MCunningham
Cathlete
Fellow Catheites,
I have two cats: Maya (10 years old) and Lola (8 years old). I've had them both since they were kittens and they're both rescues. I'm not a HUGE cat person, but I love animals in general and the plight of pets in shelters just tortures my soul.
Maya, the older one, has always been skittish and nervous and timid but is sweet to us. Lola is not timid in any way, is brazen, and frankly has a bit of an attitude problem. She regularly bites me HARD (not playing) and generally does things that I KNOW she knows angers me (jumps up on the kitchen table and on counters, etc.) She's NOT a dumb cat, and trust me, she is very well aware of what she shouldn't be doing.
Up until about mid-2006, however, I never had any serious issues with either cat.
The problem is that about 4.5 years ago, DH and I adopted a Boston Terrier followed a few months later by a Maltese mix (both male rescues). Neither cat seemed thrilled at first, but within a few weeks, both cats pretty much ignored the dogs and didn't seem to care one way or the other about their presence. In fact, they occasionally play together. A few months after that, we noticed that one or both of the cats was peeing in our unfinished basement, right near where I work out, on the cement floor.
I was appalled and surprised because I'd had those cats for about 6 and 4 years at that point and NEVER had seen that happen before. They had never, ever previously peed (or pooped) outside of the litter box. I was scooping the litter box about every other day, so I thought maybe they were annoyed about litter box cleanliness, so I stepped up the scooping to every day (I know I should have done that anyway, but they had a big litter box and neither one really went to the bathroom much, and it never smelled very bad). I cleaned the spots where they had peed and thought that would be the end of it.
Apparently, however, it was just the beginning. Regardless of the new cleaner state of the litter box-- and my addition of a second litter box, just in case-- at least one of them (I had no idea if it was just one or both or which one might be doing it) repeatedly peed in the same areas and stank up the basement. Trust me, there is NO CLEANING PRODUCT that gets rid of the smell of cat pee, even on cement. I spent literally hundreds of dollars trying to get rid of the smell, and while it's significantly better now, it's still lingering. After battling the cat pee specter for about 4 months, we finally decided to put up permanent walls that allowed them to only get to the base of the basement stairs to where their litter boxes were and blocked their access to the rest of the basement. That seemed to do the trick; no more pee outside of the litter boxes.
Now, fast-forward to 2009, where we left the house with the unfinished basement (that we own) and moved closer to work and into a rental home with a finished, carpeted basement. We decided to keep the litter boxes (still 2) in the half-bathroom down in the finished basement, and my workout equipment still went in the basement. I continued to scoop once a day and entirely change the litter every week. About six months after we moved into this rental, I realized that the CAT PEE ISSUE HAD RETURNED!!!! They were peeing in a corner of the basement behind my rarely-used spinning bike and they had SOAKED the carpet and padding. I diligently cleaned the area and kept trying to get rid of the cat pee smell, but it never went away, and they kept peeing there. Eventually, they started peeing in ANOTHER corner of the room and then along one ENTIRE wall. I tried literally every product on the market for about 7 months, including professional carpet cleaning on 3 separate occasions, and the use of Feliway (a cat hormone plugin/spray that is supposed to prevent them from wanting to pee wherever it is) and plastic sheeting over the carpet before I finally gave up-- about 2 months ago, I tore out the carpet and padding in the afflicted half of the basement down to the bare cement, even though this house is just a rental and I know I am going to pay out the nose to replace it. I just could NOT take the stink of cat pee any longer; I couldn't even walk down there, let alone workout down there.
So, I thought that would work because, similar to the previous time, I had removed their favorite place to pee. I also stepped up my scooping to twice daily (morning and evening) after we tried an automatic litter box that was AWFUL, hoping that the added measure of cleanliness would entice them to never again think of peeing outside of them. Apparently, I was wrong. Just last week, I found another place, right by my dumbbell rack, where they are PEEING ON THE CARPET AGAIN!!! To add to that, I'm finding puddles of cat pee on the cement, where I removed the carpet, AT LEAST twice a week.
