After establishing what might or not be triggers, we turned to figuring out solutions to our pee/spray nightmare. I pored over journal articles and forums, trying to figure out what works and doesn’t work. I found lots of advice and some first-hand experience stories.
Here are common fixes to our pee/spray problem and our experiences with them:
Spay or Neuter Your Cat
This solution is obvious. Unaltered cats run on pure hormonal instincts. I wish our fix was as easy as fixing our cats, but all our cats are spayed or neutered. This solution did not apply to our situation. If you are having issues, especially with an unaltered male cat’s spraying, neutering or spaying can help.
Health Issues
Cats can urinate and spray due to health issues. As described in my first post, we did get a checkup for Sookie only to discover she did not have a urinary tract infection or urinary crystals. Our cat Krishna has a history of crystals and has been on special food ever since. In fact, we feed all our cats the same diet. I will admit that we cycle between Hill’s Prescription C/D (VERY expensive) and Purina One Urinary Tract Health (way less expensive) or a combination of the two, but all of our cats have been on a urinary tract diet for years. At the time of Sookie’s incident, she had been eating the combination of prescription and over-the-counter food, and her urinary pH was perfect for not forming crystals. I think we could assume the same was true of our three spraying cats, and they were definitely not experiencing blockages or blood in their urine. Could the peeing and spraying have been caused by other health issues? Possibly. As a test, we locked the culprits in two separate rooms (Sookie in one and the other three in another), and none of them urinated inappropriately. They all used their litter boxes as they should. The pattern indicated a behavioral problem. Note: I am not a veterinarian. Please talk to your veterinarian about your cat’s urinary issues.
Litter
Sometimes cats will react to a change in litter by urinating elsewhere in the house. They also urinate outside the litter box if the box isn’t clean. Cats are very particular about litter. Some like sandy litter while others prefer clay. Unscented as a general rule is best. We had been using Arm & Hammer Clump & Seal for years, so a change in litter was not a factor. I scoop litter daily, so cleanliness was not a factor. We did end up purchasing some bags of Dr. Elsey’s Cat Attract Litter as well as some bags of Dr. Elsey’s Ultra Premium Clumping Litter with a container of attractant to sprinkle in it. Though litter did not appear to be the source of the issues, I decided that trying some different litters in some of the boxes might help. If they found the new litters enticing enough to use their litter boxes consistently, I would happily continue buying those litters. The new litter in some boxes did not change their spraying and peeing behavior, and it did not seem to affect the other cats. I do prefer Dr. Elsey’s Ultra Premium Clumping Litter, and it costs less than the Clump & Seal, so there is a silver lining in this situation.
Litter Boxes
Cats are very particular about litter boxes. They have preferences for type and placement. The recommendation is one litter box per cat plus one to reduce territorial issues. In our home, we had five manual litter boxes and two Litter-Robots. According to Litter-Robot, their litter box can accommodate three to four cats because it cleans after every use. Among the manual boxes, two were uncovered and three were covered. Cats typically prefer uncovered litter boxes due to smell and surprise-attack concerns. One of the manual litter boxes is a giant, long storage bin without a lid with a door cut in the front. That box is in the closet under the stairs. The cats access it through a cat door. Our litter box arrangement had worked for a long time, but I decided to add litter boxes to bring them up to the recommended amount just in case. We added three more boxes made of tall-sided, clear storage bins (without lids). We placed one bin in the front hall, one bin in the kitchen, and one bin at the back door. These were favorite spots for peeing and spraying, so we figured we’d try to lure the cats to the boxes instead. Sookie did not cotton to the kitchen and front hall boxes. Instead, she continued peeing on the floor. Later we moved some wonderful litter mats in front of those boxes, and she started peeing on those. While she still chose to pee outside of the box, at least the urine was contained, and we could clean the mats easily versus worrying over the hardwood floors in the hall. The box at the back door worked. Krishna, who loved spraying the back door, started spraying inside the litter box instead. Krishna aims high while peeing and spraying, and this box with its 19-inch+ tall sides worked perfectly for containing his spray. Krishna, Merlin, and Yoshi continued spraying elsewhere in the house, but at least the back door box contained some of it.
