Cat doing business on carpet?

[Russ Filtz]

Recently my male cat (maybe 12 yrs old) has taken to pooping/peeing on the carpet (in the same room as litter box). Seems to still use the litter box though at times. i believe this started after we had a big roof leak that soaked the carpet in the area. Could he be reacting to some smell left over (mold/mildew)?

The other possibility is he's sick I guess. He seems to be OK otherwise. Maybe it's stress as I don't let him out, but he does bolt the door sometimes (or wife does it). Had a fight a few weeks back and broke his last fang and had a limp for awhile, but I think the pooping started before that. There seems to be some new cats in the neighborhood though. I also have another cat and dog which could stress him, but the other cat has been here forever and the dog (small yappy kind) has been here several years.

I know I probably need to get him checked out, just not looking forward to ridiculous vet bills these days.

[Jason Roehl]

Is the other cat a male? If so, get another litter box, which should solve the problem. Sometimes two males will get along fine with one litter box, but then all of a sudden it becomes the private property of one and the other will refuse to use it. Another possibility I've heard of is to put his food dish right on the spot he's been "using"--they don't like to do their bidness and their eating in the same area.

[Lee Schierer]

I've always been told that you need one more litter box than you have cats. Place the new litter box if possible on the spot where the new deposits are occurring. Our experience with 12 year old cats losing their teeth is a sign of poor nutrition. If you are feeding just hard cat food, start switching to soft food. and get the cat to a vet soon. He may be having health issues as well.

[Russ Filtz]

Other cat is female, but she's pissy and they never really got along. I've always had two boxes and they mostly go in their own box. not always. Changed the boxes out for new ones, always clean them, etc., yet he still goes outside them. Probably take him in just to be sure. I read where vodka can take the smell out of cat piss! Not sure if you drink it until the smell goes away, or you spray it on the carpet! May have to try both.

[Jason Roehl]

Baking soda works pretty well, but it can be hard on indoor vacuum cleaners. You have to get quite a bit on the spot, work it in, let it sit for a while to do its job, then suck it up.

[Roger Newby]

Tomato juice will kill the smell, but that's kinda rough on carpet. The cat may have a urinary infection, I've had that happen before.

[paul cottingham]

Nature's miracle is awesome. It will remove the smell for sure. Make sure you get the wood underneath or the smell will never go away.

[Russ Filtz]

In FL, so carpet is on concrete. Still will soak in, but would be easier to treat/seal in than wood.

[Lupe Duncan]

Rub his nose in it :confused:

Sorry I got dogs. :o

[Brian Ashton]

I had a cat that for some reason started doing that in the same place at the bottom of the stairs - never figured out why. He was a cat that could freely come and go outside so we never had litter boxes. But what i did learn is rubbing his nose, his entire body in it did absolutely nothing, even when I caught him in mid stream (so to speak). Tried all sorts of remedies to get the smell out but found vinegar is the best thing to get rid of the lingering odour. Being that it's a mild acid it breaks down the hormones and other chemicals that are causing the smell. I never found any staining or degradation from the vinegar in the carpet either. I used to also lift the carpet and soak the plywood with vinegar. Often he'd pee enough that it soaked in a fair way. It ultimately got sorted when he decided he liked water front property more than our place and took up residence with another family. Didn't ever think it was proper to broach the subject with the new owner when I went by every now and again to see how the cat was going.

[Van Huskey]

Nature's miracle is awesome. It will remove the smell for sure. Make sure you get the wood underneath or the smell will never go away.

+1

I have a 16 year old cat (still in good health!!!) and over her life she has taken spells of depositing out of her litter box. I almost always tracked it down to some stress and when the stress was gone she went back to normal. One thing I have noticed over the years is she is more and more finicky about the cleanliness of her box.