# Healthy cat peeing in hallway- HELP



## sharonJ (Apr 24, 2012)

Hi all,

I'm really hoping someone can help, as I'm now becoming to the end of my tether :mad2:

I have a perfeclty healthy cat (checked over by the vet) but she won't stop peeing in the same spot in the hallway.

We got another cat litter tray on advice, and she uses both trays happily and healthily - peeing and pooping in both whenever the mood takes her. But still pees at least once a week in the hallway.

We've tried everything to clean the area to rid the scent, and recently even dug up the concrete floor (it had soaked right through the laminate and lino underneath to the concrete) and layed new concrete and she's STILL doing it.

I want to get a carpet from the hallway, but know there's no way I can do that until this problem is solved.

Any advice - we'll try everything apart from getting rid of our cat, as she's our baby! Other than the peeing she's a happy healthy talkative Tortie of 3 years old and has been peeing in the hallway for about a year on and off.

thank you in advance

Sharon 
xxx


----------



## Mum to Missy (Aug 13, 2013)

Hi, I can sympathise with your problem, one of mine did this and fortunately just putting a litter tray where she peed solved the problem for me.

Is there anything that happened that could have triggered her starting this? These things are usually stress related (I believe) have you got another pet, has something frightened her, has anything major changed in her daily routine?

Hopefully someone with more experience than me will come along with some good, helpful advice


----------



## Torin. (May 18, 2014)

She might well be perfectly healthy despite peeing in the hallway, but because the instinct to pee/ poo in a clean place is so strong in cats, there has to be something wrong (whether that's physical or psychological) to prompt this.

Is it definitely pee, or is it spray? Cats can pee standing up, and can spray while squatting so the position the cat is in doesn't dictate which of those it is. De-scenting the area is more of a strong concern where spray is involved. While if it's pee, it's more likely to be an indirect symptom of a physical health thing. But of course cats and things vary a bit. The causes and thus the approaches used to tackle the issue can be slightly different between the two, so it's important to differentiate. Although stress (possibly stress from having done one of them in the first place) can result in either one of them being a secondary of the first, for extra fun untangling the puzzle.

This thread is a good read:
http://www.petforums.co.uk/cat-trai...peeing-pooing-house-house-soiling-thread.html

What did the vet say when you took her? And at what stage in terms of the timeline that this has been going on for was the consult itself? How did any follow-ups go? Were any supplements recommended?


----------



## Paddypaws (May 4, 2010)

I feel your pain.
I can highly recommend this litter
Cat Attract Clumping Litter 18kg (40lbs) | eBay
which they seem to find irresistible.
I know you may not want another tray in the hall way but it is the better of two evils.
Does another cat spray scent the front door outside by any chance? Or can she see another cat through a glass door? Block off line of sight with frosted static cling window film, and get a SSScat deterrent spray for the doorstep which you should clean thoroughly to remove the other cat's scent.
Good Luck!


----------



## sharonJ (Apr 24, 2012)

Thank you for the responses and for the link - that link is fab.

We can't put another tray where she pees as there's a door that leads to a little porch way - she can't see outside.

Don't think it's spray - we've caught her a couple of times and she's peeing like normal, and it pools when we put a plastic sheet down (would it do that if spray?) however, thinking about it, it possibly started when we lost her sister to an RTA - so maybe it is stress related.

We're going to clean the area thoroughly as recommended in the that link, get a feliway, and then go from there.

(the Vet was the one who suggested the other litter tray)

Thank you - we'll let you know how we get in in case it can help someone else


----------



## Torin. (May 18, 2014)

Yep, sounds like you've read it right. You're correct in that spray wouldn't do that re. volume (and also it tends to be a bit darker). Just double checking though, as confusing the two is fairly common!

By the door areas are awkward. Mine started peeing by the door too, but thankfully (entirely down to luck on house layout!) it was behind a door, in the gap the door would be in if fully open, so possible to put a tray there and still use the door.

It might be worth looking into a cystitis supplement, on the basis that it's an easy and cheap thing to try, with no side effects if that's not the reason. But stress-triggered cystitis would fit that sort of timing. Explanation of the options on the market here: http://www.petforums.co.uk/cat-health-and-nutrition/378512-cystitis-supplements.html

Once she's been on that for a few days you could look into putting a litter tray nearish where she is currently peeing. So the same general area, but not specifically where she's picked given that's impossible in your house layout. Working with the feline urge to be facetiously clean in that regard. I would try a not-exactly-the-same tray, and I would also try a different litter itself (I went for 50/50 known litter to new litter) to emphasis that this tray is different and peeing in there won't hurt (may be a 2nd stage cause of her avoiding it).

