Daily Kitten Chat Forum » Cats & Kittens

1. 

   I have a male kitten who is a little over 3 months old. This is our first kitten and only kitten and we have had him for 11 days now. He is fully litter trained and have never had any problems with him using the litter box. He had one accident after we brought him home, but after putting the litterbox on the spot where he peed, we have not had anymore problems.

   Now to my question. We just bought him a small kitten house/condo for him to play in. Its a small sqaure cube that he can get into, and on the top is carpeting where he can lay or sleep...its like a carpet hammock. We introduced him to it last night and he didnt totally love it, but he played with it a little. Then this morning he played with it a little again. At lunchtime however, I looked at the carpet on the top and noticed there were a couple of dribbles of pee on it. It had just happened and I thought that it must have been an accident (never would have thought that he was marking). Anyway, I washed it off really good, sprayed some Febreze with odor neutralizer on it, and let it dry in the sun all day.

   We figured it was an accident until we put the condo back out tonight and he went and deliberately marked on it AGAIN! There was much more pee this time. Also, not 5 minutes later he went to his litterbox and used it (not sure if he peed but he definitely pooped). This condo is brand new and we don't have any other cats. Also to mention, he was neutered at 2.5 months by the shelter. He has not be declawed but shows no signs of agression. Could he have an early sign of a UTI? Or is this something else? Also, he seems very healthy and quite happy and not stressed. He is not home alone very long either. Any insight would be great.

   Posted 6 months ago by Amber598 #

2. 

   Amber -

   Has he used the litter box at all? If he is only using the hammock I think you would be right to suspect a UTI or possibly some issue with his litter box. Make sure there's no problem with the litter box and take him to the vet to check for a UTI. In the meantime, you may want to remove the kitty condo, since he seems to have it fixed in his mind as an alternative to using the litter box. Is there a place you can store it for a couple weeks? That way you could clean it and let some of the smells (both his and the cleaners) fade.

   When you put it back into use, put some particularly tasty treats up on the hammock. Cats tend not to "go" in the same location as they eat, so if he associates the condo with yummy food, he'll be less likely to confuse it with a bathroom.

   Alternatively, clean it well, list it on Ebay, and sell it.

   Posted 6 months ago by scaredicat #

3. 

   "Alternatively, clean it well, list it on Ebay, and sell it. "

   ...the condo, not the cat! .... =^..^=

   Posted 6 months ago by scaredicat #

4. 

   We have had no issues when it comes to his litterbox. I suspect that maybe the condo has some chemicals on the carpet from the manufacturing process. I am going to try washing it with a little bleach and see if its the smell thats freaking him out.

   Posted 6 months ago by Amber598 #

5. 

   Hi, Amber. You might try putting a sheet of aluminum foil on top of the condo. It might discourage him from using it to eliminate.

   Posted 6 months ago by Kitten Whisperer #

6. 

   It's possible (rare, but happens) that your kitten either had three testicles and therefore isn't really fixed. Or that one of his testicles wasn't descended when he was fixed and therefore wasn't removed. It's worth having a vet check out.

   More likely, he is making an editorial comment on the new condo. You might try putting something you've been wearing on the top of it. Or putting a small dish of kibble on the top. Cats don't tend to go where their food is.

   Posted 6 months ago by CheetahBoysmommy #

7. 

   I am going to get him checked out at the vet when I take him in a couple of weeks. He very well may not have been neutered completely since marking is not really a behavior of a neutered kitten.

   So far I have washed the kitten condo with unscented detergent and a little bleach. Once I put it back together I fed him some treats on the top part where he had been marking. So far so good, he loves the condo now! I left him alone with it all day and will update if he has done it again once I get home. Thanks for all the ideas!

   Posted 6 months ago by Amber598 #

8. 

   You must use an enzyme cleaner, like Nature's Miracle, to get the smell completely out---you have just been covering it up. You might need to treat it more than once if there is padding or wood under the carpet. Make sure you soak it and cover it with foil so it stays moist for the bacteria to do it's job.

   Posted 6 months ago by Sheba's Mom in Phx, AZ #

9. 

   Heres an update. I scrubbed the pee spot with Nature's Miracle cleaner, washed the condo twice with unscented detergent and bleach, dried it, then sprayed it again with Nature's Miracle cleaner. Once I put it back together I sat there and watched him try to mark it again. I sprayed him with the water bottle and he ran. He came back again and successfully marked while I sprayed him over and over. I ended up just putting it up in the laundry room. I am going to get him checked by the vet, maybe he didn't get neutered properly.

   Posted 6 months ago by Amber598 #

10. 

    Heres an official update on my kitty peeing on his condo which might help someone else with the same problem. I happened to watch a video on cats marking and they discussed the difference between marking and a UTI. Apparently when your kitty is marking he stands, and will mark vertical stuff ie. walls, cutrains, etc. But when they have a UTI they will pee on horizontal stuff like the floor, carpet, or in my case the kitty condo. AND the big giveaway is when they have a UTI they squat when they do it.

    So after watching that video I remembered that my little kitty had been squatting everytime he was peeing on the condo. We put him on some antibiotics and not only has he stopped peeing on this condo, but he is peeing less frequent in his litterbox too (which is a good sign). I have also been giving him some yogurt to eat to prevent him to getting a sore tummy.

    So to everyone out there who is not sure if its a UTI or marking, just look at the position of the pee (horizontal or vertical objects) and if he is squatting. My little guy didnt even have blood in his urine but that still didnt mean he didnt have a problem.

    Posted 5 months ago by Amber598 #

11. 

    Thank you for the update and information, Amber. I'm glad your little boy is doing better.

    Posted 5 months ago by Leeny #

12. 

    Wow good to know!

    Posted 5 months ago by iliketea #

13. 

    Good catch on your part, Amber! I'm glad your little guy is getting better.

    Posted 5 months ago by scaredicat #

RSS feed for this topic

Reply

You must log in to post.