Peeing on couch - time to lock him up?

Hey all-

I've read here a suggestion to stop cats from peeing in inappropriate
places is to lock them in a small room with a litterbox to retrain
them. I'm thinking this is what I have to do, but I wanted to know
whether I should put his kitty friend in there with him. She's not
exhibited any marking or spraying behaviors.

Here's the background. My big neutered male cat occassionally pees
on the couch downstairs. It all started about two years ago. We had a
rubber mat outside the litterbox, which would get covered in litter.
He would occasionally pee on the mat. Not a real big mistake in my
book, but my wife got the bright idea to spray that mat with a
deterrent. Well, it took me a while to figure out what was happening,
but my cat started peeing on the couch (not spraying, though we've
never seen him, just based on the amount of pee). We took him to the
vet and had him checked out, and everything was fine. After I
discovered the litterbox goof-up, I replaced the litterbox and removed
the mat, thoroughly cleaned the area where the litterbox (a small
bathroom in the basement) was and locked him in there with the
litterbox for a week for the retraining. Meanwhile we got rid of the
couch and replaced it with a new one (and put plastic over it just in
case). Since then, it's probably happened on average once every month
or two that the new couch has been peed on. To cleanup we take the
slipcover off, clean the plastic, wash the slipcover, put it back, and
use an enzymatic cleaner. We put up cardboard over the basement
windows in case the neighbor tomcat was bothering him. We also put a
bowl of food on the couch. There was probably a six month period
without any problem at all. He has a little girl kitty as a housemate.
Like I said before, the vet checked him out fine (I know they drew
some urine from his bladder and tested it), so while I'm not ruling out
a health problem, it's not the primary suspect at this point.

I _think_ that's all the pertinent background information. It's not
really a HUGE problem, having to clean up the couch once a month or so,
but I'm sure we'll all be happier if we can take care of this problem.

Thanks,
Korey

korey99 wrote:
Hey all-

I've read here a suggestion to stop cats from peeing in
inappropriate
places is to lock them in a small room with a litterbox to retrain
Thanks,
Korey

I doubt he needs re-trained, but this probably works cause he hates the
lockdown..lol

maybe he is spoiled about the litter box - you know, leave one crumb
out and watchout

Before you isolate your cat, try adding a second litterbox and put it on
the first floor of your home. Also read
http://community.webtv.net/getcathelp/litterbox

Megan



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"bigbadbarry" wrote in message
oups.com...

korey99 wrote:
Hey all-

I've read here a suggestion to stop cats from peeing in
inappropriate
places is to lock them in a small room with a litterbox to retrain
Thanks,
Korey

I doubt he needs re-trained, but this probably works cause he hates the
lockdown..lol

Incorrect elimination (peeing) will never be cured by a punishment regime
(which the lockdown resembles to me), it will just cause more stress which
could be the initial problem.

How old is this cat? Older animals don't have the muscle control so if the
couch is some way away from the litterbox he might not make it in time. I
would agree with one or more additional litterboxes around the house.

you might try using some 'Cat Attact' litter. This worked very well for our
cat.
http://www.preciouscat.com/


"korey99" wrote in message
ups.com...
Hey all-

I've read here a suggestion to stop cats from peeing in inappropriate
places is to lock them in a small room with a litterbox to retrain
them. I'm thinking this is what I have to do, but I wanted to know
whether I should put his kitty friend in there with him. She's not
exhibited any marking or spraying behaviors.

Here's the background. My big neutered male cat occassionally pees
on the couch downstairs. It all started about two years ago. We had a
rubber mat outside the litterbox, which would get covered in litter.
He would occasionally pee on the mat. Not a real big mistake in my
book, but my wife got the bright idea to spray that mat with a
deterrent. Well, it took me a while to figure out what was happening,
but my cat started peeing on the couch (not spraying, though we've
never seen him, just based on the amount of pee). We took him to the
vet and had him checked out, and everything was fine. After I
discovered the litterbox goof-up, I replaced the litterbox and removed
the mat, thoroughly cleaned the area where the litterbox (a small
bathroom in the basement) was and locked him in there with the
litterbox for a week for the retraining. Meanwhile we got rid of the
couch and replaced it with a new one (and put plastic over it just in
case). Since then, it's probably happened on average once every month
or two that the new couch has been peed on. To cleanup we take the
slipcover off, clean the plastic, wash the slipcover, put it back, and
use an enzymatic cleaner. We put up cardboard over the basement
windows in case the neighbor tomcat was bothering him. We also put a
bowl of food on the couch. There was probably a six month period
without any problem at all. He has a little girl kitty as a housemate.
Like I said before, the vet checked him out fine (I know they drew
some urine from his bladder and tested it), so while I'm not ruling out
a health problem, it's not the primary suspect at this point.

I _think_ that's all the pertinent background information. It's not
really a HUGE problem, having to clean up the couch once a month or so,
but I'm sure we'll all be happier if we can take care of this problem.

Thanks,
Korey

Thanks all for the advice. Here are some more details about the
situation. We have essentially a two floor house. On the lower level
is a small bathroom with a litter box and a family room with a litter
box. This family room is where the couch is located, less than 20 ft
from the litter box. My buddy is about 6 years old and in good health
(despite being chubby) and active. The elimination problems have ONLY
occurred downstairs, though we spend all our time upstairs, and the
cats like to lounge around in whatever room we're in. So, I don't
think it's a matter of being lazy or too slow, as the problems would
then happen upstairs.

