Expert: Brandy - 1/4/2007

Question
I'm not sure if you can help, but I have a 7 year old female cat and two 3 year old male cats.  I can't get the males to stop urinating on my couch, my son's bed and NOW my bed.  I love these cats, but my husband is insisting that they go.  Do you know how I can stop them from this behavior?  By the way, I clean their litter box daily or at minimum every other day.  Thank you!

Answer
Hi - you didn't mention if any or all of your cats are altered/fixed, and considering that two are boys, the main thing could be a territorial marking, and male cat urine (even if neutered) can be infamously pungent. And I can emphathize; cat urine is horribly difficult to remove from furniture; you may have to replace the mattresses, ban them from the rooms, and obtain those 'scat mats' - I forget the name, but they are mats you can place on top of cabinets and furniture to discourage cats from jumping on them. Clean everything you can with something that is bleach-based since it can remove the ammonia smell which cats can smell at smaller amounts than we can, and which just reminds them where they last marked. I've tried (and it worked, but I have strange cats) cayenne pepper sprinkled on carpet (after you clean with bleach). I soaked a small cloth towel with cayenne pepper soaked in water, and tucked it in between the sofa cushions, and that worked too (but then again, my stinkers may be looking for new areas, but it pays to be viligant.

But once it's a habit, it will not be easy to change. Another AllExperts, Becky, yesterday had a detailed 'how to stop my cat from peeing' article. Try her methods. I wish I had something beside the new mattress and pepper angles, but this is one of those problems which I have to deal with too at this time.