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Until about 2 weeks ago none of our 4 cats peed outside the litterboxes or totes. Our home was odorless. But suddenly we smelled cat urine in the back office where there's a large tote scooped at the least twice a day. Thinking the tote itself needed disinfecting (but it had just recently been done) we dumped it and I scrubbed the tote which really had no odor. It was refilled and replaced. Note the old office has wall to wall carpeting. The odor became so strong we removed the box again to find one (or more) of them was urinating on the carpet next to the box. The carpet, though no stain could be seen, was wet and smelled dreadful. It had apparently been peed on multiple times. By this time the odor was permeating the entire house and was sickening. We have no idea who's doing this.
We used several products but cannot get the stink of cat urine out of the carpet and it's backing. My husband shampooed the entire room with a product to remove pet odors but it didn't work. Even Fabreze doesn't work, or Lysol or the deodorizing powders used on litter.
We removed the tote from the office, closed the door, and placed it next to the one in the utility room. There is no carpet in the utility room.
The very next day one of them peed on the throw rug in the bathroom. Now I can't have a rug in the bathroom and the floor is very slippery when wet - cold and uncomfortable. Despite what people claim when I worked in the Animal Hosp in NYC UTIs were not all that common and not the cause of this serious issue with cats. And most cats with UTIs still used the litterbox.
My SD had one of her cats PTS because it had no UTI but was urinating all over her house. And yes, different litters and types of litterboxes were tried. She tried different locations and bought extra boxes. Nothing helped. No one wants to live in a home that stinks like a cattery. At this point we can't use the office because it smells so rank.
Anyone actually try something that worked? We don't know where to go from here....
It still might be a UTI. I really don't think you can rule it out until you've had a vet visit. Mine didn't use the litterbox when they had a UTI. Sometimes when the urine smells worse than normal it is a sign that an infection is present. You need to take her to the vet before you can know what to do to fix it.
18 year old cat, never had a problem EVER - in the past couple of months she has decided the rug in the laundry room is hew new litterbox. She has also peed on the dining room rug several times. My heavy duty steam carpet cleaner is kept out at all times since I'm basically using it a minimum of once a day now.
Her litter situation has not changed - it's in the same place it has always been, and we've not changed her litter brand or her food. She still uses her litterbox to poop - it's just the peeing that is done in the laundry room or in the dining room. So frustrating.
She had a checkup at the vet about a month ago and was given a clean bill of health.
18 year old cat, never had a problem EVER - in the past couple of months she has decided the rug in the laundry room is hew new litterbox. She has also peed on the dining room rug several times. My heavy duty steam carpet cleaner is kept out at all times since I'm basically using it a minimum of once a day now.
Her litter situation has not changed - it's in the same place it has always been, and we've not changed her litter brand or her food. She still uses her litterbox to poop - it's just the peeing that is done in the laundry room or in the dining room. So frustrating.
She had a checkup at the vet about a month ago and was given a clean bill of health.
I've seen this happen with other geriatric cats. If you have a hooded litterbox take the hood off. The other thing I'll suggest is to make the entrance to the litterbox lower. Sometimes if they have arthritis it's hard/painful for them to step over the edge. I'd cut it down to a couple of inches (enough to keep the litter in) and see if that helps.
Re: the smell, have you tried Nature's Miracle? You can put it right into a carpet cleaning machine, although it is recommended that you allow it to sit and soak for a while. As another poster stated, you also need to get something that can steam clean; shampooing alone is not going to cut it (as you already know!)
Also, do you have Feliway dispensers in any of the rooms? If not, I would get some.
OP, I would separate the cats until you can get them to the vet; that may help you figure out who is doing the peeing. If the peeing stops while they are separated, it may indicate that the issue regards a relationship dynamic between the cats and you can focus on reintroduction. Regardless, I second the advice to get your cat(s) to a vet to rule out health problems.
I've seen this happen with other geriatric cats. If you have a hooded litterbox take the hood off. The other thing I'll suggest is to make the entrance to the litterbox lower. Sometimes if they have arthritis it's hard/painful for them to step over the edge. I'd cut it down to a couple of inches (enough to keep the litter in) and see if that helps.
Fortunately, she doesn't have to step up into the box - there's a ramp leading up into the litter box. We have motion sensor lights set up on the walls next to the box, and they do an effective job of lighting up the interior of the box (which we have facing the corner to discourage our dogs from helping themselves to snacks). This set up has never bothered her before, so I can't think of why it would bother her now.
I'll try taking off the lid. I'll have to put up a gate to keep the dogs out, but she's still pretty spry and should have no problem jumping over the gate.
Fortunately, she doesn't have to step up into the box - there's a ramp leading up into the litter box. We have motion sensor lights set up on the walls next to the box, and they do an effective job of lighting up the interior of the box (which we have facing the corner to discourage our dogs from helping themselves to snacks). This set up has never bothered her before, so I can't think of why it would bother her now.
I'll try taking off the lid. I'll have to put up a gate to keep the dogs out, but she's still pretty spry and should have no problem jumping over the gate.
Because she's old and things change when you (or cats) get old.
What diagnostics were done when she was at the vet? Blood work? Urine culture?
OP: Your problem may be different that Girl's, because your cats are not elderly, but the first stop is always a vet visit. Just because there is no bacterial infection does not mean the problem is not physical. Idiopathic cystitis (inflammation, often stress induced) is way more common in cats that bacterial UTIs.
If you don't know who is doing it, you probably need to bring in all four and test their urine.
As for cleaning the area, you should get a black light and check the office carpeting. Cat urine glows under black light. Use Nature's Miracle or another pet enzymatic cleaner. Read the instructions--you need to SATURATE the area and let it air dry slowly for it to work.
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