Update on Rutherford, my floor-****ing cat

He can be placed on antidepressant or anti-anxiety meds to eliminate
spraying.
Gail
"jimmy the LD" wrote in message
...
Do you have other cats? Were they near the liter box
when he sprayed?

Nope - no other cats, and only a 15 year old toy poodle, about the size of
a
mini-soccerball. He also uses his litterbox frequently, which completely
stuns me. It just seems as though he has adopted this one 4X4 area of our
living room.

It seems he has adopted it..what you need to do is physically prevent him
from being able to use it long enough for him to "un-adopt" it

We're not really sure what you mean here; do you mean to say that we want
him to understand that it's NOT okay for him to **** on the wall and floor
there by adding his litterbox as a deterrent, or do you mean we should
have
more than one litterbox...?

We'll try the litterbox-in-the-spot thing tomorrow.
Any other suggestions? We're considering shelling out the mega moolah for
the Feliway...

To all: Rutherford is a neutered, declawed hobo-kitty that we found on a
jobsite and adopted. He's been to the vet, and he checks out. No
infections, no Leukemia.

He's a cute *******, which is why this is so difficult.
Check him out (I know I posted this before...):
http://music.jimhutchison.com/myrutherford.htm

Please keep the suggestions coming.
Jimmy and Emily

White vinegar is a good remover for urine.
Gail
"jimmy the LD" wrote in message
...
By now, he probably doesn't know this area from his litter box. Why don't
you
place a rubber mat on top of the area until he gets pass the habit of
peeing on
it? Cats are creatures of habits, you know.

Are you by chance using an ammonia based cleaning product?


We were using an enzyme based cleaning product - or at least we THOUGHT it
was an enzyme based cleaner...
It's called "Nature's Miracle." It left our carpet smelling worse of cat
urine than it was before (except now it smells MORE like ammonia/alcohol),
and we followed every direction to the letter.

SHOULD I be using an ammonia based cleaner?
I would assume that ammonia would attract him.

What about vinegar? Isn't vinegar a good canine urine cleaner?

Jimmy

White vinegar is a good remover for urine.
Gail
"jimmy the LD" wrote in message
...
By now, he probably doesn't know this area from his litter box. Why don't
you
place a rubber mat on top of the area until he gets pass the habit of
peeing on
it? Cats are creatures of habits, you know.

Are you by chance using an ammonia based cleaning product?


We were using an enzyme based cleaning product - or at least we THOUGHT it
was an enzyme based cleaner...
It's called "Nature's Miracle." It left our carpet smelling worse of cat
urine than it was before (except now it smells MORE like ammonia/alcohol),
and we followed every direction to the letter.

SHOULD I be using an ammonia based cleaner?
I would assume that ammonia would attract him.

What about vinegar? Isn't vinegar a good canine urine cleaner?

Jimmy

jimmy the LD wrote:
By now, he probably doesn't know this area from his litter box. Why don't

you

place a rubber mat on top of the area until he gets pass the habit of

peeing on

it? Cats are creatures of habits, you know.

Are you by chance using an ammonia based cleaning product?



We were using an enzyme based cleaning product - or at least we THOUGHT it
was an enzyme based cleaner...
It's called "Nature's Miracle." It left our carpet smelling worse of cat
urine than it was before (except now it smells MORE like ammonia/alcohol),
and we followed every direction to the letter.

SHOULD I be using an ammonia based cleaner?
I would assume that ammonia would attract him.

What about vinegar? Isn't vinegar a good canine urine cleaner?

Jimmy




In addition to the other excellent suggestions you have got in this
thread - maybe having the carpet commercially cleaned might help? If you
haven't done this already that is.

jimmy the LD wrote:
By now, he probably doesn't know this area from his litter box. Why don't

you

place a rubber mat on top of the area until he gets pass the habit of

peeing on

it? Cats are creatures of habits, you know.

Are you by chance using an ammonia based cleaning product?



We were using an enzyme based cleaning product - or at least we THOUGHT it
was an enzyme based cleaner...
It's called "Nature's Miracle." It left our carpet smelling worse of cat
urine than it was before (except now it smells MORE like ammonia/alcohol),
and we followed every direction to the letter.

SHOULD I be using an ammonia based cleaner?
I would assume that ammonia would attract him.

What about vinegar? Isn't vinegar a good canine urine cleaner?

Jimmy




In addition to the other excellent suggestions you have got in this
thread - maybe having the carpet commercially cleaned might help? If you
haven't done this already that is.

