Expert: Ali - 11/18/2008

Question
Hi there-

I have a very finicky 10 year old cat who is very stubborn about using her litter box, and I'm running out of options with her.  We just bought a new house in January (08), and she has essentially made the entire basement her litter box (mostly poop, but peeing as well).  Just recently, she peed upstairs on my carpet.  As I am EXTREMELY sensitive to smells, this is making me extremely upset.

She has been to the vet for her issues on more than one occasion, and there is no medical reason for her problems.

I'll give you some background:

Ever since she was ~2 years old and she had a kitty roommate (my roommate's cat) with chronic diarrhea, she'd taken to pooping either in the tub or on the bath mat (litter box was in the bathroom).  I cleaned the box 2-4 times a day, but it was very clear that her problems started at that time.  We also used to let her go outside pretty much whenever she wanted.

When I moved into a new place, she was much better about using her litter box, but still occasionally pooped on the bathroom floor or in the tub (litter box was now in a different room).  She was still able to go outside, but not as often.  She was started to exhibit a very clear correlation to pooping whenever she didn't get to go out when she wanted, but it was mostly manageable at the time.

When she was ~5 years old, I moved into a condo with my (now) husband.  More occasional pooping.  We rarely let her outside because we lived in the city and also because of the clear "I'll poop because you won't let me out" correlation.  Again, it was relatively manageable for a while.  We got another cat, and she did fine with the cat.  And then, we got a dog.  She started peeing in a corner in the bathroom, pooping in the tub or on the bathroom floor, or peeing on the dog's bed.  (Vet screening at this time showed that there were no medical causes).  She HATED the dog, and stopped playing with the kitten.  It was really bad for a while, and then we started locking her in her own bathroom for isolation with some Comfort Zone.  We overcame the peeing issues, let her out, and that seemed to do the trick.  After we introduced the Comfort Zone she started playing again and using the cat box for urinations.  We still had the occasional pooping problems (usually if I traveled, or if something upset her).

Fast forward to this year.  We bought a house, I had a baby, and also brought in a new roommate with his own cat.  Things were fine for about 4-5 months (we had ~1 month intro time).  New kitty and my younger cat were working on their own dominance hierarchy (my younger cat "won").  As soon as that seemed to clearly be established, New Kitty started picking on my cat, and that's when the problems started up again with urination (again, we'd always had a couple of poop problems).  We have 5 litter boxes in the basement, they're scooped at least twice a day, and scrubbed clean every couple of weeks.  Comfort Zone is not helping this time.

1) How do I get the cat pee smell out of a) concrete and b) carpet?  I've tried every product known to man (enzyme cleaners first), and the spots still smell disgusting.

2) What do I do with my cat???  Right now she's locked up in the laundry room with her own box (my other cat visits her daily).  I was bringing her upstairs in the evenings until we had the recent "accident."  The baby gate may have been closed, so it might have actually been an accident.  But, once she uses a spot, she's prone to going there again and again.  My roommate and his cat are scheduled to leave us in early spring. I have another vet appointment to see if there are any medications we can try.  She loves my baby, so I'd actually be surprised if he were causing her stress.  Do I leave her locked up until spring?  Do they make cat diapers?

I'm so upset.  If she continues to pee, I think I'm going to have to get rid of her.  This is completely devastating me, because she's my first baby and I don't know what I would do.  She's a really mean cat to pretty much everyone but me and my baby, so I don't think it would be very easy for me to find a "single cat home" for her.  And, she's also a very cuddly cat, so I can't imagine putting her on a cold farm outdoors (we live in WI).  This is breaking my heart that I'm starting to seriously consider giving her away (or worse).  

Please help!!

Answer
Mary,

I would recommend that you consider checking out the option of having the concrete professionally sealed. It's quite possible that this kitty is urinating and defecating on the basement floor because she can smell that another animal has done so. If enzymatic cleaners haven't worked that's about the only option to permanently remove odors from concrete. In terms of stopping the behavior it would seem that this kitty has been going outside of the box for most of her life for one reason or another. I would suggest contacting an applied animal behaviorist who specializes in cats and a holistic vet. The reason that I recommend checking out a holistic vet is because you have likely tried many things conventional medicine has to offer, a holistic vet is trained in conventional medicine as well as alternative therapies like acupuncture, massage or homeopathy. Sometimes homeopathy works well in situations like this. Your veterinarian can also prescribe human anti-anxiety/anti-depressant medications in small doses as this has proven to be effective in many cases like yours. I would highly recommend that you consider speaking with your vet about the risks and benefits of these treatment options. I wish that I had more to offer, but it sounds like you've run the gamit and are frustrated at this point so the quicker something can be done and be effective the happier you and your family will be.