Would you keep a cat who urinated on your rug?

Oh, I love cats SOOOO much, but I can't tolerate having cat pee in my rug! I have never had a cat give me this problem, but we had cats that peed on the rugs when I was a kid, and our house stunk - I was so embarrassed. If I had a cat with that problem, I'd definitely try everything to correct it (good point about checking for medical issues- I've been told the same thing). But if nothing helped, I couldn't keep an animal that ruined my house. I don't know what I'd do.

 

I would and have. Yes, it's annoying to retrain, but I wouldn't just abandon them either. The key is making sure as soon as they pee somewhere outside the box, you clean it *completely.* They can still smell it when you can't, and because they've "marked their territory" they'll continue to go back to those spots instead of using the litter box.

 

I know this situation will always be frustrating, but when children wet the bed parents hopefully understand, so I feel our pets need special consideration as well. I know that sometime animals that do this have health problems, and the situation needs special consideration, so that the right thing can be done for them.

 

That's a good point. I know a lot of people don't see pets as being like kids because they're animals, but that's exactly the mindset you should have. It takes time and consideration for things like this and so long as you work with it, it usually goes away.

 

I had a tabby that liked to pee in the house even when we have trained it to use his litter box and the toilet. My father was livid, but my brothers and I told him that we would take care of it. We locked him in the toilet downstairs (as it is hardly used) and we let him out every two hours or so. He got used to the idea and he would go to toilet when he needed to pee. I'm sure he urinated outside whenever he had the chance to go out, but sometimes, it seemed as if he just preferred to urinate inside!

In a case such as this, I wouldn't give the cat away until I have tried all means to fix it. Perhaps, my experience was not too bad. Even so, I would take it to the vet to see what the vet has to say and what sort of treatments needed.

 

I most likely would do all I could to not get rid of my kitty, but it would depend on how bad the problem was. An occasional pee outside the box doesn't bother me, but if he was ruining the carpet, I might think differently.

My old Monster cat was peeing outside the box frequently until we figured out that his arthritis was making it difficult for him to squat. (We keep the box in the basement, so it wasn't stinking up the house too badly). The vet suggested giving him glucosamine supplements, and they've worked wonders!

 

I haven't had that issue yet, but I agree with the posters that said they would try anything and everything before giving up their cats. I wouldn't send Dolores to a shelter, she would just have to live in the backyard.

 

I would try and train / help the cat as best I could. Most of the time cats are very clean animals, so if they are peeing outside the box, something is likely wrong, such as others have said a UTI. Having any issue like this would likely get the cat put down in a shelter.

When you take in an animal you take it into your family, and you should treat it as such, just because its not cute and cuddley for ever doesn't mean it has the right to be abandoned. Right now, I am stressed out majorly over my cats eating issue / sickness, and he has pooped runny bloody poop on my rugs all over the house multiple times. You can wash a rug, clearly the cat has a problem if it is doing this.

I would never give a cat away because of this, I would only ever give a cat away if it was a hazard to myself, or itself, something as simple as peeing on the rug, likely means the cat is ill and needs your help not to be abandoned.

I really feel strongly about this, since getting my cats, and watching my little man suffer. I could never abandon him, and some of the things Ive cleaned out of the rug, oh my good lord it was awful.

I know I am different to the rest of the posters, but I know first hand how trying this can be, but I really feel like animals deserve a chance, sure they are not our children, but I still think they deserve your best effort.

 

I would try and retrain the cat as much as possible, and as others have noted, have it checked to see if it is possibly a medical issue that is causing it that is beyond their control.

 

I would never get rid of a cat after he or she had an accident. It happens. Our youngest cat sometimes has poop stuck in his bum after getting out of the litterbox and drops it as he walks around the home. It's not a big deal. Mistakes happen and it should definitely be expected from a cat or any other pet.

 

Male cats can be more of a problem with this, particularly if they are territorial as their natural instinct is to spray to mark their domain.

I've only encountered one cat who did it. When I investigated it turned out that the carpet had a rubberized underlay and she was reacting to the smell of this and spraying as a result.

Just goes to show that something you might never think of could be the cause. Replaced the carpet, not the cat!

 

Sibyl only pees outside of the litterbox if it's dirty and needs to be cleaned (she's literally done this mere minutes before I had planned to clean it) or if she's being territorial or scared. When we bring a new animal in the house she might once or twice, and sometimes the big dog in the house unintentionally blocks her way to the box and Sibyl refuses to go past her. But I understand these reasons, so I won't get mad at her for it.

I wouldn't get rid of a cat for this. Some cats just don't know better at first or have an actual reason. I'm more likely to try to solve whatever the problem is and use cleaner on the pee smell.

 

Yes, I'd most likely keep it, but I'd not be able to tell because this has never happen to me yet. My Bob is such a good cat, he has never peed on my rug! I've been to houses that did smell like cat urine, I felt so bad for the owner, she felt so embarrassed and told me the reason: her cat had peed on the rug on several occasions.

 

I didnt see this mentioned anywhere, and it might be a stupid question, but : could they have been spraying rather than urinating? Kitty kiss is getting fixed soon for that exact reason. I've never heard of a male cat that wasn't fixed and didnt spray.

 

I've also met this problem before. I tried so hard to train it not to do so. And finally it worked. You should really be patient.

 

I'm not familiar with sprays... How do you use them and where can I buy them? Can I use it to discourage my cats from starching my leather furniture?

 

I meant the spray a male cat does to mark his territory. It actually smells worse than urine and they'll get it everywhere!

 

Train it or give the cat to your friends....Or you can give up rug forever

 

Maybe he's angry about something. My really old kitty, spot, before she passed away met my mother in laws boyfriend. The next morning his leather hat was soaked through lol

 

I would most likely get rid of the rug before I got rid of my cat. When I thought I hated cats I would have generally thought never a cat so this question would be an obvious "no cat". Once my cat came into my life I figure I would replace just about everything to keep him with me.

A litter box usually works so the first rug accident should send anyone out shopping for a litter box.