2 on the deck, just hoping to come home and find something, so I can figure this out, but of course that never happens, like they know what I am up too! Anyhow, thanks soooooo much, Victoria
But I am need a quick fix like asap. I'll hold her down or put her in a cage and withhold her food to make her take it !...If I have too! It's that or my husband says she has to go. you know what is weird, is her sister always lays in the spot I clean with the carpet cleaner and loves the feline away, Im not so sure Ivy likes it! Thanks soooooo much