"jimmy the LD" wrote in message
...
Do you have other cats? Were they near the liter box
when he sprayed?

Nope - no other cats, and only a 15 year old toy poodle, about the size of
a
mini-soccerball. He also uses his litterbox frequently, which completely
stuns me. It just seems as though he has adopted this one 4X4 area of our
living room.

It seems he has adopted it..what you need to do is physically prevent
him
from being able to use it long enough for him to "un-adopt" it

We're not really sure what you mean here; do you mean to say that we want
him to understand that it's NOT okay for him to **** on the wall and floor
there by adding his litterbox as a deterrent, or do you mean we should
have
more than one litterbox...?

More than one litter box may help but if you clean the one he
has daily than it probably isn't the problem. The idea was to get
him to use a litter box INSTEAD of the carpet area. I know he
does use it some but he also thinks the carpet is ok..it's like another
box for him. I know when I am trying to convince Sasha not to scratch
something I put one of her cardboard scratch pads in front of it...but on
second thought the litter box would probably just reinforce the spot
as a potty area. It would still help to block it off somehow. A big
plastic mat or some thing that prevents him access.

We'll try the litterbox-in-the-spot thing tomorrow.
Any other suggestions? We're considering shelling out the mega moolah for
the Feliway...

To all: Rutherford is a neutered, declawed hobo-kitty that we found on a
jobsite and adopted. He's been to the vet, and he checks out. No
infections, no Leukemia.

Feliway may not work. It's basically a mood alterer like an
anti-depressant.
It doesn't seem to an emotional or stress issue...more like a bad habit that
needs to be unlearned.

He's a cute *******, which is why this is so difficult.
Check him out (I know I posted this before...):
http://music.jimhutchison.com/myrutherford.htm

Please keep the suggestions coming.
Jimmy and Emily

He is a cutie. I'm sure you guys will work it out. I can understand
the difficulty in dealing with a spraying cat. It makes it physically
difficult to share living quarters with them :-) but you don't sound
like your giving up yet.

AG

"jimmy the LD" wrote in message
...
Do you have other cats? Were they near the liter box
when he sprayed?

Nope - no other cats, and only a 15 year old toy poodle, about the size of
a
mini-soccerball. He also uses his litterbox frequently, which completely
stuns me. It just seems as though he has adopted this one 4X4 area of our
living room.

It seems he has adopted it..what you need to do is physically prevent
him
from being able to use it long enough for him to "un-adopt" it

We're not really sure what you mean here; do you mean to say that we want
him to understand that it's NOT okay for him to **** on the wall and floor
there by adding his litterbox as a deterrent, or do you mean we should
have
more than one litterbox...?

More than one litter box may help but if you clean the one he
has daily than it probably isn't the problem. The idea was to get
him to use a litter box INSTEAD of the carpet area. I know he
does use it some but he also thinks the carpet is ok..it's like another
box for him. I know when I am trying to convince Sasha not to scratch
something I put one of her cardboard scratch pads in front of it...but on
second thought the litter box would probably just reinforce the spot
as a potty area. It would still help to block it off somehow. A big
plastic mat or some thing that prevents him access.

We'll try the litterbox-in-the-spot thing tomorrow.
Any other suggestions? We're considering shelling out the mega moolah for
the Feliway...

To all: Rutherford is a neutered, declawed hobo-kitty that we found on a
jobsite and adopted. He's been to the vet, and he checks out. No
infections, no Leukemia.

Feliway may not work. It's basically a mood alterer like an
anti-depressant.
It doesn't seem to an emotional or stress issue...more like a bad habit that
needs to be unlearned.

He's a cute *******, which is why this is so difficult.
Check him out (I know I posted this before...):
http://music.jimhutchison.com/myrutherford.htm

Please keep the suggestions coming.
Jimmy and Emily

He is a cutie. I'm sure you guys will work it out. I can understand
the difficulty in dealing with a spraying cat. It makes it physically
difficult to share living quarters with them :-) but you don't sound
like your giving up yet.