I don't want to isolate him (that was very hard last time, but worked
pretty well). I'll look into the "Cat Attract", but I'm also afraid of
upsetting him by changing the litter, so perhaps I'll get another box
and try it additionally.

Here's the stupid question of the day- how big is a cat's bladder? I
know before he use to completely soak the old couch, clearly emptying
his bladder. On the new couch, it seems like a lot of urine, but the
slipcover is different material. I've never caught him in the act, so
I guess, now that I think of it, I don't really know for sure which
behavior we're trying to solve.

korey99 wrote:
Thanks all for the advice. Here are some more details about the
situation. We have essentially a two floor house. On the lower level
is a small bathroom with a litter box and a family room with a litter
box. This family room is where the couch is located, less than 20 ft
from the litter box. My buddy is about 6 years old and in good health
(despite being chubby) and active. The elimination problems have ONLY
occurred downstairs, though we spend all our time upstairs, and the
cats like to lounge around in whatever room we're in. So, I don't
think it's a matter of being lazy or too slow, as the problems would
then happen upstairs.

I don't want to isolate him (that was very hard last time, but worked
pretty well). I'll look into the "Cat Attract", but I'm also afraid
of upsetting him by changing the litter, so perhaps I'll get another
box and try it additionally.

Here's the stupid question of the day- how big is a cat's bladder? I
know before he use to completely soak the old couch, clearly emptying
his bladder. On the new couch, it seems like a lot of urine, but the
slipcover is different material. I've never caught him in the act, so
I guess, now that I think of it, I don't really know for sure which
behavior we're trying to solve.

Like people, cat's bladder size varies. Some can hold it longer than
others. Of my eight, one can hold it all day long, then when she goes,
there's a *softball* size clump in the litterbox. Some of the others goe
several times during the day, only leaving golfball sized clumps. One of
them loves to 'spray' the back of the litterbox so it runs down and the
litter sticks to the back of the box. when he goes, he (yes, he's been
neutered since about 3.5 months of age, and he'll be 2 this August) *really*
goes, sounds like he's let loose with a firehose in there. All of our
litterboxes are the 'hooded' kind, too, or we'd be cleaning cat-pee from all
the walls, and since 5 of the 8 are diggers, we'd have litter all over the
house .

--
The ONE and ONLY
lefthanded-pathetic-paranoid-psychotic-sarcastic-wiseass-ditzy former-blonde
in Bloomington! (And proud of it, too)©
email me at nalee1964 (at) insightbb (dot) com
http://community.webshots.com/user/mgcmdjeep

"korey99" wrote in message
ups.com...
Thanks all for the advice. Here are some more details about the
situation. We have essentially a two floor house. On the lower level
is a small bathroom with a litter box and a family room with a litter
box. This family room is where the couch is located, less than 20 ft
from the litter box. My buddy is about 6 years old and in good health
(despite being chubby) and active. The elimination problems have ONLY
occurred downstairs, though we spend all our time upstairs, and the
cats like to lounge around in whatever room we're in. So, I don't
think it's a matter of being lazy or too slow, as the problems would
then happen upstairs.

I don't want to isolate him (that was very hard last time, but worked
pretty well). I'll look into the "Cat Attract", but I'm also afraid of
upsetting him by changing the litter, so perhaps I'll get another box
and try it additionally.

Here's the stupid question of the day- how big is a cat's bladder? I
know before he use to completely soak the old couch, clearly emptying
his bladder. On the new couch, it seems like a lot of urine, but the
slipcover is different material. I've never caught him in the act, so
I guess, now that I think of it, I don't really know for sure which
behavior we're trying to solve.


Are either of the downstairs boxes in places where the cat would
feel cornered, or conversely, too exposed, such as in a high-traffic
place?

"Alex" wrote in message
...

"bigbadbarry" wrote in message
oups.com...

korey99 wrote:
Hey all-

I've read here a suggestion to stop cats from peeing in
inappropriate
places is to lock them in a small room with a litterbox to retrain
Thanks,
Korey

I doubt he needs re-trained, but this probably works cause he hates the
lockdown..lol

Incorrect elimination (peeing) will never be cured by a punishment regime
(which the lockdown resembles to me), it will just cause more stress which
could be the initial problem.


It isn't a punishment, it really is just to get them back in the *habit* of
peeing where they are supposed to. It works with some, too. They
are creatures of habit.

"Magic Mood Jeep©" wrote in message
news:vvKie.4789$WG.3902@attbi_s22...
korey99 wrote:
One of
them loves to 'spray' the back of the litterbox so it runs down and the
litter sticks to the back of the box. when he goes, he (yes, he's been
neutered since about 3.5 months of age, and he'll be 2 this August)
*really*
goes, sounds like he's let loose with a firehose in there. All of our
litterboxes are the 'hooded' kind, too, or we'd be cleaning cat-pee from
all
the walls, and since 5 of the 8 are diggers, we'd have litter all over the
house .


Yet another reason I am glad I have girl cats! Though I do want
one of those big orange boys one day.