Intro and a question (cat pee related)

[urbancowgirl]

Hi everyone! Former lurker here. I have two cats, an 11 year old male and a 3 year old female. My male cat has peed outside the litter box his entire life. It's a behavioral problem- nothing is wrong with him medically (trust me, we've seen multiple vets about it). I scoop the litter boxes multiple times a day and we have a Feliway plug-in, both of which help, but he still pees outside of the box on occasion.

My question is about cleaning cat pee, specifically treating the smell. I've found that Nature's Miracle is pretty effective, but we recently moved to a new place that has somewhat shaggy carpet and the Nature's Miracle isn't as effective. I'm thinking about buying a Bissell SpotBot. I read a bunch of reviews on Amazon, but no one discusses whether it works specifically for cat pee. Everyone uses euphemisms, like "accidents" and "pet messes." Be specific, people- is it poop, pee, or vomit?! Lol.

Anyway, does anyone own a SpotBot, and is it effective for cleaning cat pee? TIA for your thoughts.

[dottyblue]

I don't have a SpotBot, but you want to look into GotPee.net. It works much much better than Nature's Miracle, especially on carpet. A specific cleaning tool is not going to work on cat pee unless if you have a really good cleaning product to neutralize the proteins in the cat urine.

Does he pee directly outside the box only? Or does he go to other rooms and pee there?

My cat likes to pee directly outside the box if it isn't clean enough for him even though we scoop daily, so we got some of these mats that can just be thrown into the washing machine and they protect the floor well: www.petco.com/product/115982/Petco-Paw-Print-Litter-Mat.aspx?CoreCat=OnSiteSearch

[urbancowgirl]

Unfortunately, he likes to go in other rooms. He is especially attracted to shaggy carpet and bath mats. He doesn't go on hard surfaces or berber carpet. When we rented our new apartment, we were under the impression that it had hardwood floors. If I had known it had carpet, I never would have chosen it. (We recently moved across the country and weren't able to view the apartment before we signed the lease. Lesson learned!) Luckily, we will only be here short-term while we look for a place to buy.

I hadn't heard of GotPee. It's expensive, but I'm willing to pay if it works. Do you dilute it with water, or do you pour it on the carpet at full strength? I'll also look into those mats. Thanks for the suggestions!

[sillystraw]

Ditto got pee. I haven't had to use it myself (knock on wood) but people on this board rave about it.

Have you tried Cat Attract litter? I know people who have had success with it when nothing else worked with their inappropriate peeing cat. Might be worth a try.

[kaiene]

Have you considered medication at all? We just started one of ours on an antidepressant, and it is making a big difference for him. We will probably be starting another on it as she is peeing out of the box again. She has an appointment tomorrow to rule out a UTI, but I'm fairly confident it's behavioral like usual.

Random thought, but does your male have an undescended testicle? A CW had a male with one and he peed out of the box constantly until they had it removed.

[urbancowgirl]

Oct 14, 2012 14:59:53 GMT -5 kaiene said:

Have you considered medication at all? We just started one of ours on an antidepressant, and it is making a big difference for him. We will probably be starting another on it as she is peeing out of the box again. She has an appointment tomorrow to rule out a UTI, but I'm fairly confident it's behavioral like usual.

Random thought, but does your male have an undescended testicle? A CW had a male with one and he peed out of the box constantly until they had it removed.

I think I'm open to medication at this point. He does seem anxious at times, so maybe that's the best route. I'll have to ask my vet about it the next time he goes in.

I'll ask about the undescended testicle thing, too. He's fixed (supposedly), but his balls are still big! I asked a vet whether it was possible that his surgery was botched. The vet felt his furry little balls and said they felt empty, lol.

[kellbell191]

We use got pee, you dilute. It winds up being cheaper than nature's miracle. We use a cheapie carpet shampooer from walmart and a black light. I'd also strongly encourage anxiety medication.

[mnvegas]

Oct 12, 2012 15:01:30 GMT -5 sillystraw said:

Ditto got pee. I haven't had to use it myself (knock on wood) but people on this board rave about it.

Have you tried Cat Attract litter? I know people who have had success with it when nothing else worked with their inappropriate peeing cat. Might be worth a try.

We recently moved into a new home. One of our cats started peeing outside her litter box. I read this post and bought Cat Attract litter. Sassy immediately started using her litter box again. No more pee outside the box and no more cleanups for me.

Highly recommend Cat Attract