Trax's Last Chance

We have a multicat household, 12, 4, 4, 3, 2 - One of the 4 year olds has always had an occasional tendency to pee on the furniture and the walls.  We had him checked repeatedly for UTI and talked to the vet.  He acts like he wants to be dominant cat, but is afraid of everything.  He is also a big-time lover and loves attention.  He plays with the other three younger cats but the 12 yo is aloof and doesn't interact with him, nor does she give him trouble.

Last year my parents moved in with us and we moved to a different floor in the house.  He did not like the move.  They brought an old, sick and very grumpy cat who hated everyone.  The pee'ing became more often.  Also my niece periodically leaves her two cats with us for a month at a time and that causes a lot of friction.  The old grumpster has passed and Trax has adopted my mom and dad, loving them and sleeping with him.

Because of family dynamics, all cats have unlimited access to the outdoors.  This was not my choice, but it was 3 to 1 and I have MS and cannot enforce my wishes - so the cats are indoor/outdoor.  Trax loves the outdoors until my house was adopted by a ferel who, of course frightens Trax.  Now, he is often afraid to go outdoors.  And now with the rainy weather (The Pacific Northwest) he is reluctant to go out in the rain.  This is new.

We have 6 extra large cat boxes, 5 open and 1 covered, but with 2 openings.  These are spread throughout the house.  Mostly the cats go outside with the exception of the 12 yo who was always an exclusively indoor cat.

Our family dynamic is that we speak to every cat that enters the room (some answer us), praise alll good behavior, and pick up and hold any cat that seems to want it or is close by.  Trax gets a lot of attention.  Obviously, he won't use the boxes.  We are finding 1 to 3 new urinations (not just territory sprayings) every day.  I cannot have my house smelling like a meth lab, and we go through gallons of Nature's Miracle, which works well IF we find all the sites.

We are at the point of getting rid of Trax, thinking he might do better in a one cat household, but I couldn't guarantee this to anyone.  My heart is breaking and my parents are very sad, but understanding.

Help!

Quix

[teddybears4ever2]

I will say this.  Are you cleaning up the pee and getting the smell out every time he pees somewhere.  You have to make sure that you are doing that or he will smell the pee and keep on using that spot because he smells it and thinks it is ok.
If you can't find any fancy cleaner no worries, you can make your own.  All you need is vinegar, water and baking soda.  Yes all you do is mix the vinegar and water together and put it on the pee stains.  From there wait for it to dry and add baking soda.  Leave it for a few hours and then vacuum up the baking soda.
That should help with the smell of cat pee.  If it is still a problem you can always try Lysol, or Fabrez.
I would make sure that he can't smell it or he will keep using those spots.

[zodiacqueen]

Hi, I have to agree w/ Teddybear.  The litter boxes must be cleaned at least twice a day.  And, if that doesn't work, you really should find Trax another home where he is less stressed by all of the other cats and isn't forced to go outside in the elements.  I realize, that you said that wasn't your choice, but I still don't think it's right for cats to be forced outside despite poor weather conditions.

[Quixotic1]

Trax almost never repeats a spot.  That is one of the things that makes it so hard.  We have to search all 12 rooms every day to find his puddles.  No cat is forced outside EVER!  They have the option of a cat door to the outside, and it is always their choice.  Trax was always the first one out and the last one in.

I have only been cleaning the boxes once a day because they usually only have a clump or two in them, but I will try that.

The discord in the family is my wish of indoor only, versus their wish to allow the cats free access to the outside if they ever wish - hence the cat door.

I agree that he is stressed by the multiple cats in, the animals outside (cats and raccoons) and that we have had a lot of work done on the house with my parents moving in.

Thank you for the help and reinforcing the need to keep our house scrupulously clean.  I appreciate your time and suggestions.

And I leave with my cleaning bucket to clean the boxes again.  :))

Quix

[nancyjac]

I assume Trax is neutered?  Since UTI has been ruled out, I suspect this is more of a territorial marking issue. Some cats can still be territorial even if they are altered.  Since he seems to enjoy going out, at least when the weather cooperates and the wild life isn't after him, he may simply not understand the difference between going where ever he wants to when he is outside, but not doing so inside.  You might try placing on of the cat boxes outside need the cat door and/or if feasible, an indoor box that is accessible only to Trax.  Some cats have no problem sharing a cat box with other cats in the household, but others prefer to have their own.

[Fluffysmom]

Hi Quix,

I'll ask about your situation with Trax with my people at the Cat Adoption Team.  Off the top of my head, I remember that in one of the free roam rooms where there are several cats, they have several boxes, and in this particular room, they specify that one box have a "pee-pad".  

I wonder if Trax would recognize such a box as his own, and the other cats might ignore it?  They also specify two other boxes, each having their own brand of litter.  All you need is more bags of different kinds of litter sitting around, right?