If the above does work then that's good for the now, but you would need to look into other long term solutions. But. If it improves things then you have a clearer idea of what's going on. And if there's not any difference, then you do still have more info on the situation regardless.

I would also go back to the vet given it's ongoing. Even if you don't go straight to a face-to-face consult with the cat, if they're vets that ever do phone consults to update on the situation and such, to keep them in the loop and provide a platform for further care. With ongoing issues and stress animals I like phone consults on top of face-to-face ones though as you can update the in-the-meantime-history in full without the consult and ahhh-cat-getting-stressed-because-we've-been-here-for-ages situation. Depends on the vet though. However they may still want you to come in because there are other causes that could result in this sort of behaviour, and if they're being thorough this is good practice E.g. my peeing-in-places cat recently had x-rays to rule out urinary stones.


----------



## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

It is just possible she has an intermittent problem with cystitis. This would not be picked up the vet unless she also had a urinary tract infection, which in many of these cases the cat does not. 

If you are feeding her a dry food diet, or mainly dry food, then switch her to a wet food diet. It is important with any bladder problem that the cat takes in as much fluid as possible, and the best way to achieve this is with a wet food diet. The urine needs to be as dilute as possible to make it more comfortable to wee, and to keep the bladder flushed out. 

If you manage to resolve the problem, do not be tempted to put her back on dry food. Cystitis can be stress-related, but it is still important to keep the urine dilute, as above.


----------



## Paddypaws (May 4, 2010)

I would still strongly advise the litter I linked to...even if the tray is not right in the hallway. Otherwise buy some puppy training pads to put in hallway to at least stop the wee ruining the floor.
If you are thinking along the lines of stress cystitis then some supplements such as Cystophan combine glucosamine to sooth the bladder along with Tryptophan to relieve stress.


----------



## Polski (Mar 16, 2014)

Try putting food where she pees...yes its an inconvenience but so is the pee. Cats don't like using the toilet where they eat. 

It worked for me when Jasper decided spraying his pee up the front door was a grand idea (it was a full pee, not marking) I ended up taping a long field mushroom container to the front door with his food in it and no more pee


----------



## ALR (Apr 16, 2014)

I'd definitely follow up on everyone's advise and do a urine check for cystitis - since she's weeing anyway it shouldn't be hard to get a sample hopefully. 

Is it possible there are cats outside the porch door that mark that door? If they do then that could be the reason for the peeing.


----------



## DeirdreSnow (Sep 13, 2014)

I am having the same problem. My 3 year old cat started peeing on the frontdoor mat, it started after i'd bought her a new litter tray. I put her old litter tray back, and thought she had stopped doing it. but i put my face to the mat one day and it smelt really bad of pee, i just hadn't noticed it and i'm not sure how many times she did it.

We ripped up the mat (its one of those fixed down entrance mats), scrubbed the concrete underneath for weeks, the skirting boards were rotten from where i'd scrubbed and cleaned so they were all replaced.

after replacing everything I checked the mat everyday multiple times and for months she did not pee there. then i changed the litter one day as her old one was not available, it was mixed in slowly with her old one, but after a week she peed on the mat again.

so i ordered the old litter from the internet and she peed in the box again. but then two weeks ago i caught her peeing on the damn mat again.

i covered the entire area and skirting boards in transparent rubber matting (double sided taped it on). but she continues to pee pee on the rubber mat.

i tried all sorts of things like putting pepper dust down, cleaning the boxes more often. our other cat ( a new kitten) is fine and pees in the boxes no problem, there are four boxes down. they are in the downstairs loo (which has never been used by humans) they have a large covered box - which she poops in 100% of the time, a deep medium box which was her very first original box, the one i took away and put back, and 2 smaller cheap boxes which she sometimes uses for a wee. the kitten uses them all whichever one she decides to go in. but i clear out messes almost instantly as i work from home.

she started doing all this before the kitten came along btw. 

i am interested to know what this Feliway stuff is for? would i spray it in the room i don't want her to pee in, or spray it in the room i DO want her to pee in?

the room with her boxes in is directly next to the front door (where she is going) so its not like shes being lazy. also it is definately pee and not spraying. 

did you try using lemon scents? i heard lemon scents work, i am googling around what kind of lemon scent to buy, i don't want to pick up something that would make her sick. i am also thinking of trying tin-foil over the area, but would prefer not to as will look stupid when i answer the door and im stood there on a sea of silver foil.

the only thing i can think of is that, i used some air freshener in the litter box room that maybe she didnt like, but it doesn't make sense that she still poops in there.

thanks for reading!


