Cat peeing on the couch!

by Kelly
(Marietta, OH. USA)

I have an eight year old spayed female cat that has always been a very clean cat, will use her litter box even if it gets dirty. Suddenly she started peeing on the couch cushions. I have read it could be a UTI and this scares me because I cannot afford to take her to the vet at this time and don't want to let it go if that is what the problem is. Are there other signs that I can look for to know if that is what's wrong? She doesn't act like she's in any pain as far as I can tell. This has been the past week and my boyfriend sat in it and said if it keeps happening he is going to take her to the pound. I'm not going to let him take my 8 year old cat to the pound, I also don't want to have to clean and wash my couch cushions daily either, cat urine is nasty, will vinager take the smell away so she will not keep going back to the couch? This is really weird on her part because like I said she has always used her litter box and then washes herself for an hour straight.


Answer by Kate
well yes it could be a UTI please see this page for information about this
https://www.our-happy-cat.com/cat-urinary-problems.html

However it could also be behavioral please see this page for detaisl about this

https://www.our-happy-cat.com/cat-urine.html

If you think it is behavioral rather than a UTi then follow the instructions on that page regarding the confinement process for litter re training.

As for how to clean the smell out again i have a whole page with tips on how to get rid of the smell etc. It is important that every last speck is removed otherwise it will encourage her to go in that spot again.

https://www.our-happy-cat.com/cat-urine-cleaner.html

best wishes kate

Comments for Cat peeing on the couch!

Click here to add your own comments

Cat peeing on couch
by: Sandra

I too have two female 8 year old cats, not sure which one is doing it but peeing on my couch.
I have removed cushions and washed, and steam cleaned couch. I used natures blend spray cleaner, and also covered couch with plastic, put a towel down to hold in place and sprayed towel with vinegar.
That didn't work!! I find pee on couch again!!
I have two litter pans, feliway spray, clean pans twice daily and wash weekly, been to vet and no UTI and don't dare put my coat on couch as yes it got nailed too!!
Love my cats but really getting tired coming home from work trying to cook dinner and clean couch every night. Did I mention my couch is new!! Really don't want to have to buy another but can't deal with this much longer. Please help
She has stopped!!
by: Anonymous

Ok here we go, my daughter went as far as taking Miss Kitty to the Humane Society crying and handed her to the woman because her boyfriend layed his coat on the couch and Miss Kitty got it. Can't blame him for being mad but the cat has been with us longer than he has. Through the years I may have mentioned she has lived with both my daughter and myself. Anyway, my daughter started blubbering and said to the woman that was walking away with Kitty staring at her, "give her back I can't do it!" Told her boyfriend that he could help with getting her to go back to her litter box that she was not going to get rid of her. Thank you for all of the tips and I already knew a few myself from years back when I was younger I used to raise and show cats with my mother. "Silver Persians" anyway, she put large garbage bags on the cushions and washed the cushion covers first, fortunately my roommate has a Heavy Duty front loading washer and dryer. Washed the cushions themselves. When no one was home, Miss Kitty was kept in the bathroom for about a week, also I didn't know it at first my daughter had changed her litter to that scented kind and usually uses the kind that clumps so she went back to that,also put another box down stairs just in case the bathroom door is closed and she can't get to that one. The boyfriend was also told that if he wanted the cat to go back to normal then he could help by keeping her litter box clean and not expect my daughter to do it all.
Low and behold, so far so good! I think the main thing was getting "all traces" of urine scent out and keeping her litter boxes clean. There is also a big Tom Cat hanging around because I see him everytime I go over to my daughters, that might have added to it too. I'm just glad she has stopped, Knock on Wood! Thank you for the tips and suggestions, next step was the Feliway for Cats, lol. I'll keep you posted!
Cat peeing on couch
by: Kelly

Hi Kate, the truth is I was speaking for my daughter when I commented about Miss. Kitty peeing on the couch because she wouldn't do it. I told her about the UTI and she took her to the vet and the vet did some tests on her and said it wasn't a full blown UTI that she caught it right at the beginning of it because I read your comments about what to do(when I was my daughter lol.)Miss Kitty has lived with both of us through out her almost nine years and has moved frequently. She hates it with a passion and hides the first few days and then has always gone back to normal,never peeing any where except her box. Here's the horrible part, my grandson is four had an accident on the couch one morning and it kept happening for a about a week straight. My daughter didn't know what to do except ask him why he was doing it, He was taking the blame probably because he did it the first time. How she discovered it was the cat, was when he spent the night with me, the couch cushion was wet the next morning and he wasn't there. Imagine how everyone felt after that! no one suspected the cat because that just isn't her. Now if I had been there and took one sniff, I would have been able to tell the difference between cat and human because when my daughter brought over the couch covers to wash, I picked up the bag sniffed and said that is definitely cat urine. Sorry for making this so long but I wanted to give you the scoop on what was going on. Do you think she started doing it because of my grandson's accident? My daughter isn't going to put up with it much longer, when no one is there she is kept in the bathroom where her box is. She tries to keep her in there at night too but as soon as some one gets up in the middle of the night to pee and opens the door, she comes tearing out and hides. My daughter's patience is running out and she is going to give her away if she keeps it up. This breaks my heart because I can't take her, my roommate owns the house and is allergic to cats and she says no way. I can't stand the thought of giving Miss Kitty to a stranger after eight almost nine years. Got her when she was just six weeks. HELP!! PLEASE!!

Answer by Kate
Hi yes I wouldn't be at all surprised that she did it the first time because of your grandsons accident. She would be trying to cover the scent.
The trouble is as you know cats urine is very strong and even the slightest whiff can encourage them to use it again and again.
Your daughter could try covering the sofa for a week or so with plastic, I know this will be inconvenient but its all about breaking the habit. Did she carry out the litter box training? This also helps to break the habit.

I really hope she does not give her away, that seems so unfair.

best wishes Kate

Click here to add your own comments

Return to Cat Questions Archive three.

I'd love to hear what you think of this page or my site. Let me know if you like what you have read or if it has helped you with a problem.

It's easy to do just leave a comment in the box below and click the like / share or +1 to let others know about my site. Thank You It really is most appreciated.

Enjoy this page? Please pay it forward. Here's how...

Would you prefer to share this page with others by linking to it?

  1. Click on the HTML link code below.
  2. Copy and paste it, adding a note of your own, into your blog, a Web page, forums, a blog comment, your Facebook account, or anywhere that someone would find this page valuable.