Ways to discourage cats weeing in the house/scratching?

Question

Is there anything that anybody knows about that discourages cats from weeing in/scratching certain places in the house? Is there anything that they particularly dont like the smell of that you can spray around or something (don't suggest lion dung please... cause i dont really want it in the house).
My 1year old cat has recently started weeing in a corner of the house.. x

He has access outside and spends quite alot of time out, he's just a bit of a weirdo i guess!! Also, he's not scratching the sofa but the bottom stair and everytime he does he pulls the big of carpet off and hes wearing away the edge so it's a bit of a problem!! x

Answer 1

Has something changed in your home? New pet? New child or routine? If so this is a behavior that the cat is showing you his displeasure! What I did with my 7 year old cat that started peeing on my favorite chair because he was mad at me for getting a chihuahua, I looked all over and tried everything petco and petsmart had to offer...then I found this remedy online and so far it is working and the area does not smell....

1. clean the area thoughly with baking soda and water &
wipe with a antibactrial cloth (like clorox wipes)
2. Mix equal parts of Rosemary and Lavender essential oil put in
misting bottle and spray the area 2 times a day for a week, then spray it 1 time a day for the next week then spray it once every couple of days ....the cat will be detured from peeing or marking and the area will smell clean....Lavender and Rosemary are antiseptic oils that cats don't particulary like and will not mark on that spot.

You can also try "Good Cat" which is a herb based additive to your cats water that will relax your cats anxious behavior...you can buy it at petsmart if you have one in your area....

I have used this in my home and Harley has not peed for several weeks now....and I have used "good cat " too and it does work!

Answer 2

There are many reason
Just clean the area really well so there is no more scent of its own wee so it wont do it again it could be that the cat can smell a scent of another animal but i think your problem is that because the cat is only young he/she has just learnt the meaning of marking its territory and is just in his/her instinct to thins it should eventually stop but make sure you tell the cat off for weeing in the house and rub there nose in it so they know why there being told off otherwise they will just ignore you
And for the scratching buy a scratching post cats do this to sharpen there claws like we use a nail file they use hard objects or even the carpet
Hope this helps

Answer 3

Hi,
My cat has also started weeing and pooing on my sofa which is really starting to get me down. Anyway the smell was just horrible, there is a great enzyme cleaner which you can only get from America called Natures Miracle, i got some from ebay as i live in the UK. Brilliant stuff, gets rid of the smell completely and i had tried just about everything else. You need an enzyme cleaner as it gets rid of the cause of the smell.
To stop cats scratching you can try something called Felliway, again you can get if off ebay. Its supposed to release the hormones that a mother cat gives off when nursing kittens. You can get it as a spray or like a plug in air freshener, it does not smell to humans. Works a treat for me. I do find that they scratch to get attention, eg when i watch tv, they are just saying oi, look at me!
Good luck, hope this helps!

Answer 4

First of all, are they fixed? If not, you need to determine if they are actually peeing, or marking. Different scenario entirely. If they actually ARE peeing, the very first thing you need to do is go to the vet to get a checkup. Oftentimes inappropriate urination is a sign of a health problem like a UTI. Peeing everywhere is your cat's way of saying something is wrong. Also, are your boxes clean and not in a place that might cause them distress? Such as next to a heater that turns on and scares them, etc. Also note that once a cat DOES pee somewhere they are going to keep going back there until/unless you treat it with an enzymatic cleaner to get rid of the smell. But, again...you need to take the cat for a checkup and rule out medical issues first.

Answer 5

when cats reach maturity they can start soiling in the house for no reason. I recommend using a litter tray, place the cat in it when hes just eaten or just woken up. He will soon get the picture that this is where he needs to go. Remove poos from the tray straight away as cats are clean animals and will not use the tray if its too dirty. BUT only clean it out properly once a week as you dont want to take the scent away completely. Also when you find that the cat has peed elsewhere, make sure you use biological wash powder and water to clean up. this will get rid of the scent whereas things like bleach and disinfectant make it worse so the cat will just keep going in that place. good luck!

Answer 6

You do not say whether it is a male or female. If male then it is marking its territory - this can be helped by neutering or if that fails then a small spray of amonia can stop cat from going near that area. Scratching posts should be placed near where cats scratch. If you see them stretching ready to scratch, pick them up, put them beside a post and slowly draw their paws down the post. The cat will soon get the message.

Answer 7

I heard vinegar does the trick for peeing and make sure their litterbox is clean and inviting so that's where they want to go.

The stratching is a little hard. I've used to bat my cat in the nose if she started to stratch the couch, and now if I'm around she won't do it, but during the nighttime it's a different story. I've heard that vets now offer protective sleeves over cats' claws as an alternative to declawing. My couch is old now so I don't care, but if I had expensive pieces, I would look into it.

Answer 8

Cats absolutely HATE vinegar. Put about 1/2 an inch of vinegar in a tub, fill it about 2/3 of the way up with warm water and wipe it around the bottoms of cupboards, chairs anything at cat level really and then he/ she should start asking (meewing) to go out.

Answer 9

buy a cat scratching post and teach it to use the litter tray and put newspaper under it because it mught miss. Cats usally start to understand the purpose of the scartching mat/post after about 1 or 2 weeks.

Answer 10

You need to get rid of the smell in that particular corner and pay a visit to your local pet superstore and purchase a can of spray that will deter them, I believe it is called cat deterrent. Good luck!