B is my 6-year-old cat. She turned 6 on 9/10/26, and she has had chronic inappropriate urination issues since she was about 4 months old.

When she was 4 months old, she peed on a hunting jacket once. We didn’t have another issue for a while, until she started peeing on carpet. At the time, my boyfriend (now husband) and I were in a difficult living situation. He was leaving for the military and I was graduating high school, so we made the decision to have her stay with his parents for about 7 months.

While she was there, she continually peed on their bed and couch. We couldn’t understand why, especially because she was so young. We started taking her to vets, and she repeatedly received clean bills of health.

Over the last 6 years, according to her veterinary records, we have taken her to the vet 13 times specifically for urinalysis and labs. That’s basically every 6 months. Nothing has ever explained the behavior medically.

Since then, we have moved a total of 3 times with her. She has peed in every apartment we’ve lived in, including on beds and couches. At one point, our vet recommended getting another cat so she would have a buddy. We did. It didn’t stop.

We have tried medications, working with a veterinary behaviorist, calming collars, pheromone products, different types of litter, different litter boxes, covered and uncovered boxes, different locations, different enclosures, etc. We currently have 3 litter boxes for 2 cats, with boxes on both floors of our house.

We recently bought our first house, and unfortunately, things have gotten worse. She now regularly pees on both our upstairs and downstairs couches.

She has not had access to our bedroom or bed for about 5 years because she would pee on the bed even when we were sleeping in it, and even when we weren't gone for long.

We have tried countless enzyme cleaners. At this point, I know our house has an ammonia smell, and I feel absolutely horrible about that. We clean constantly, but nothing seems to completely get rid of it.

And now we're at a point where my husband and I want to start trying for kids. That honestly scares me because we already know B will likely pee on baby items, furniture, blankets, clothes, toys, etc. We can't realistically keep a child and everything that comes with having a baby completely separated from her, and I don't want to bring a baby into a home where we're constantly dealing with urine.

The hardest part is that I don't want to rehome her. She is quite literally my soul cat. She doesn't let other people hold her the way she lets me. She cries specifically for me when I come home from work. I'm the only person who can trim her nails. She absolutely loves my husband too, but I am her person.

I also don't feel right rehoming her because I worry she would just continue bouncing between homes because of the peeing, which would probably make her even more anxious.

We have spent years trying to figure this out. We have tried medical testing, behavioral interventions, medications, environmental changes, litter changes, pheromones, and just about everything else we've been told to try.

I don't want to give up on her, but I also don't know how much longer we can realistically live like this, especially as we think about starting a family.

Has anyone dealt with a cat who has had this kind of chronic urination problem for years and actually found something that worked? Is there anything else we should be investigating or trying? At what point do you consider quality of life for both the cat and the people in the home?

I feel awful even asking this, but is euthanasia ever an appropriate consideration in a situation like this, or am I nowhere near that point yet?

Edit: We have seen several vets over the 6 years, 2 vets have recommended euthanasia and we thought it was insane, but we need help, and we have tried multiple food types/brands (wet and dry). She is also spayed. We don’t even want to think of euthanasia, but we need advice BAD. She is also terrified outdoors, she got outside a couple times through the garage and froze, hunkered down in a corner, and cried for help until we could get her.

Edit 2.0: WE DO NOT WANT TO PUT HER DOWN. WE DO NOT WANT TO REHOME HER. We need ideas, advice, new items to buy, new meds to try. I want to see my girl grow up with the future kiddos and be their childhood cat, I do not want to see her go. This is why I’m here making my first post.

I will be closing/deleting this post in 20 mins. I have just bought a $500 amazon cart with a bunch of goodies from ideas some of you have given me. To those of you who were kind- thank you so much. Thank you for seeing the good in my post rather than the bad e word.

To those of you who decided to come across rude- if you had read all the way through my post, you would’ve read my true feelings, what we have tried, and how I obviously want to keep her. Please read the rest of someone’s post before bashing them. It’s obviously gotten bad enough that I came here for my first post, maybe try to be a little kinder.

