Why are my cats suddenly peeing on the carpet after cleaning?

Cats can have inappropriate urination for a number of reasons. Urinary infections, bladder inflammation, urinary stones, urinary tumors, as well as behavioral problems. I would highly encourage you to have him evaluated by your veterinarian to make sure there is not a medical problem. Adding more litter boxes, toys, blocking view of outdoor cats etc can all be helpful. Best of luck and thank you for using Pet Coach.

She may be urinating outside the litter box if she has an infection or bladder stones. I would have your vet take a look at her. Your vet will be able to do a urinalysis to ensure everything is ok. They will be able to start her on antibiotics if needed. If everything is normal, then I would be more concerned with behavioral. I would definitely get of the drapes. As far as cleaning, I would try to use a deodorizer to help hide her scent. See link below. Clean the wall area the best you can. Unfortunately, you may not be able to get deep into those cracks. You can try q-tips although this may be a little tedious. Some things to try for her behavior is adding additional litter boxes throughout the house especially near where the drapes are that she likes to use. I would also add some feliway diffusers. This is a cat pheromone that will sometimes help calm cats.. It doesn't work on every cat though. Finally, if these don't work, I would talk to you vet about adding in an anti-anxiety medicine like amitryptilline. I have had good success with this to help with inappropriate urination. I hope this helps! One example of a deodorizing enzymatic cleaner:

This sounds like a complicated situation that may benefit from a consult or multiple questions. I will address the urination. Inappropriate urination is most common in multiple cat households. I would recommend that the cats be tested for urinary infections first. If normal then start addressing behavior. Add 1 more litter box than the number of cats. Start watching closely for “bossy” cats or stressful type of situations. Are they seeing outside cats and peeing after they see them? Is anyone scared of being attacked at the litter box? Add feliway diffusers into the rooms they tend to urinate in. This can get you started. Then look into feline environmental enrichment ideas. These include super tall cat trees, bird feeders at the windows, toys, etc. Best of luck and thank you for using Pet Coach.

There can be a couple of reasons why Tiger will not use the litter box. There may not be enough litter boxes in the home. You should have one litter box for each cat, plus one extra. Cats like a very clean box, and the litter should be scooped every day with the litter itself being changed once a week. If the box isn't clean enough for him, he won't use it. Cats can also be very picky about the type of litter used. If you changed litter recently, he may not like it and won't want to use it. Don't use scented litters, cats typically don't like the scent and will not use the box if it smells funny to them. I would use an unscented litter only. The litter box itself may be a problem. It could be too small for him to turn around in, or if it has a cover, he may not like using the box under a cover. Conversely, if it doesn't have a cover, he may not like going to the bathroom in the open. Cats also won't use a litter box that is too close to their food and water sources, so if the litter box is close to those, he won't use it. Finally, there could be a medical issue behind him not using the litter box, such as feline idiopathic cystitis or bladder stones. If none of the above scenarios apply to Tiger, I would take him into your vet for a health check to see if there is a medical cause behind him refusing to use the litter box. I hope this helps!

If you have not tried Feliway, I would do that for sure. This stuff is amazing! http://www.feliway.com/uk/Cat-Behavior/How-to-stop-cat-spraying With behavioral spraying many times it is due to stress. The Feliway can help calm and relieve stress. You may also have to make some environmental changes - one thing that happens when people have multiple cats is that they don't have enough litter boxes. Technically the rule of thumb is that you should have one box per cat PLUS one. So with 4 cats you should have 5 litter boxes and some with different litter and in different locations. Here is an article that may help: https://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A

If this is a recent behavior change for Cuddles, the first step would be to have him examined by a vet as soon as you are able to - there are a number of medical problems that can cause accidents outside the litter box, so your vet may recommend basic blood work and other testing to check for any evidence of a problem. If everything comes back normal, then it is likely that the issue is behavioral. Having accidents like this is often a stress or anxiety-related behavior in cats - if there have been any recent changes in the household, such as a new pet or a new baby, a move to a new house, or a guest staying with you, these could all be reasons for him to be pottying in inappropriate places. There may also be something about the litter box that he finds objectionable - he may not like the type of litter provided, or the location of the box. It can sometimes take some detective work to pinpoint the problem in cases like this, so if you're still stumped, I would consider making an appointment with a veterinary behaviorist - he/she can meet your cat in person and do an in-depth evaluation to help diagnose the problem and develop a plan to treat it. In the meantime, you can try a Feliway diffuser in the house or a natural calming supplement such as Composure to see if this helps.

Inappropriate urination is unfortunately very common in cats. A few things you can try at home are adding more litter boxes (the recommendation is 1.5 litter boxes per cat - so 4-5 boxes in your house). You may also consider some pheromone diffusers like Feliway. These can help decrease cats stress level. I would also recommend a vet visit to rule out a urinary tract infection and speak to your vet about some behavior modification drug, like Prozac, which can help with going outside the box. I'm sorry you are going through this. Hopefully one of these suggestions will work for you and Stormy.