Why Does My Cat Pee Everywhere?

By Ian White

Whether your cat is old or young, male or female, anxious or mellow, he or she can get the idea that peeing anywhere but the litterbox is a good thing. Many frustrated humans in the past and present have tried nearly everything to figure out why the cat does this - and, of course, to solve the problem.

Here are the first things that you should do when your cat insists on stinking up your house. You'll have to be patient while you work your way through this list, but soon your kitty will be back to doing his or her business in an appropriate place.

• Your cat needs a full health checkup. In many cases, cats pee right in front of you when they're sick. A urinary tract infection (UTI) is one of the most common health problems, which your vet can treat. Even if that's not what's wrong with your kitty, your vet can track down, and solve, the problem.

• Cats who are older or who have health problems (joint pains, for example), can't get in and out of the litterbox like they could when they were younger. Make the litterbox more accessible so that your kitty can get in and out.
• The litterbox itself might be a problem. If you have more than one cat, you might need to put out additional litterboxes. The type of litter and how much of it you use can be problems. You should also change the cat litter and thoroughly scrub the litterbox. The plastic tends to absorb urine smells, which can turn off housecats.

• Sometimes cats will act out by peeing all over your favorite things. This can be a sign that they're unhappy about something. Try giving your cat more (positive) attention. Extra playtime with his favorite toy can cure the behavioral issue. You can also ask your vet about a product that will help soothe your kitty: Feliway is one example.
• Tomcats often spray anything that they wish to mark as their own territory. Sterilization can improve this problem.
• Elderly kitties can suffer from feline dementia. They honestly don't realize that they're doing something wrong when they pee all over your clean laundry. Buy housebreaking pads - the disposable kind that people use with puppies - and put them down where your kitty pees the most often. This won't convince her to use the litterbox, but cleanup will be much easier compared to what you're doing now.

You should do a few things when your kitty decides to mark something in your house.

• Never hit the cat or rub her nose in the mess. Cats aren't like human children: they don't understand that what they do is wrong. You can deter behavior as the cat is doing it, but trying to teach the cat after the fact doesn't work very well. Instead of scolding kitty afterward, catch her in the act and spritz her with tap water from a spray bottle.
• Completely clean the marked territory. Even if you can't smell the cat pee, the cat will. That's her sign to continue peeing there. Visit the pet store for a product that removes all of the pet odors.
• Give your cat plenty of positive attention. Despite the stereotypes that surround felines, cats do bond with their humans. They want our attention and will go to great lengths to get it from us.

Don't worry: you'll track down and solve the problem soon enough. In the meantime, be as patient as possible. Your solution will come and you can resume the carefree relationship

Copyright © 2008, Ian White housesitting.com

Author Ian White is founder of housecarers Housesitting directory

Cats are happier in their own environment. Pet friendly alternative to catteries or cat boarding.

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Maintaining Cat Urinary Tract Health

By Tess Thompson

Feline urinary infection occurs much more frequently than cat owners would like to believe. Most of the times, the condition is idiopathic in nature, meaning that the infection has no known cause. And therefore symptoms like urinating out of the litter pan are usually assigned to behavioral causes like stress.

In fact, urinary tract infection in cats is more likely to be physiological in nature. It is part of a number of urinary problems including obstruction in the urinary passage and bladder inflammation commonly known as Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease. It can be extremely painful to the cat as it strains to urinate but is unable to. Cat owners can be of great help if they know the reasons behind the condition and make sure that they follow some basic rules of caring for the pet.

To understand your pet better, you must understand that there is a natural reason why cats do not consume a lot of water. The evolution factor plays an important role in how animals meet their needs for maintaining life. Cats originated in desert areas and derived most of their requirement of water from food. The prey they hunted gave them enough water to sustain life. And this is the manner in which cats developed a natural aversion to drinking water separately on their own. Lack of water intake is, therefore, one of the major reasons behind the increased incidence of feline urinary tract infection.

While specific treatment depends upon the lab reports of urinalysis and other imaging investigations, you can try to prevent the condition by keeping the health of your cat’s urinary tract in proper condition.

Water is of utmost importance.

• Mix extra water if you are feeding your cat with dry cat food. You may want to add other fluids like chicken froth.
• Keep more water bowls around the house. Use bigger water bowls so that the cat’s whiskers do not touch the sides.
• If you can, try a free flowing water drinking fountain. Cats find this attractive and curiosity may encourage them to drink water.
• Wash water bowls with clean water daily. If you are using detergents make sure there is no residue as the chemical in it can be harmful.
• Avoid feeding foods that have high magnesium content like pork, beef, heart and oily fish.
• Prefer natural foods over prescription diets. Consult your veterinarian as to what you should feed so that the urine that is produced has the correct pH level.
• Add a tablespoon of vinegar to water daily. Vinegar will keep the urine pH slightly acidic and prevent formation of bladder stones, which often lead to urinary infections.
  
  
  

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How to Remove Cat Urine Odor Using a Free Homemade Recipe

By Sandy Stone

Last year we purchased a home that been soiled by the previous owners' cat. We thought that having the carpets professionally cleaned would take care of it but it just made the problem worse.

After using several well-advertised and expensive cat urine removal products that didn't work, I was searching on the web for a solution and found a homemade remedy that uses three simple household products. Desperate I tried it and wouldn't you know it - it worked!

So well that I had to find out why and researched the chemistry and origins of the recipe. I found out it was developed originally by a chemist for neutralizing the proteins in skunk odor, which are the same proteins found in cat urine and give it it's horrible smell!

Cat urine is not much different from any other urine, be it human or other animals. It is made up urea, creatinine, uric acid, sodium and other electrolytes. When cat urine dries the urea gets broken down by bacteria which gives it that distinctive ammonia smell. As it decomposes further it releases thiols which make the cat urine odor worse yet.

The recipe works because the reaction of hydrogen peroxide and baking soda produces large amount of oxygen. The oxygen molecules bond to the thiols, breaking them up into carbon dioxide and ammonia, that evaporates quickly thereby effectively neutralizing the thoils and their foul-smelling odor.

THE RECIPE

• 1 quart of 3% hydrogen peroxide
  
  1/4 cup baking soda
  
  1 teaspoon of liquid soap

Gently mix all ingredients in a non-metal container. Do not mix or shake vigorously!

The mixture is best used when fresh but can be stored. Do not keep mixture in an airtight container as baking soda and hydrogen peroxide when mixed together release loads of oxygen. We don't want an explosion on our hands on top of the mess we already have!

I mix and keep mine in a large spray bottle I bought from Home Depot but on old plastic liter soda bottle works just a well. Just remember to keep the cap on loose.

3% hydrogen peroxide can be bought at most grocery and drug stores in pint and quart bottles.

A word of caution:

Surfaces that are porous may swell e.g. drywall, wood flooring, particle board, etc. with application of this recipe. But if your surface is already ruined by cat urine and you want to get rid of the odor until you can replace it - give it a try.

Always test for color-fastness when using first. Apply to a small area and wait 24-48 hours until dry before using on an entire area. Hydrogen peroxide is a bleaching agent in stronger concentrations (think teeth whiteners) and can lighten materials that are not color-fast.

For specific applications and details on how to use the recipe for carpets, sofas, mattresses, comforters, hardwood floors and many other things, please visit http://www.remove-cat-urine.com

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