Please Help - Peeing problem

**Cherryshake** · 23rd November 2012, 03:27 AM

Hello fellow Maine Coon Lovers,

It has been a stressful week for us and I am at my wits end - I am hoping somebody will have some advice on how to make this better. Roxy is nearly two years old and very much loved by me and my husband - she is adorable and very good natured/snuggly with us. She has never had a toilet problem before, she even refuses to go in the garden when she is out there and we have to take her litter box out with us so she can do her business.

Fast forward to this week. In August we decided to get new living room furniture, the old one was getting shabby and uncomfortable. It was due to be delivered this week, so we decided to paint the living room beforehand. Now, I am sure you all know how inquisitive MCs get, so we decided to kepe Roxy in the hallway for the four days it took us to paint - not least because of the fumes. We tried everything to make her as comfortable as possible - we put all her toys, litter tray, comfy bed, favourite blanket etc. out there with her. When we weren't painting we went out there to play with her/ give her cuddles and at the end of each night tidied everything away so she could have a few sniffs in the living room and not feel left out. However, she is quite attached to the point of almost being needy, and I think she did feel left out when we were painting. To aggravate the situation, we then had to get rid of the old furniture to make room for the new one. We kept the cushions behind, thinking she might like them as beds and their familiar smell might calm her. Yesterday the new furniture arrived, and of course it smells really new, and Roxy was sniffing about and freaking out a bit. Eventually she seemed to settle, and even fell asleep on the big armchair. I was hoping things could get back to normal now.

However, today, while she seemed normal during the day, Roxy peed on the big sofa. I had been out of the room for a little while, and when I came back in she sat on one end of the sofa, looking content and relaxed. I sat down on the other end. Suddenly she leapt up and went into her litter box. I looked over to where she had been and there was a massive pee stain. Of course I was really upset, and immediately tried to dab the stain with water. The couch is covered in cotton velvet, which might have been a silly choice retrospectively, but Roxy had always been so good about these things that it never occurred to me it might be a problem. It looks like the stain has come out, but now there is still a faint urine smell where it has been, and I am worried she may take to doing this more often if I leave it. So here are my questions:

A) Motivation for peeing on the sofa. Was it because of all the stress/upheaval of the last few days? Was she annoyed with me? Was she trying to mark her territory? Another reason I could think is that we got her a new waterfountain yesterday as a treat and that she might have just had too much water as a result and had an accident.

B) How can I get the pee smell out of the sofa, considering that it is (cotton) velvet?

C) How likely is she to make this into a habit?

D) Should I visit the vet with her to rule out any medical reasons?

E) How can I restore her faith/trust and relieve her upset from all the upheaval in the last week? She did seem to be really angry with us even after we let her back into the room.

My husband was really angry, but of course that won't help anyone. I am looking for ways to move forward any advice from more experienced purrents would be much appreciated. Thank you!

**jckkerrison** · 23rd November 2012, 12:40 PM

I am sure you hit the nail on the head with this being a stress related problem & also you not showing her so much attention while this was all going on.I think this could be one of two things. She could have been giving you payback but reading your post you say she was laying there relaxed but then ran to her litter tray,so do you think she just might have been tired from all the upheaval of the past week & relaxed a bit too much & actually wet herself accidently,it is unusual for a cat to leave an "up you"sign & then run to it's tray,it will normally put its paw up & say ok so what are you going to do about it.
As long as she hasn't been using her tray more than normal for little wee's I wouldn't worry about the vets if she is also eating & drinking ok,tell OH not to go on at her because for either reason that makes it worse,you can also get good de-odourising sprays now from most pet shops.When one of ours had a mishap on the bed & sure enough we had just bought a new mattress I used the old fashioned way of white vinegar in water & sprayed on & followed that with baking soda crystal sprinkled over & left to dry & hoovered up & it worked really well but with your settee I think I would go get a spray but of course try it on a bit that you can't see first. The fact that she had already appeared to relax sounds as if she had started to accept the change & sometimes if you then differ your behaviour towards them if it was an up you sign will back up that's what the animal needs to do again to get more attention,just carry on as normal & luv her in the usual way,good luck with getting out the smell & well done mum for keeping the rational head on & cuddles to Roxy as I am sure she didn't really mean it this time...xxx