----------



## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

Deidre, cats often like to pee in a different tray to the one they poop in. It is an instinctive behaviour. You say you have all the cat litter trays together in one place, or one room, so your cat will regard this is as just one big litter tray. 

You need to spread the trays around the house, in different locations, some downstairs some upstairs. I have 4 trays around the house for my 2 indoor cats, and they never share the same trays with each other, even though they are sisters who have spent all their lives together.


----------



## DeirdreSnow (Sep 13, 2014)

chillminx said:


> Deidre, cats often like to pee in a different tray to the one they poop in. It is an instinctive behaviour. You say you have all the cat litter trays together in one place, or one room, so your cat will regard this is as just one big litter tray.
> 
> You need to spread the trays around the house, in different locations, some downstairs some upstairs. I have 4 trays around the house for my 2 indoor cats, and they never share the same trays with each other, even though they are sisters who have spent all their lives together.


She only had two trays before the new kitten came, when the new kitten arrived, it had two of its own seperate trays upstairs in the humans bathroom, but the kitcten kept peeing in the bigger cats trays downstairs, the ones upstairs were completely ignored thats why they got moved downstairs, i guess they dont like the bathroom as its got scary water in it and also smells perfumey all the time. alot of the house is shut off from the cats so theres three rooms they can go in, the bathroom, their room and our bedroom, and I really cannot put a tray where I sleep  theres also no space in the hallways for a tray, its very short and narrow almost like a box.


----------



## sharonJ (Apr 24, 2012)

Wow - what a helpful, lovely lot you are!

thank you - will get some cystitis stuff AND get a sample for the Vet.

But firstly I'm moving a small pot of her food to the area- it'll be easy to still open the door with it there.

fingers crossed.

Again, thank you all SO much. you're all fab.

S
x


----------



## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

DeirdreSnow said:


> She only had two trays before the new kitten came, when the new kitten arrived, it had two of its own seperate trays upstairs in the humans bathroom, but the kitcten kept peeing in the bigger cats trays downstairs, the ones upstairs were completely ignored thats why they got moved downstairs, i guess they dont like the bathroom as its got scary water in it and also smells perfumey all the time. alot of the house is shut off from the cats so theres three rooms they can go in, the bathroom, their room and our bedroom, and I really cannot put a tray where I sleep  theres also no space in the hallways for a tray, its very short and narrow almost like a box.


If they are restricted to only 3 rooms out of the whole house I assume their own room is a good size - so spread the trays out at different sides of the room. Just make sure you don't place them anywhere near their food or water.

I have known people to have a litter tray in their bedroom in some cases - if it is a covered tray and you only use a decent litter e.g. Oko Plus, there is no reason for it to smell.

To add to the cats general usable space make sure to utilise the vertical space in their room not just the floor space. Fit shelves all the way up the walls so they can get away from each other when they want to. Here are some ideas:

cat shelving - Yahoo Image Search results

It could be the peeing is stress-related if your older cat feels she has no space of her own away from the kitten.


----------



## DeirdreSnow (Sep 13, 2014)

Their litter room is about 6ft x 6ft with a shelving unit above the toilet that she can go on. they get fed in the kitchen. they are allowed in the entire house when some1 is in the room, its at nightime that theyre confined to 3 rooms, and it is during the day when she is peeing in the wrong place. she also has a secret spot high up in the wardrobe away from the kitten that she will sit by and meow until i put her in there, she loves it there and spends hours in it.

i could perhaps put a small box upstairs that she can use during the time someones in the room but i figure the kitten will pee in it and older cat will ignore it. completely defeating the purpose.


----------



## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

I doubt a cat would want to sit much on a shelf above a litter tray, but you could put another litter tray up there if it would fit - she may regard that as being a separate location to the ones on the floor.


----------