I have a job that requires me to go into people's houses. I go into *hundreds* of houses per year. Multiple per day. Usually with a team mate, sometimes alone. And, very often, I am in the utility rooms or closets where litter boxes like to live. 85% of the time there's pine pellets, the house smells like pine and ammonia. I can often tell right when I walk into the area the box is in that it's a pine box before ever seeing it. I have cats myself, so sometimes I strike up conversation about it and it's staggering the amount of people who can't seem to tell. I've heard it all - the "nobody can even tell I have a cat!" And "my family is so impressed!" And I come to the conclusion that people are just hella nose blind to it and friends and family are too polite to say anything, despite "oh they would tell me if my house stunk." I've chatted with my team mates about it to see if maybe I just have a super sensitive nose, but they can always tell too. I own horses, so I tend to have pine pellets around and have always wanted to use them but knowing that my house would stink I just can't.

The ones that DON'T stink are usually the ones that have a sifting setup. Those are pretty cool - a box set into another box, and the litter gets shuffled around and the puffed up pellets filter through to the bottom and tossed hopefully twice a day. So, if you're gonna use pine, I'd recommend that route. (The sifting setups aren't perfect, you need to empty EVERY time they pee still, but they do make it easier to sift out almost all of the soiled litter)

Alternatively, the zeolite pellets (this is what the Tidy Cats Breeze system uses, but they make much nicer stainless systems) with a pee pad below seem to work quite nicely, and are almost never stinky, if you're trying to avoid regular litter.

I know pine pellets get praised to high heaven online, I just want to offer the opinion of a neutral party that has seen more litter boxes than any one person should see in their lifetime. It's super easy to become nose blind in your own house, and guests (despite promising to tell the truth) often politely downplay or outright lie about the smell because it's embarrassing and they don't want to put you in an awkward position. I don't have that bias, so I thought I'd offer a post about my experiences.

(Because it often gets brought up when I mention this - clay litter can stink too if it's not kept well, but as a whole it's ammonia-stinky considerably less often. Unscented seems to work best.)

No One Wants Your Peeing Cat. Yeah I said it.

Now I have your attention: I see a lot of posts asking “Is it cruel to rehome my peeing cat??” - and yes, sometimes a different home is for the best (stress, other pets can trigger inappropriate urination and they are sometimes better removed from the situation). But, reality check: it’s difficult to rehome a cat that pees outside the litter box.

You (presumably) love your cat and even you dont want her anymore - why would a stranger want to take on a cat they dont have a bond with and put up with an active peeing problem? IF you're lucky and find that unicorn person to adopt, it's resolved, and your cat settles in a new home, great! If you lie about the peeing, or dump them at shelter then it's likely your cat will end up being passed around from home to home or stuck in a cage in a shelter forever. How sad is that.

So, stop throwing your toys out of the pram, find the cause instead and deal with it. Cats pee outside the litter box for a reason - health problem, behaviour, stress, not enough litter boxes etc.

Here's some useful resources:

1. Article from Cat Behaviour Help
2. Litter box issues video series from Jackson Galaxy
3. Advice from a behaviourist.
4. On this Facebook group, there is a questionnaire you can fill in and post on the group (in the guides section) and people will offer you advice.

Cleaning etc:

• use an enzyme cleaner to get rid of the smell and put them off peeing in the same spot again. Wash stuff on a cold wash
• whilst you're dealing with the issue cover stuff that they like peeing on to protect from further damage - ie) use a waterproof mattress cover etc.

Remember: This is a family member. You have a responsibility. Find the cause, get help, and support your cat through whatever’s behind the peeing. Good luck.

I live in a house with 3 cats; they are not mine, and I am not responsible for cleaning their litter boxes. My roommate only cleans them once the cats start peeing on towels, like every two weeks, as if she's forced to. I am disgusted; the entire house smells, and she tries to mask it by turning up her scent plug-ins. I don't know much about cats, but it can't be good for them either. I am seriously considering moving out unless things change. I need to feel comfortable and clean in my own home.

EDIT: Please read the full post before commenting rude things towards me. It was clearly stated this was about OTHERS. I didn't think this post was long or hard to read/understand but clearly it is. My cat is healthy, loved, and taken care of!

