Tora pees to protest? Help

[kage no neko]

So we think we've narrowed down Tora's peeing problem to him throwing a fit.

He's been to the vet, he doesn't have anything wrong with his urinary tract.. His litter is kept clean. And he only does it in certain areas.

When boyfriend leaves to go to work, he tends to pee by the front door (even though he goes out the back door). But it's not all the time. And we've even tried making him leaving become a positive experience. If he needs food while we're sleeping and therefore ignoring him, he'll pee beside the dresser. Sometimes no more than just a few drops... which it's actually him pawing to cover it up that wakes us up.

We've cleaned it up and cleaned it up and cleaned it up. We have odor neutralizing stuff meant just for cat piss.

.... so... how do we stop him?  

[CrissAngelLover12345]

Hmm... I think products are made that you can spray on the areas that you know for sure that he is peeing on that would repel him from peeing in those areas... Hopefully he wouldn't decide to try a different spot...  

[kage no neko]

One is carpet and the other is wood floor.... and we have a black light we use, we can clearly see where he's peed..

Would it repel him from going near there too? 'cause I don't want to keep him from wanting to go out on the porch..  

[CrissAngelLover12345]

kage no neko

One is carpet and the other is wood floor.... and we have a black light we use, we can clearly see where he's peed..

Would it repel him from going near there too? 'cause I don't want to keep him from wanting to go out on the porch..

I just looked up those products, and they actually will keep him from spraying... It may or may not work in his case since it doesn't sound like he's spraying. It wouldn't repel him from going there. It would make him think that he has already marked the area and wouldn't feel a need to mark it again.  

[kage no neko]

CrissAngelLover12345

I just looked up those products, and they actually will keep him from spraying... It may or may not work in his case since it doesn't sound like he's spraying. It wouldn't repel him from going there. It would make him think that he has already marked the area and wouldn't feel a need to mark it again.

No.. he's definitely not spraying.. According to the paper we got with him, he was fixed pretty much as soon as he was old enough to be. And it's a squat instead of the usual spraying posture..  

[Gabrielle_AnimalLuver]

hmm, how many litter boxes do you have? where are they located? have you cleaned the spots with enzymatic cleaners?

The best thing I could suggest is that when you leave for the day, lock him in a smallish room, maybe a bathroom, with his litter box of course. Basically like crate training a dog, the less room he has to roam the less likely he will be to urinate cause he'll be stuck smelling it all day.

Also, once the areas are cleaned with enzymatic cleaners, try leaving the food nearby to avert him from wanting to pee there.  

[kage no neko]

We have two litter boxes, both in the basement bathroom. The basement is mostly furnished and we do spend quite a bit of time down there, so it's not like the bathroom is some scary dark dusty place.

And I don't leave for the day, my boyfriend does. He had a 3-day weekend and left this morning... before he even left, the corner by the front door had pee.

I'm not sure what an enzymatic cleaner is.. is that the stuff we have that neutralizes the cat piss odor? While cleaning the spot makes the smell go away for us, kitty (the one who's never pees outside of the box) still tries to cover it up, and using this stuff makes even her not smell it... If that's not the stuff, then could you point me toward some?

Some part of me thinks maybe he's protesting because he thinks he's being abandoned? I mean, he did end up at the humane society for some reason... He lost one family, and he's afraid he'll lose another? But I have no clue how to change this if that's the problem. It's only in the morning that he'll get upset and pee. If we leave later in the day, he's perfectly fine.  

[CrissAngelLover12345]

Hmm... Another way to try to get him to stop is try feeding him where he has been peeing. Cats (and dogs) generally will not pee or poop in an area they associate with food unless something is medically wrong with them. It will take some patience for him to start associating those areas with feeding, but it would likely end the problem once he does. I'm not sure what length of time you would need to feed him at each location before he'll start to associate those areas with a feeding area. It would vary from cat to cat and I'm not sure what the average length of time is either. I can't seem to find any information about it...  

[kage no neko]

It'd be troublesome to feed him at the front door, since he literally pees right beside the door... I'll try it though. He didn't pee today, I don't know why but I'm glad. He did yesterday though..  

[CrissAngelLover12345]

That's good that he didn't pee. I hope it goes well. Let us know how that works. biggrin  

[kage no neko]

Boyfriend has another 3 day weekend... so Tuesday I'll let you know if he peed or not. Since he only did it last Tuesday, after a 3 day weekend. Maybe it's just the change in routine he doesn't like? He gets used to him being home... except when we both leave. I dunno..