AG

| a few seconds, lifted his tail, and then sprayed the wall RIGHT IN FRONT
| OF
| ME.
|
| I am up in arms. I have no idea what else to do.
| We even bought some of that "NO-MARK" stuff and sprayed it. It was
| absolutely no deterrent. He uses his litterbox regularly, and it is
| cleaned
| regularly.
|
| Any new suggestions? I can't take this much longer.
|
| I'd try putting a liter box right on that spot. Even if it's in
| the middle of the room...just temporarily. It seems he has
| adopted it..what you need to do is physically prevent him
| from being able to use it long enough for him to "un-adopt" it.
|
| I'm not sure why he would be doing this. Doesn't seem like
| it's stress if he did it calmly right in front of you. I have to
| assume he is altered and that you have ruled out a medical
| problem.
|
| Do you have other cats? Were they near the liter box
| when he sprayed?
|
| AG


It seems he's marking because he does not like the smell on the spot.
I had the same problem with the dog. I could put the rug into the washing
mashine, but she still marked - until I got a new one. Now I have peace.
Here's something to cheer you up: I took the backpack out of the attic in
order to use it for a school trip (I'm a teacher). Darling Micky the cat
sprayed on it. Guess what sort of smell followed me all the time? Well, he
made sure I didn't forget about him while I was away :-)

Carola

| a few seconds, lifted his tail, and then sprayed the wall RIGHT IN FRONT
| OF
| ME.
|
| I am up in arms. I have no idea what else to do.
| We even bought some of that "NO-MARK" stuff and sprayed it. It was
| absolutely no deterrent. He uses his litterbox regularly, and it is
| cleaned
| regularly.
|
| Any new suggestions? I can't take this much longer.
|
| I'd try putting a liter box right on that spot. Even if it's in
| the middle of the room...just temporarily. It seems he has
| adopted it..what you need to do is physically prevent him
| from being able to use it long enough for him to "un-adopt" it.
|
| I'm not sure why he would be doing this. Doesn't seem like
| it's stress if he did it calmly right in front of you. I have to
| assume he is altered and that you have ruled out a medical
| problem.
|
| Do you have other cats? Were they near the liter box
| when he sprayed?
|
| AG


It seems he's marking because he does not like the smell on the spot.
I had the same problem with the dog. I could put the rug into the washing
mashine, but she still marked - until I got a new one. Now I have peace.
Here's something to cheer you up: I took the backpack out of the attic in
order to use it for a school trip (I'm a teacher). Darling Micky the cat
sprayed on it. Guess what sort of smell followed me all the time? Well, he
made sure I didn't forget about him while I was away :-)

Carola

"jimmy the LD" wrote in message
...
Do you have other cats? Were they near the liter box
when he sprayed?

Nope - no other cats, and only a 15 year old toy poodle, about the size of
a
mini-soccerball. He also uses his litterbox frequently, which completely
stuns me. It just seems as though he has adopted this one 4X4 area of our
living room.

It seems he has adopted it..what you need to do is physically prevent
him
from being able to use it long enough for him to "un-adopt" it

We're not really sure what you mean here; do you mean to say that we want
him to understand that it's NOT okay for him to **** on the wall and floor
there by adding his litterbox as a deterrent, or do you mean we should
have
more than one litterbox...?

We'll try the litterbox-in-the-spot thing tomorrow.
Any other suggestions? We're considering shelling out the mega moolah for
the Feliway...

This is the cheapest I've found Feliway. http://www.biovets.com/ Someone
else might know a cheaper site but I haven't found it.


To all: Rutherford is a neutered, declawed hobo-kitty that we found on a
jobsite and adopted. He's been to the vet, and he checks out. No
infections, no Leukemia.

He's a cute *******, which is why this is so difficult.
Check him out (I know I posted this before...):
http://music.jimhutchison.com/myrutherford.htm

Please keep the suggestions coming.
Jimmy and Emily



I've found Nature's Miracle to be a waste of money as well. Someone else
posted the following:

From an old post:

"I recommend ODOKLEEN to remove any urine or feces (it
requires lots of rinsing, though - a wet vac works wonders for this),
and then treating the area with ODOKILL or NODOR to remove the odor.
I have yet to find an odor which is not removed using NODOR. ODOKLEEN
and ODOKILL are available through pet supply stores. NODOR is made by
Nu-Scents in Knoxville, TN, USA. They are a very small company and do
not ship outside of NA. Their product can be ordered in the US by
credit card by calling 1*(800)*262*9366. They ship via UPS. They are
very nice people. NODOR will kill male spray smell."

HTH,

--

OTOH it might be easier and cheaper in the long run to have the carpet
professionally done by a firm that deals with pet odors. It might be
necessary to replace a section of the padding to completely get rid of the
odor.

I also remember someone suggesting getting one of those plastic carpet
runners that have the nubs on the underside and putting it on the spot
upside down. The cat isn't supposed to like walking on the nubs.

I'd set up another litter box anyway. Some cats don't like using a box if it
already has poop in it and lets face it short of following them around 24/7
the box is going to be dirty (by their definition) at some point until you
have a chance to clean it.

W