Expert: Becky - 9/17/2005

Question
Hi Becky,

I recently adopted a kitten, and things have been almost perfect.  Today, however, I caught her urinating in a previously used cat bed that was given to me by a coworker.  I have put it in the trash, and i'm hoping she was only reacting to smells left there by previous cats.  However, now that I'm trying to be more aware of her possible urination in places other than her box, I frequently catch whifs of cat urine in other parts of my apartment.  My carpet is beige, making it very difficult to tell if there are any spots (it's old carpeting--stained from past residents of my apartment).  Is there any way to tell exactly where my kitten may be urinating?  Or is there anything that can be used on the carpet in general that might prevent or deter urination?
Just some information about my kitten, Angelina: She was born on May 6, and I adopted her at 14 weeks old.  She is not declawed and will not be declawed.  She is scheduled to be spayed on October 11th.  She has not defecated anywhere other than her box, and I have seen her use it for urination many times.  She is a DSH tabby, and the vet says she probably has siamese in her bloodline (due to bone structure, vocalization, etc).  She is very loving, sweet, and very needy.  In her box, I use Yesterday's News litter, and she is being treated for coccidiosis, so I scoop at least once per day, and chance all the litter and disinfect the box once per week.  I have no other cats, but it is possible there were cats previously in the apartment. Pictures of Angelina can be found at http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/daytrippermuc/my_photos .
Angelina is a perfect cat, and I want to do everything I can to keep her healthy and happy.  I know that urination outside the box can sometimes be a sign that a cat is upset or something.  Any advice on this matter would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!


Answer
Hi Molly!
Angelina is a beautiful kitten, you must be very proud!  
I think she is definetly going by smell... that is, she smells that other cat and is "marking"  her area, in a sense.  You will have to really watch her on this because is she starts going everywhere it could be hard to stop her.
First... completely shampoo your carpets with a good pet shampoo and add some white vinegar to it. The vinegar won't hurt the shampooer or your carpet, but I guess it wouldn't hurt to test a small area first to make sure...the carpet that is.  The idea here is to completely rid your carpet of any urine odors.  Sometimes they are there, even if you can't smell them, and the vinegar will get rid of it so Angelina can't smell it.

You don't say where her litter box is. If possible, confine her to the room the box is in, whether it be bathroom or whatever, when you are gone. That will force her to use the litter box.  This usually does the trick.  Once she gets really used to using that box, she will not stray.  But you need to keep it clean, as some cats will NOT use the box if it is not clean.  
I really hope this helps. The pics of her are adorable.

God Bless,
Becky