The Litterbox

After peeing on our couch one too many times, we have banned the cats from the house. They have an enclosed porch where they sleep and eat, and they seem to be doing okay. Recently, our whole house has been smelling like cat pee. We discovered yesterday that it’s coming in the house with the heat. Tonight, we discovered that the smell comes through the vents even if the heat is not on. The cats are obviously peeing somewhere in the crawlspace, where the furnace and pipes are, but we have no clue what to do about the smell. This is a very weird situation, and I don’t know where to turn for help. I believe that I am responsible for these cats for as long as they live, so ”getting rid” of them is not an option. Can we all live in harmony…but without the cat pee smell?

Read the full article…

Spraying is marking behavior, not a litter box problem. It is an important part of nonverbal communication among cats, helping to establish and define boundaries and reassure cats whose area is whose.

Sprayed cat urine contains pheromones, a substance produced by animals that is used for communication. Combinations of pheromones work like fingerprints: they identify the cat.

Read the full article…

“The cats were fine,” said our house sitter cheerily upon our arrival home from a two-week vacation. “Oh, I think you should smell something in the basement.”

Read the full article…

Remember when you invited your new friend from work over to your house for the first and last time? As soon as she walked through the door, she waved her hand in front of her face, and exclaimed, “Oh my! What is THAT smell?” You didn’t have to think twice—it’s cat pee. Lot’s of it! You knew something had to change. But you may not know how.

Read the full article…

Has this ever happened to you? Your cat’s peeing outside the litter box, and you’re desperately trying to clean up after your cat, wondering if you’re actually doing anything to stop it from happening in the first place!

Read the full article…

The cat population in America is more than 75 millions, and anyone who owns a cat knows that stains and odors from cat urine can be a problem. Cat urine that seeps through carpet, into padding and down to the floor beneath can give your home an unpleasant aroma and bad look. In almost all cases, cat urine is the worst perpetrator for pet stains and pet odors.

When cats urinate as a means of elimination, they normally do it on a horizontal or flat surface like the ground or in a litterbox. When cats spray in order to mark their territory, they turn their backsides to the object, twitch their tails and spray urine on the vertical surface. See “How to Avoid Cat Urine Spraying”. But in both cases cat urine could come in contact with a carpet.

Read the full article…

The litter box problems are number one reason for owners to give up their cats, because the cats are usually fastidious in their toilet habits. It is essential to take into consideration the cat’s natural instincts when providing a toileting area for kitty.

Cats tend to have surface and location preferences for where, and on what, they like to eliminate. Studies show that the vast majority of cats prefer the sand-like texture of the clumping litters - but it is not recommended for kittens under the age of 4 months.

Read the full article…

If you are cat owner, you already know that the first problem you will have to deal with is if your cat starts to spray.

In addition to urinating out of physiological necessity, many cats use their urine to mark their territory, to let other cats know they have been there or to give an area its own special smell. This behavior is called urine spraying.

The statistic shows that urine spraying constitutes 44% of all housesoiling complaints. The frequency of spraying in single cat households is approximately 25% and near to 100% in multi-cat households with over ten cats.

Read the full article…

House cats are wonderful creatures. They love to play, they catch mice and other rodents, and they make cuddly companions. Since they can’t speak verbally, cats communicate in other ways. They purr when they’re content, hiss when they’re upset, and they also have a tendency to spray urine for a number of reasons. If this is a problem in your house, then you need to know how to break your cat’s spraying habit.

Read the full article…

Though spraying can be a symptom of a medical condition, it can also be due to stress associated with a new person in the home, new carpet, remodeling or the presence of a neighbor cat. Here’s how to redirect your cat to the litter box.

Read the full article…