I think I've finally figured out that the younger one, Lola, the one with the attitude problem, is the one doing it. I know this because I've now caught her in the act TWICE-- once when I was scooping out the litter boxes, she sauntered over to the corner and peed, and a second time just last night when I was working out. I was in the middle of 4DS Bootcamp and watched her walk right to my treadmill and pee behind it!! This was exactly 15 minutes after I had scooped the litter boxes clean and added a fresh layer of litter. I WAS LIVID!!! I chased after her and smacked her on the bum and I was so upset that I broke down in tears.
This afternoon, I came home from work and there was a new puddle of cat pee-- right by the treadmill again.
Suffice it to say, I'm really REALLY sick of this. My house smells like cat pee, and there is nothing I can do to fix it or prevent it, apparently. I literally have no idea what else I can do. I've taken her to the vet and they've ruled out health/bladder issues and anxiety because she's NOT a nervous cat and doesn't even flinch at noises or the dogs clumsily stepping on her and even seems totally unfazed by going to the vet. (And she seems to get along with the dogs and my other cat just fine-- no conflicts or anything.) I cannot figure out what is going on with her, but I'm steadily losing it. I am seriously opposed to giving her up to the SPCA or anything (reference my prior comment about my heartbreak regarding animal shelters), but who would want a cat that not only pees outside of the litter box, but is a repeat offender?!?! I would hate hate hate to give her up because I view taking on a pet as a lifetime commitment, but cats can live a LONG time, and I cannot stomach the idea of doing this for another decade or so. My sanity is dwindling and I'd like to think about starting a family soon in a home that isn't being constantly ravaged by cat pee and that doesn't have a constant sickeningly cloying smell of ammonia.
Please help. I am not even sure what kind of help I'm looking for, here... maybe validation that if I finally opt to give her up, I'm not a terrible person? Or any suggestions if any of you have overcome this kind of problem?
I'm just honestly going crazy.
(Sorry for the novel... it's just been a long process and I'd like to show that this is not a recent issue that I'm making a hasty judgment on.)
MC
I have two cats: Maya (10 years old) and Lola (8 years old). I've had them both since they were kittens and they're both rescues. I'm not a HUGE cat person, but I love animals in general and the plight of pets in shelters just tortures my soul.
Maya, the older one, has always been skittish and nervous and timid but is sweet to us. Lola is not timid in any way, is brazen, and frankly has a bit of an attitude problem. She regularly bites me HARD (not playing) and generally does things that I KNOW she knows angers me (jumps up on the kitchen table and on counters, etc.) She's NOT a dumb cat, and trust me, she is very well aware of what she shouldn't be doing.
Up until about mid-2006, however, I never had any serious issues with either cat.
The problem is that about 4.5 years ago, DH and I adopted a Boston Terrier followed a few months later by a Maltese mix (both male rescues). Neither cat seemed thrilled at first, but within a few weeks, both cats pretty much ignored the dogs and didn't seem to care one way or the other about their presence. In fact, they occasionally play together. A few months after that, we noticed that one or both of the cats was peeing in our unfinished basement, right near where I work out, on the cement floor.
I was appalled and surprised because I'd had those cats for about 6 and 4 years at that point and NEVER had seen that happen before. They had never, ever previously peed (or pooped) outside of the litter box. I was scooping the litter box about every other day, so I thought maybe they were annoyed about litter box cleanliness, so I stepped up the scooping to every day (I know I should have done that anyway, but they had a big litter box and neither one really went to the bathroom much, and it never smelled very bad). I cleaned the spots where they had peed and thought that would be the end of it.
Apparently, however, it was just the beginning. Regardless of the new cleaner state of the litter box-- and my addition of a second litter box, just in case-- at least one of them (I had no idea if it was just one or both or which one might be doing it) repeatedly peed in the same areas and stank up the basement. Trust me, there is NO CLEANING PRODUCT that gets rid of the smell of cat pee, even on cement. I spent literally hundreds of dollars trying to get rid of the smell, and while it's significantly better now, it's still lingering. After battling the cat pee specter for about 4 months, we finally decided to put up permanent walls that allowed them to only get to the base of the basement stairs to where their litter boxes were and blocked their access to the rest of the basement. That seemed to do the trick; no more pee outside of the litter boxes.
