Cat pooping behind TV

[Debbie25]

About 5 weeks ago my 6 year old female cat starting peeing on the floor. I took her to the vet the next day and found she was dehydrated. I also had a blood test done just to make sure her kidneys and liver were ok and they were fine.

So at that time I bought a pet water fountain to get her to drink more and her personality is back to normal now except for her pooping behind the TV almost everyday.

I have tried cleaning the carpet with Simple green, spraying Bitter Apple on it, Oust spray, a 50% x 50% water and vinegar mixture and also tried some carpet vacuum powder. Nothing is working.

Up until now because she was sick I was not punishing her but twice now I have just taken her over to the area and when we approach the area she will start squirming so I just tell her “NO” and then take her to the cat box and praise her.

Not sure what else I can do.

I am going to go to either Petco or PetSmart tomorrow and see what they have to get rid of the smell and I hope that will take care of it.

[zofia]

..sounds like you're on the right track. has your daily routine changed in any way perhaps? sometimes they start this type of behaviour to punish their humans if they were left alone for longer than usual, or if we act differently towards them.. just a thought

[Debbie25]

Nothing has changed at all.

My husband and I work Mon-Fri during the day.
My daughter works retail so it is different days different hours which has been going on for 2 years.
And my son is home most of the time. So there is very little time she is alone.

We do have another 1 year old male cat that we have had for over a year and as for attention we give them, nothing has changed.

We haven't been doing anything like remodeling or anything other changes.
The only thing I can think of is I did get a cat tree from a friend next door. I cleaned it up real good and our little one is in it a lot. My female doesn't even pay attention to it. But we have had it for about 2 months and she started this about 1 month ago.

[zofia]

it could be the new object. though she might appear not to pay attention, it could be sibbling envy. she now also wants a place that is totally her own.. however, i have to say, they sometimes do act very unpredictably. i have 8 permanent cats in the house and around, and they sometimes do the strangest things. recently one of my females started peeing into my husband's houseshoes! no idea why, it's sporadic and i actually have no clue what to do about it. i even had her checked for urinary infection to eliminate a medical condition. my only explanation would be that we always have foster kittens through the house and inevitably a huge amount of attention is lavished on them, what with 2 hourly feeds and all.. i have to remind myself that even the older ones are still kittens at heart and need me as much now as before
have you tried soaking the spot in some really unpleasant scent? they usually hate citronella. you can get it as essential oil in small bottles- should not be too expensive..
Let me know if there's any improvement, otherwise i'll wreck my brain some more

[Debbie25]

I bought some Sargent's spot and odor remover today, so I will be treating the whole area tomorrow.

I will let you know how it goes. It's so nice having her personality back. She is so lovey tonight.

[Superkitties]

Good job, ruling out anything medical first. I've never used Sargent's, but you need an enzyme cleaner to fully remove all the smell.

Other questions: any change in the routine around the boxes? Gotten extra busy? Maybe it's in an area that she doesn't like any more? It sounds like she wants somewhere with more privacy if she's pooping behind your TV. It's quiet, and not busy there. Also maybe your other cat is ambushing her? Behind the TV, if she sees him coming, she can take off the other way.

Just throwing thoughts out there that are common in these cases. Good luck!

[Debbie25]

Well I followed the instructions for the Sargent's cleaner and It worked for about 3 days and I found another pile behind the TV again. It also looks like there is another urine stained area.

We moved the cat box into our mud room about 1 year ago. It's about a 4' x 5' closed room and we put a cat door in the wall for access. The box is covered also. We don't go through that room out to the garage very often so I don't think privacy is the problem.

Our 1 year old does pick on the older cat at times but I don't think he is bothering her in the box.

Question for others out there. What product worked for you?
Should I get a different spot/odor cleaner, a repellent.....?

I found this on the 'Petsmart' web site and didn't know if anyone has try it: "Automated Cat Deterrent" It is sound activated that will make a sound and then sprays.

Another question that I'm wondering about. What does it smell like when a male cat sprays. Does it smell like urine? Since this has been happening the whole house is starting to smell. I could just be my imagination.

[queen of the nile]

Do you just have the one box out there? Some cats need two boxes - one for poo, and one for pee. I'm not sure why.

Another thing to consider. Try removing the cover off the box. Your younger cat may be ambushing her. Even though you've had him for a year, he may have just started stalking her when she goes to the bathroom. If he's near the box, she may decide to go elsewhere. Removing the lid means she can watch him more easily.

[Debbie25]

That's a good idea and I will try that.

In the mean time is there anything that will get the stain up so I can tell if it happens again.

I think I might put my 6 year old in our bathroom during the day with everything she will need and first make sure it is her and not my 1 year old doing it. I believe it is her though because if I carry her over by the area she gets squirmy like she knows she has done something wrong, but that might get her to use to a box again.

[Debbie25]

Well we just took a blacklite to our house. It looks like there is cat urine in many places.

There are several places where it looks like you take a glass and dribbled it where ever you walked. How would a cat do that? Do they dribble when you carry them, or is there something else that could be glowing like coke or milk?

Does dog urine glow also, if so it could be her.

We will need to rent a rug cleaner but then I heard that doesn't do the trick either. Is that correct?