Feliway
Everything I read talked about Feliway and how it helps reduce feline anxiety. I was willing to try anything, so I purchased three “Feliway Classic” diffusers and one refill as I already had one diffuser. Each diffuser covers 700 square feet. Our downstairs is large, and I overcompensated a bit considering the living room is closed most of the time, but I wanted everything covered. After a month, I didn’t see any difference in peeing/spraying behavior, but I noticed that Radha was getting along better with the other cats, and that made the Feliway worth it for me.
Hemp CBD Oil
As we grasped at straws, we would try anything. I gave Sookie hemp CBD oil using a dropper. She continued peeing outside of the box. I don’t know how long I’d have to give her the oil to see results, but it didn’t even seem to make her tired. I picked up some hemp CBD chews at our vet’s office. Krishna was the only cat who would eat them, and they seemed to have no effect. He ate them ravenously, and then he’d run off and spray. I gave them to him daily for a couple of weeks with no reduction in spraying. I hoped this natural approach would have worked, but it didn’t work for Krishna. Every cat is different, and it might work for other cats.
Composure Chews
I had some Composure chews on hand so I tried them with Krishna. He’d eat a chew and sleep deeply for an hour or two. It didn’t alter his spraying behavior.
Food and Water Bowls
In a multiple-cat household, cats need a sensation of abundance. This reduces anxiety. Plus food and water bowls can change the nature of a place. We cleaned up and revived our Petsafe 360 Fountain with a new motor and filter. Our cats already had four feeding/watering stations. We added some more food and water bowls in places where spraying and peeing occurred. This did successfully change the purpose of the back hall and front hall radiators. The cats started eating in those locations rather than spraying.
Structured Feeding Time
Though we free-feed our cats dry food and offer wet food as well, we never had a structured feeding time. A structured feeding time gives the cats an expectation of when they will have replenished food and helps reduce anxiety about uncertainty. We started feeding the cats while making our own dinner between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. They get so excited. I don’t know if it reduced their anxiety. It certainly did not reduce spraying and peeing. Still, it is a pattern we will continue.
Structured Play Time
Sometimes cats spray because they are bored. With nine cats, they usually have each other for entertainment, but in cases where aggression replaces play (Krishna and Sookie), it’s a good thing to offer them some play time with their humans. I got a new laser pointer and some puzzle toys. The pee pee crew loves laser-pointer time more than other cats in the house. I don’t know if that suggests that they are more amped up in general, but we definitely have fun distracting them. I picked up a Catit Senses 2.0 Digger toy. It’s a slow-feeder that makes cats dig for food. Krishna and Merlin figured it out immediately. Yoshi and Sookie took longer to pay attention to it. Now it’s part of feeding time, and the cats run to the toy when they hear us refilling it.
Hill’s Prescription C/D Stress
I switched the cats to Hill’s Prescription C/D Stress. It is supposed to help cats with FIC (feline idiopathic cystitis) whose urination issues are rooted in stress. I figured since they were already on C/D we at least should try this formula. We fed the cats this formula for about a month. We did not see any improvement in spraying/peeing behavior, but we noticed continuing improvements with Radha’s interactions with other cats.
Urine Cleanup/Removal
Of course, every source recommends cleaning every drop of urine. Cats have sensitive noses and can detect the smallest amount of urine. Enzymatic urine cleaners are the best because they neutralize/dissolve/eat the urine molecules. We used Nature’s Miracle Urine Destroyer initially as it was our choice urinal removal product for years, but we always found its smell commingles with the smell of urine in our minds. I cannot explain it. In my 24/7 obsession with finding solutions, I googled for best urine removers and stumbled across a product called Rocco & Roxie’s Stain and Odor Eliminator. It had over 12,000 reviews on Amazon and a 4.5 star rating. I decided anything was worth a try, and I ordered it. We used it on our nightly, blacklight, pee pee patrols, and it is amazing! The scent is sort of a wintergreen/bubble gum, and it really does remove urine. I now have a new favorite enzymatic urine cleaner. That’s a bright spot in this mess!
Anyway, as you can see, we tried everything, all the usual solutions. My heart crashed after every night’s pee pee patrol as I entered the results in the “Kitty Pee Pee Log.” We had devoted a lot of time and money to finding solutions, and nothing worked. We love our cats. They are our family. We had to find a way forward together.
Disclaimer: I was not paid by anyone to mention or review the products in this post.
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