Cat poos/pees in house

muckety

We have 3 cats inside and 2 dogs outside the house. One cat (5yrs male, neutered, got him as a kitten) - who was in situ before the dogs arrived - is regularly pooing and peeing inside the house, in a variety of places.

I assume some of it is because if the dogs have got into the house (which they do on occasion) he will spray to mark his territory. However, he was doing this before the dogs arrived so I cannot blame it all on them. I have observed that when it is very wet at night - as recently - there is more likely to be a 'message' for us in the morning, as if he doesn't fancy going outside in the rain so just goes inside...

I really don't want to go back to having a cat litter inside the house as I have young children and the combination isn't ideal... !! I have tried spraying anywhere he has dirtied with a strong smelling spray to discourage him but he just goes somewhere else!

Any ideas of how to change this cat's behaviour?

The Sweeper

Give him a litter tray with a door on it - I have a cat transport box and I put the litter tray inside that, so it's covered. You can then also put a piece of furniture in front of it - your cat can make his way to the litter box, but your kids can't. Keep the litter clean and you shouldn't have too much fuss with your kids.

As it is, if he needs to crap he needs to crap - if you're not providing a facility for that inside, you can't really be surprised that he doesn't wait until morning when you let him out.

MsFifers

+ 1

He may not like doing his business outside for a whole range of reasons eg the other cats/dogs intimidate him or he hates to get wet or something like that.

You are going to have to get the litter trays I'm afraid! In fact with 3 indoor cats, you should really have 4 litter trays.

The covered trays with the door should keep the kids out of harms way. (Better than them coming across a little present on the floor anyway!)

BTW - some of the strong smelling sprays you are using could actually be encouraging him to toilet inside. Some cleaning products contain ammonia, which is like another cat's pee, and the cat will try to cover that smell with his own scent. Use white vinegar to clean up where he has pooed/peed instead.

carwash_2006

Cats like to feel secure when they are going to the toilet, he quite likely doesn't go very close to the house when he goes outside because the dogs are there, so when the weather is bad it makes it particularly hard for him to be able to go in comfort.

When he pees inside, does he spray or just pee on something. It is always a good idea to get any inaprpriate peeing checked with the vet as most times it is an indicator of a urinary tract infection. If the cat iss pooing inside too then it is not necessarily the case here, but it would be as well to get it checked.

I would say in this case that you would be as well to go down the route of providing a tray for them inside. Maybe get one of the covered trays and place it somewhere that is not easy for the kids to get at to make it easier for you to teach them not to go near it. It may not be ideal to have a litter tray when you have small kids, but I'm sure it is more ideal than finding little presents in the morning.

It should be possible to deal with this, but it will take a little effort on your part as it is necessary to find out what is causing it to be able to solve it. If all else fails, contact Tom Farrington - homeopathic vet in Cork - he is a genius at solving all sortd of problems where others have failed.

muckety

Thanks for the quick responses!

Just to answer a couple of points, regarding his going outside, the dogs are locked up at night and the cats have a couple of catflaps/easy access in and out of the house. They do come and go (including the pooper) a lot at night (he regularly leaves us other presents such as mice but thats another days work!), and the other cats don't seem to be put off by weather. Is it really necessary to have inside catlitters when the cats are always given outside access? I appreciate the covered litter may be a workaround, but would still be reluctant to return to this if another solution could be found.

Our man in Havana

Cats will not go outside when it rains! So they will go where they can! I have one very stubborn kitten who is using my bed to do his wee wees - I am so not happy! Off to buy a new duvet so my one can be set to the laundrette - last week I bought new pillows & a water proof matress protector! so will spray the bed with get off stuff & see if that stops him for a while - he has access to 2 clean litter trays!

MsFifers

Oh no Bond! :eek: Wouldn't like that at all!

I think I read somewhere that cats get tempted to use duvets as toilets because the texture under their paws is yielding and soft - not unlike standing on a pile of sand.

If you can't keep him out of your bedroom altogether, could you put something on top of your bed - like a flattened out cardboard box - so there is only a hard surface there. (This theory is not helpful in keeping one of mine from pooing in the bath though!)

Muckety - can't really think of anything else for you. Unless, you were to try putting a covered litter tray immediately outside the back door, so he doesn't have to go wandering far for the loo.

carwash_2006

To Bond - Kittens can sometimes get confused about beds, it smells so strongly of us and if they are anyway uncertain of themselves they will wee on the bed to mix their scent with ours and make themselves feel safer. Often the only way to sort it is to keep them out of the bedroom until they are a bit older. If the kitten is an older kitten then I would have them checked for a UTI - broken record I know, but it's so often the case when you have peeing issues.

To the OP - I would try the covered litter tray as one of the easier options first, it may not work anyway, but why not rule it out. Tom Farrington does a homeopathic remedy for "dirty" cats, but even then it would be helpful to have tried the litter tray to see if it works. It will help to give a clearer idea of the cause of the problem, whether the cat doesn't want to go out in the rain, or if there is something else going on entirely. You might find you can get rid of the tray again at a later date if another solution can be found, but it would be a reasonably quick and easy way of clarifying things.

muckety

Thanks to all for your responses. I will try the covered litter tray (firstly outside the door at catflap for best compromise) and post back with results!

Pimp Ninja

A word of warning.
I have recently learned that covered litter trays placed outdoors are not water/rain proof. I came home to find the rain had gotten into one I had left in an outdoor run for the lads and turned it into a swamp.
Just make sure that it is sufficiently sheltered.

-Dan