This is coming from a genuine place when I ask this. I saw a video of a girl asking for advice on how to scoop the box. People in the comments told her it's unnecessary to scoop daily and to leave it be. The further I looked into this I found out there's a large number of people who go a week or more without scooping then dump everything at once. I personally scoop my cat's litter box at least twice a day. I understand not everyone has time to do that however I'm confused how waiting over a week is any better. If you go long periods without cleaning the litter box can you explain why? how often does everyone else scoop? I am genuinely curious!

my cats' litter box is pretty dirty and i feel like a shit owner. i try my best to care for them but money is super tight right now. if i even had $10 i would use it to get them litter but i have nothing until wednesday. will they be okay? theyre fed twice a day, even if i dont eat, and they have running water.

I have had the ability to provide easily for them until i lost my job due to medical reasons. my first paycheck for my new job comes on wednesday. I would not have owned cats if i couldnt properly provide for them, but this is new and completely out of my hands.

u/junior_dig_4432 has offered to order us some food and litter from amazon. Not all heroes wear capes, but they all do deserve recognition. Please show them some love.

Firstly, I have had indoor cats my entire life. I am 51. My friends and family do not hold back on making comments on litter smell. My Dad especially likes to make comments when he visits. I have changed my life, my cat’s life, and my Dads with one simple change…INVEST IN A STAINLESS STEEL LITTER BOX.

No more bleaching, no more vinegar, no more soaking boxes, no more endless trials of various and sundry litter. It is worth the money.

The fact this never occurred to me, makes me so mad. Stainless steel is used in industrial and restaurant kitchens for a reason…they don’t absorb smells. They even sell little stainless steel bars to rub on your hands…BECAUSE THEY ELIMINATE ODORS.

Plastic litter boxes absorb urine, especially when your cat’s claws make endless little grooves while scratching around. My Dad thought I’d gotten rid of my cat on his last visit. As if.

Save up, buy one, live in odorless peace.

I feel so terrible right now. I was throwing away the cats litter trashbag and cleaning my 2 cats litter box area and it was taking a bit and my cat legit came up the stairs close to me and started meowing really loud. I didn't think much of it and thought he was asking me to take him outside because he went downstairs right after and started meowing loud at my dad in the kitchen who told me to take them out when I get a chance. Once I was done cleaning my dad told me he pooped right next to the stairs and I cleaned it and I went in the bathroom and realized he peed on the bath mat also. I didn't even realize he was basically begging me to use the litter I guess and I was blocking it. I don't know what to do, will he forgive me, I feel so bad for it and I want to apologize but he's hiding now. Is he embarrassed or mad?

UPDATE- thanks everyone for the support and cat related advice!

We will be switching out their wet food and I’ll update after some time passes. We’re currently using Boxie Pro litter but will switch to tofu if it doesn’t do the trick and keep you all posted!

—

Seriously- my boyfriend and I moved in together four months ago, and he’s extremely sensitive to smells.

He has one cat whose litter box doesn’t seem to smell, but the smell from the one my two use is unbearable for him and it’s been a major issue.

We have a very small house and don’t have a place for another box

Their last vet checkup was 4.5 months ago and they had no issues

We scoop anywhere between 1-3 times a day

We have stainless steel covered litter boxes with charcoal filters

We run air purifiers 24/7 next to the box, open windows when we can, and have a fan running to increase airflow

We’ve tried Arm and Hammer clump and seal, world’s best poop fighter, odour buster, and boxiecat pro litters

We’ve switched foods, they get Purina one indoor advantage and a small amount of Friskies wet food (with extra water mixed in) every day, as well as Purina Fortiflora cat probiotics to try to stop the smell at the source

We bought Whisko plugins that are supposed to help- they didn’t

I clean the boxes, litter mats, and surrounding area with Natures Miracle about once a week

We scoop into airtight bags- the smell is coming from the box, not the bags.

Honestly open to any suggestions, even if they sound crazy. I’m 99% certain my girl wont use pellet litter so that isn’t an option.

Please help!