Now, fast-forward to 2009, where we left the house with the unfinished basement (that we own) and moved closer to work and into a rental home with a finished, carpeted basement. We decided to keep the litter boxes (still 2) in the half-bathroom down in the finished basement, and my workout equipment still went in the basement. I continued to scoop once a day and entirely change the litter every week. About six months after we moved into this rental, I realized that the CAT PEE ISSUE HAD RETURNED!!!! They were peeing in a corner of the basement behind my rarely-used spinning bike and they had SOAKED the carpet and padding. I diligently cleaned the area and kept trying to get rid of the cat pee smell, but it never went away, and they kept peeing there. Eventually, they started peeing in ANOTHER corner of the room and then along one ENTIRE wall. I tried literally every product on the market for about 7 months, including professional carpet cleaning on 3 separate occasions, and the use of Feliway (a cat hormone plugin/spray that is supposed to prevent them from wanting to pee wherever it is) and plastic sheeting over the carpet before I finally gave up-- about 2 months ago, I tore out the carpet and padding in the afflicted half of the basement down to the bare cement, even though this house is just a rental and I know I am going to pay out the nose to replace it. I just could NOT take the stink of cat pee any longer; I couldn't even walk down there, let alone workout down there.
So, I thought that would work because, similar to the previous time, I had removed their favorite place to pee. I also stepped up my scooping to twice daily (morning and evening) after we tried an automatic litter box that was AWFUL, hoping that the added measure of cleanliness would entice them to never again think of peeing outside of them. Apparently, I was wrong. Just last week, I found another place, right by my dumbbell rack, where they are PEEING ON THE CARPET AGAIN!!! To add to that, I'm finding puddles of cat pee on the cement, where I removed the carpet, AT LEAST twice a week.
I think I've finally figured out that the younger one, Lola, the one with the attitude problem, is the one doing it. I know this because I've now caught her in the act TWICE-- once when I was scooping out the litter boxes, she sauntered over to the corner and peed, and a second time just last night when I was working out. I was in the middle of 4DS Bootcamp and watched her walk right to my treadmill and pee behind it!! This was exactly 15 minutes after I had scooped the litter boxes clean and added a fresh layer of litter. I WAS LIVID!!! I chased after her and smacked her on the bum and I was so upset that I broke down in tears.
This afternoon, I came home from work and there was a new puddle of cat pee-- right by the treadmill again.
Suffice it to say, I'm really REALLY sick of this. My house smells like cat pee, and there is nothing I can do to fix it or prevent it, apparently. I literally have no idea what else I can do. I've taken her to the vet and they've ruled out health/bladder issues and anxiety because she's NOT a nervous cat and doesn't even flinch at noises or the dogs clumsily stepping on her and even seems totally unfazed by going to the vet. (And she seems to get along with the dogs and my other cat just fine-- no conflicts or anything.) I cannot figure out what is going on with her, but I'm steadily losing it. I am seriously opposed to giving her up to the SPCA or anything (reference my prior comment about my heartbreak regarding animal shelters), but who would want a cat that not only pees outside of the litter box, but is a repeat offender?!?! I would hate hate hate to give her up because I view taking on a pet as a lifetime commitment, but cats can live a LONG time, and I cannot stomach the idea of doing this for another decade or so. My sanity is dwindling and I'd like to think about starting a family soon in a home that isn't being constantly ravaged by cat pee and that doesn't have a constant sickeningly cloying smell of ammonia.
Please help. I am not even sure what kind of help I'm looking for, here... maybe validation that if I finally opt to give her up, I'm not a terrible person? Or any suggestions if any of you have overcome this kind of problem?
I'm just honestly going crazy.
(Sorry for the novel... it's just been a long process and I'd like to show that this is not a recent issue that I'm making a hasty judgment on.)
MC
Last edited:
