new kitten weeing in our bedroom

[momama]

We have a new kitten. He's a full pedigree British shorthair and we've had him two weeks, he's 15 weeks old.

He seems to be settling really well-he is pretty brave even around our lively toddler and has lots of lap time. He's a very cute kitty, he plays, has cuddles and is all round a rather beautiful little soul.

This week we noticed the unmistakable scent of cat urine in our bedroom. We looked for advice online and borrowed a uv lap to find the wee and used vinegar and Bicarb to try to clean up and remove the smell. We couldn't locate the urine from the uv light but went on where it smelt the strongest. After treatment, it seemed to fade a bit but tonight its worse again. We fear he might have done it again in the same place. Some people mentioned 'spraying' but all our past male cats have been neutered at an approprite age and never sprayed so I don't know much about it. could a 15 week old kitten be spraying or is it simply urinating? If it helps, I can't smell the urine smell close to the carpet, it's stronger a few inches off the floor, but can't smell anything on the walls.

Looking for advice a) on why he might be doing this and how we can prevent it (whether spraying or weeing) and b) best ever advice on removing the hideous smell from my bedroom

Much appreciated.

[Lilith]

Hi there - I'm not sure if I can give you any good advice on this, but it does seem to me that some boy kittens can be downright sloppy about their housetraining. I once bred Siamese and there was a disastrous litter where only one survived - and he was the apple of his mother's eye. She howled the place down if she couldn't bring him into bed with me every night. So. He wasn't stressed, he was totally indulged; his mother 'toileted' him ie washing his spoilt little backside, long after he should have been using a tray; there was a tray right beside the bed - and, even at the right age, did he use it? No. The crowning insult came one day when I went to put on some favourite canvas desert boots and found one brimming. He'd peed in my boot!

Then suddenly he stopped. He became clean as clean. He went to a terribly posh household who were delighted with him.

About the same time a friend bought a fabulous Cornish Rex kitten, three months old, carefully reared - and he too refused to use his tray.

Right at the other end of the scale, nearly 20 years later I found myself involved with a feral colony and 2 litters of kittens. The first litter came from a derelict shed full of junk; they were 6 or 7 weeks old, totally unsocialised (one bit me, bless him) and had to be kept in my bathroom until the CP had room for them. Two boys, two girls, never seen a tray before, and did they ever make a mistake? They did not. That tray was faithfully used.

So...I'm wondering here, could confining your boy work, when you can't supervise him, or at least closing your bedroom door so that he can't get to his favourite spot. It is the very devil to get rid of that wee smell - I confess I used to use bleach, but this can play hell with your soft furnishings as well as being toxic - and actually attractive to some cats. I think there are special pet deodorisers on the market - but other people on here will know more about them and also be able to advise you more.

Wish I could be of more help, please forgive these midnight ramblings, and wish you all the best with him - let us know how you go on

[bobbys girl]

If any of our cats is likely to spray, it's Purdy, our 'Top Cat'. She seems oblivious to bleach and will happily sniff where I have cleaned with a look that says 'shall I cover that up or not?'

On tiles I use almost neat Zoflora. It seems to get into the grout and is enough to cover the smell without it smelling like a public loo. Fourpaws make a product called Industrial Cleaner. I use it on carpets and fabrics I can't wash. It has a clean, soapy smell and it does seem to put them off re-offending!

It may be, as Lilith says, something he will grow out of, I hope so!

[Crewella]

It might be a good idea to confine him, even in a crate, for a few days to see if he will get into the habit of using a tray, but I have little experience with kittens so am probably not worth listening to! I use biological washing liquid (the liquid doesn't contain bleach, which powders do, so is safer on coloured carpet) to break down the smells, you can also get specialist enzymatic sprays for carpets which I do find helpful.

[lilynmitz]

This isn't uncommon with kittens I'm afraid, but don't panic (annoying as it is). It could just be little stress related incidents. With kittens this can be a comfort thing, peeing on something soft.

My nervous new boy Ziggy, still very kittenish at 14 months, peed on the bed after Elsie-puss had (playfully) chased him upstairs not long after he arrived. I kept the two of them apart/monitored their interaction a bit more for a while, and it didn't happen again. Meanwhile I washed the quilt cover in bio detergent and scrubbed the quilt with Vanish, and it was fine. He also peed on some dust sheets I'd left on the floor in the porch, which again I think was just because he was a slightly stressed newbie. It only happened in the first month or so. He's been fine now that he's better settled in.

While you say he's fine with you toddler, we can't watch what cats, or kids, do every moment of the day, and all it takes sometimes is for them to be startled by something that we don't notice, for them to have "a bit of a moment" resulting in "a whoopsie". Your kitten really is still just a baby himself, so he needs a bit of a helping hand learning to cope with life for the first time on his own. Hopefully once he settles in a bit better and gets used to the household in general, the accidents will stop. Our lad certainly hasn't done it since he's got a bit more confident and used to day-to-day noises etc in the house. Once your puss starts to realise that an active toddler isn't anything to worry about, he should be the same. Make sure he can always get away from things, including your little boy, if he's feeling stressed out, and has quiet places he can hide if things get too much for him. It's all about keeping him calm and giving him time to learn that he's safe living with you.

[momama]

Thanks all, by the time I got a chance to check back I think we might have solved the issue but thanks for ask your input.
We found under our bed a shallow cardboard box that clever kitty head decided was a litter tray! The smell still lingers but we've removed the box and have steam cleaned and tried a few things. Luckily he's not inundated there since.


I do keep a very good eye on cat& toddler. He is a bit firm trying to cuddle Magnus but we can usually tell if he's scared or not- sometimes he runs away sometimes he stays pretty close. They are both learning how this relationship is going to work!

[jillyvillyvoo]

Awww, smart little thing.

[momama]

I know! So pleased!

[Lilith]

Oh the cheeky little so-and-so! That's typical, that is!

Congrats on getting him sorted out - and hope he behaves for you now!

[jillyvillyvoo]

Aptly named, Magnus!

[Anonymous]

Aww..!! Even a drop of cat pee anywhere in the house can make your entire home smell like a litter box..!! The only solution is to train them to use a litter box. Are u guys using it already ? If your cat is not used with your surroundings,make sure your kitten knows the location of the litter box. Once you bring your kitten to yur home, take her to the litter box and place her into the litter box, gently take her front paws and show her how to scratch at the litter once or twice. Don't worry if she jumps right out again. Once you see that she is using the box, leave her alone as they prefer privacy when using the litter box. We taught our Angel to use litter box in this way. Till then she used to pee under the table, sofa, bed and I struggled to remove the pee and the horrible smell from the entire home. I tried vinegar-baking soda spray, hydrogen peroxide/baking soda mixture as per my husband’s suggestion but both didn’t work and finally, I bought a bottle of Hoover 2X concentrate Premium Pet Carpet & Upholstery Detergent from the Vacmasters (link removed) and it helped me to get rid of the horrible smell. Anyways, cats have a natural instinct to pee on soil and the kittens learn that from their mom. Cats usually spray to leave a message for other cats and also to mark its territory. It's not a litter box problem. Stress is also a major cause of spraying.