And before some moron says “oh he’s a troll or he’s with one of the companies” I’m not and if you wish to think that, knock yourself out, I have no desire to convince you otherwise so feel free to ignore what I’m sharing then.

However, for those who care about what the holy grail of litter means to me, it is as follows, which I share purely out of the nice guy in me, because I would want someone to share this with me.

So I just purchased 13 different types of litter and literally created an excel sheet and monitored tracking, smell, cleanliness inside the snowy, duration and how fast for the bin to get full.

I have finally come up with the perfect combination of litters. It isn’t cheap but it isn’t terrible, it is about 1.5-1.7 times the cost of Arm & Hammer Slide and those premium clay litters.

So this combination I settled on gave me: - zero tracking - zero smell - lasted the longest among the 22 different combinations I tried

It should be noted I have two cats, one of which is unstable diabetic so pees excessively

If you have just one cat and/or none of your cats are diabetic, your results will be even better than mine so lucky you.

I have the Pet Snowy litter box, and I use Glad Cherry Blossom garbage bags, and I use the third party pet snowy bag clips you can buy on Etsy, so you don’t have to pay for the expensive pet snowy bags.

For additional smell control, I use a healthy sprinkle of:

https://a.co/d/9XH9qhL and https://a.co/d/aLJeFU9

I put a healthy sprinkle in with the litter and also a healthy sprinkle in the empty bag in the bin.

The litter combination I use is as follows:

3 Cups of the multigrain Sustainably Yours https://www.petsmart.ca/5308031.html

4 Cups of CatIt Pea Husk Litter https://a.co/d/e7vh7UP

2cups PetSafe unscented litter crystals https://a.co/d/hpge2KE

This lasted my two cats, one with very excessive urinating, 2.5 days between changes, zero tracking, zero smell, no scooping. It would at least 3.5 days if my cat was urinating normally, probably even 4 days.

So this is, to me, the perfect combination. The only drawback is the cost being about 1.5-1.75 times the cost of Arm&Hammer Slide but the trade off is worth it.

There is no other drawback to this combination. I have tested it thoroughly, tried every litter out there, and charted it all. I put my personal word behind this combination and that might not mean anything since you don’t know me, but I would be VERY surprised if someone tried this as I’ve outlined and didn’t also have the exact same conclusion as me.

Let me know if you try it!

Spreadsheet can be found at:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/10y1qqYP5dmEB5IzUWbqS19soCO2vdBlJ/view?usp=drive_link

Also, the reason I did this is because we live in a very small condo and my partner hates cats to no end. He is very patient otherwise but I have to make sure the cats are as minimal of impact as possible otherwise we fight about it so I’ve just learned to keep on top of it. But that doesn’t mean I want to be doing cat chores all day so I wanted to find the best combination, for as little work as possible.

We have a robot vacuum that is programmed to vacuum around the litter box every time a cat is finished going to the washroom, the motion sensor inside tells the vacuum to go to that area and vacuum.

So this is one step to make my life easier :)

I clean their box MUTIPLE times a day and it still REEKS of of cat poop and pee. i use scented clay litter and i swear it doesn't even do anything. i also clean the litter box at the end of the week or after 2 weeks if i'm lazy but still my whole house smells like cat poop and pee. to add to that when they poop/pee in freshly clean litter it smells just as bad as before i cleaned it. i've put baking soda and even those cat deodorizers and none of them work. everywhere smells and it's making me sick idk what to do

Pretty general question, but how often do you scoop?

I’m asking since I’m only a few weeks into having a cat so I really don’t know how often I should be scoop! I tend to scoop in the morning, and then whenever he #2 during the day, so maybe 2-3x daily? Full tray clean 1-2x per week. (I love him but he stinks!)

I can’t tell if im scooping too little, too often, and am generally just wondering what other people do? Thanks! :)

Looking for some litter advice. I have a 9 year old bengal that i got when he was 3. Pretty easygoing cat. Top entry litter box. Here's the litter history:

• First 4 years I used Arm & Hammer Clump & Seal. It was fine; dusty, laborious, and a bit smelly but manageable as a person looking to save a buck.
• Next 2 years I move to Pretty Litter. It was pretty solid; smell wasn't an issue, didn't have to do anything more then once a month other than scoop the poop. Big downside was how bad it tracked, even with the top entry box.
• Past year I switched over to Tuft & Paw. Lived up to the hype about no tracking. Yet it smelled, like really bad. And not the 'standard' cat litter smell, somehow considerably worse. Not to mention slowly having to add/replace litter over the course of a month. Should have listened to the reviews.

