my cat is peeing on other animals beds
I live in a house with 5 cats (4 female, 1 male) and 3 dogs (2 female, 1 male). Within the past year, my four year old male cat has been peeing on the dog pillows and any clothes that are left on the floor. I have tried sprays to spray on the items he has peed on, washed the items in a vinegar solution, and recently bough feliway (which worked for two weeks but then he peed on my sisters bed). I don't want to get rid of him, but my sister is getting frustrated with having to wash pillows every other week. He is front-declawed so I don't want to make him an outdoor cat, besides my family has had bad luck with outdoor cats. And short of locking him in my room all day, I don't know what to do. If anyone has any advice I would really appreciate it.
Home | About | Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Advertise | Press | Resources | Contact | © Copyright PetDocTM 2008. All rights reserved.

It sounds like you have a pretty busy house. Assuming that your male cat that is doing the peeing is neutered, he is most likely trying to tell you that he is upset by something or feels the need to claim his piece of the world by marking his territory. It is very common to have a soiling issue with that many cats and dogs in the house, so you are not alone.
In addition to continuing the use of the feliway, making sure the litter boxes are as user friendly as possible should help encourage the cat to return to them. Some basic guidelines include, one more litter box than you have cat. In your case, maybe two more. They can all be located in the same area if need be. As a rule cats do not like to pee and poop in the same place, so when you scoop the box, do not stir as you could be making the whole box smell offensive. Use a plain litter with no additives for odor or dust because the smell can be offensive to cats. If you use clumping litter, you may try regular. You can always sprinkle a little baking soda in the bottom of the box when you refill it with litter to help with odor. I have also noticed that some cats prefer boxes with no hoods or plastic liners.
When cleaning the boxes, use a mild dish soap and water, no strong cleaning products, the cat may find them offensive. The same goes for the area around the box that the cat has to walk over to get in the box. Try to keep from placing boxes next to noisy appliances such as the furnace or washer that may start while the cat is in the box and startle him. Make sure the cat can get to the boxes easily without having to work around dogs or other cats that he may not get along with.
Deny access to the room where peeing has taken place whenever possible, like keeping your sisters bedroom door shut. Clean any soiled areas with a cleaner designed for pet odors. Take a few extra minutes to pick up anything on the floor the cat may think is a good place to pee. If you cannot close of the room, try moving the dog beds to different spots in the room as long as it is ok with the dog.
It is never a good idea to discipline a cat for peeing where he shouldn't, they do not respond well to it and it could make the problem worse. It also does not work well to take the cat and put him in the box, he will sense tension from you and get the message that the litter box is not a good place to be.
Something that has worked for me in the past is to reintroduce the litter box. You take a really yummy treat like canned tuna or salmon and lead the cat on it's own four feet to the box, have him step in the box out of the box and place the treat down in front of the box. By doing this, you are reinforcing that the litter box is a nice place to be. If you can do this twice a day for a week along with the other things I mentioned, I hope you will see improvement. You may want to put your other cats in another room for a few minutes while you are reintroducing the box.
Another thing that may help is spending a few extra minutes a day giving this cat attention by playing with him or brushing him. With such a busy house, he may feel a bit left out. I know this is a lot of information and if you have any questions on it, please let me know. I have added a link to our article on litter box issues. (click on the blue litter box word). I wish you good luck!
PetDoc.com