**deovolens** · 23rd November 2012, 01:23 PM

No she considers the new furniture as intruders and has marked the new territory with urine.When our MC sees another animal outside he will immediately urinate on the bushes.
When we got our new furniture I took him with me to lay on the chair for a few hours.She has to consider that the furniture is also part of our "nest"

**Alekto** · 23rd November 2012, 02:51 PM

I have never had that problem (emmm yet...) but if it continues I would try the things you can find to relax her, like those anti-anxiety plug in scents, or Kalm-Aid (not sure if it's good, it's advertized at my vet's so I guess it can't be harmful?)

**F,S & N** · 23rd November 2012, 03:14 PM

Sometimes cats will show their annoyance by messing somewhere

For example Floyd only goes in the agreed places . he is completely litter trained BUT if I happen to go out and not return until morning there will always be a protest present in the bath. Now this is always in the bath and never anywhere else and only if I dont come home one night

**Sketches** · 23rd November 2012, 04:02 PM

I suspect she has been very unsettled by the new furniture/smells and the accident was her way of increasing her scent in order to feel more secure. If she has any of her own blankets that smell of her I’d put them on the new sofa for the time being. I certainly wouldn’t go to the vets just yet.

I’m not sure I’d agree with the payback/revenge theory. With the utmost respect to our lovely MC’s I just don’t think they are that clever. I may be wrong though….

Hopefully the accident was a one off and you can all move on.

I’d seriously look at getting a feliway plug in for the time being though.

Best of luck

**Alekto** · 23rd November 2012, 04:30 PM

Originally Posted by Sketches

With the utmost respect to our lovely MC’s I just don’t think they are that clever.

That's pure heresy! Like saying chicken doesn't taste nice or that scratches behind the ears feel bad!

**Sketches** · 23rd November 2012, 04:57 PM

Haha, I’ll have to make sure Casco & Tonka don’t see what I’ve posted in case they pee on my sofa

**Cherryshake** · 23rd November 2012, 06:16 PM

Update: Well, after a rather unsettled night (was cleaning the mess until 6am this morning) we have a great looking sofa (albeit with a little bit of smell still going on when you press your nose into the fabric - hope this will fade over time) and a somewhat calmer and repentant cat. When I woke this morning I found the mother of all furballs in the hallway (on the laminate floor thank god) - this can't have helped with her general mood no doubt, she always gets a bit sore when a large one is on the way. She is still spooked by the new sofa (not at all the armchair I might mention), but I have put her favourite blanket on the corner where the accident happened and she has sat on it a few times today for varying lenghts of time - I am trying to establish the sofa as our new 'nest' and have sat next to her most of the day to give this impression. I have also avoided raising my voice (not easy as I am also still on edge) and this seems to have worked towards getting back to normal. I truly believe that she didn't do it out of spite or revenge, but that it was an accident - a few people have said now as Jck has that they think she relaxed as I sat down with her and a little bit came out (this makes sense as the amount was comparatively small and she did immediately dash to the litterbox rather than 'rubbing it in'). Or maybe as a purrent I need to tell myself these little fibs in order to maintain sanity

. Whatever the case, hopefully we can all move on now - OH has just come back from work and is still giving evil looks to the little furface, but at least he has calmed down too. Might take a while to get those two to like each other again - Roxy is very much a mummy's girl.

Thank you for all your advice - any more ideas on how I can (gently) coax the pee smell out?

**jckkerrison** · 23rd November 2012, 06:44 PM

When we had an old dog several years ago who had a bad accident on new carpet we used pet fresh odour eliminator which was good & it is still one we sell at work even now...x