If all else fails, you need to find Trax a new home and can't locate one personally, I can help you locate a no-kill shelter that can take him in, work with him, and find the perfect home for him.  I'll send you a message if I get any suggestions from my CAT contacts.

[Fluffysmom]

Silly me, I'll post the suggestions here, should I get them, since they might help others. :o)

[teddybears4ever2]

The other thing you can do to teach a cat to use a litterbox is to crate train them.  This means that you buy a crate and place him in it with a litterbox.  It worked with one of the cats we had as a kid.

[Cassandrajane]

Foil! Cats HATE the sound of foil and wont go near it. So put it on the places he wee's and hopefully in due time he will stop weeing everywhere!!!

But try silver foil!

x

[Fluffysmom]

Hi, I finally spoke to someone at CAT; she asked a lot of questions and offered some suggestions.

She said that if Trax is piddling on the flat surface rather than a wall or other upright surface), he's most likely not wanting to use the litter box for some reason, rather than trying  to mark his teritory.  There is a product called Cat Attract that contains something that attracts cats to the litter box to use it.

If he's doing some marking, he could be worried about the feral, and letting it know that this is his home.  He does seem to be worried about the feral, since he's not going out to his beloved outdoors anymore. Is the feral making forays indoors at night?  If he's just not going outdoors because of the weather, maybe the feral has him a bit nervous and he's just piddling where he feels safe.

She also suggested using a Feliway diffuser, the cat pheremone calming stuff that helped Fluffy so much.  You can google it, and one company (Comfort Zone) has coupons on it's website, since it's kind of an expensive product to try.  PetSmart has had it on sale lately, too.

If there is only one feral around your house, it may be possible to have it trapped and moved; there is an organization that CAT works with that may be able to assist with that, or give you other helpful information.  I just got some information in a weekly newsletter from CAT, so I'll cut and paste it in.

"- The Animal Shelter Alliance of Portland (ASAP) would like to invite you to an informational community meeting about the Spay & Save program on Wednesday, November 10th at the Community Room of the Dove Lewis Emergency Animal Hospital. The Spay & Save program offers $10 spay and neuter surgeries for the cats of qualifying individuals in need, and assists with feral cats and cat transportation.

If you care about animals or people who help animals, this meeting is for you. At this meeting you will learn more about the ASAP coalition, the Spay & Save program, statistics and research regarding animal welfare in our community, and what opportunities there are for individuals and organizations to lend a hand. This meeting will be of particular interest to individuals with an interest in animal welfare, veterinarians, social service professionals, and others who work directly with those in need and can help increase awareness of this program in the community. RSVP requested.

Please feel free to share this invitation. You may also RSVP through Evite at: http://www.evite.com/app/publicUrl/HMHVAWPZIZZJWNQRLWFW/facebook/1285445739428."

Hope all is well, going better in your full house!

[skepticalpeach]

Are you sure that he is the one who is peeing on the floor? It doesn't sound like you are actually witness to the event. Both my cats do it once in a while; while one does it more often than the other, they are both guilty.

Some cats don't like to live with other cats, but I think any cat that isn't sick can be trained to stop peeing on the floor.

[Quixotic1]

Everytime I have seen him he is peeing behind himself onto a wall, my bed, furniture.  But it is more than a spray.  He makes real puddles - far more on the floor than on the vertical surface.  Once I have yelled "no" at him when I catch him, he doesn't go back to that place.  But it's a big house.  And this is every day, sometimes more than once.

Things are calmer right now and we have started feeding the feral on another part of the property so he doesn't hang around the door.  Trax is going out a lot.  So he is in reprieve.  I'm going to get the Feliway - diffusor and the Cat attract and I am cleaning the boxes more often.  I also tried some Arm & Hammer box deoderizer, and the last time Trax jumped on my lap his paws smelled of it.  I think that's hopeful.

Trax plays with and grooms all the other cats except the 15 yo diva (the abby) who doesn't deign to acknowledge anyone.  She doesn't really hiss at him, only the other 4 yo who taunts her mercilessly.

All five cats are being amzingly affectionate right now.

My 15 year old Abbyssinian pees and poops outside the box sometimes, but she's in renal failure and just can't wait.  We have never seen her pee out of the proximity of the box.  She's pretty fastidious.

We have had no indication the other three are doing it.

What am I missing?

Diva - thanks for your expression of hope.

Quix

[Fluffysmom]

Hey, Quix, me again.  I'm glad Trax is doing better and going out a lot more; love this sunshine!  

Love that affectionate cat news; think I may have to go to the shelter today and cuddle some cats!

I just noticed a response from my CAT contact buried in my e-mail; don't know if it will be of any help, but it's a resource:

"That is unfortunate about your friend's kitty.  It sounds like the issue is the other cats in the household - or it could just be one it is hard to tell.  Regardless, I do have a resource for her.  Oregon Humane Society has a Behavior Help Line at [phone].  She can call this line with any behavior concerns or questions. She'll be able to leave a recorded message; OHS will return her call and offer suggestions. I hope this helps! "