I just want something that:

• Doesn't track
• Doesn't smell
• Is dustfree
• I don't have to replace/add-to more than once a month

Also... Price is not an issue, I don't care about the composition of the litter, and I am not open to a litterbox robot.

Where do I go from here?

I just want to understand how ppl are using 20-40 lbs over 2-3 months instead of 4 weeks. I have one cat and I just can’t wrap my head around it. It would be amazing if I could spread out my litter like that, but I can’t.

I bought arm and hammer double duty 28 lbs litter 3 weeks ago. Wanting to change it out this week because there’s tiny clump urine crumbs and it’s just stunk up my apartment. I use an air purifier but it doesn’t do much. I’m going to use tofu litter next and hopefully won’t go through it quickly. For reference, my cat poops once a day, pees 5-8 times a day, I scoop twice daily, and I have a large sized stainless steel litter box

Edit no one asked for lol: I’m taking her to the vet in 2.5 weeks unless health concerns persist. I may have been overestimating the amount she pees and will keep count now, yesterday she only peed once. I scoop every day and don’t dump out the litter, I only top off as needed. Excluding after the first week full non clumping litter change/deep clean, yesterday was the first time I did a deep clean so I don’t have too much data yet

Hi guys!!

Basically: To the people living in apartments/small houses… where the heck do you guys keep your litter boxes??

Now for background:

Prior to moving in with my partner I used to keep it in my living room and had no problem with it. I’d clean it frequently and vacuum frequently (hard wood floor) and imo it wouldn’t smell (I also got guests and nobody complained either).

Now, I moved in with my new partner who loves my cats btw and they also love him, but we’re disagreeing when it comes to where litter box should go.
He wants it in the bathroom, I can’t have it in the bathroom.

His reasoning is, litter box is a cats bathroom/toilet, so it should go in the bathroom. It contains pee and poo and it’s kinda gross, it shouldn’t be out in plain sight.

My reasoning is, the litter is made of clay and I HATE accidentally stepping on wet litter, or stepping on it after shower. The cats love the tub also, so there is always litter inside the tub, and it becomes small blobs of gross clay that is hard to clean. We both work, so we can’t just sweep the floor every time they use the litter box.
I don’t have a problem with it in the living room bc it’s easier to vacuum, no wet clay, plus our bathroom is so small we barely have room anymore.

He thinks when we have guests over, people will judge us or think it’s gross. I don’t care what people may think lol

He is open to leave it in the living room, but it’s not ideal to him. I’m not so open to having it in the bathroom.

I don’t wanna ask who is right or who is wrong, that’s not the point lol we’re not actually arguing about it or fighting, it’s just been a conversation and we’re deciding together what to do. I just wanna know what other cat parents do, and what solutions people find.

(Keeping it in the bedroom is not an option, I’m very allergic to cats and I need my sleeping space to be cat free, otherwise I’m not able to breathe at night. Having litter dust constantly in the bedroom would make me very sick)

Hey yall, this is not meant to talk down to anyone who has the automatic litter boxes. I have just recently stumbled upon the fact that some of these automatic litter boxes are actually killing cats. This is not about the actual “Litter Robot”. From what I can tell it’s a certain company that uses the name Llitter Robot” but it’s not the actual one. Another name they use is “Amztoy”. I will not go into details of what has happened to the cats. But please, please, please, look at what you are buying before getting them. The stories I have heard are upsetting. Look up YouTube “One Man Five Cats” and his video “The DEADLY self-cleaning litter boxes that have flooded the market” he uses a stuffed animal to show you what happens if the cats neck is in the opening for to long. They are paying to have negative reviews removed. I would hate for another cat to become a victim to the “Killer Robot”. Stay safe out there!! 🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛

We live in a state that doesn’t have those cheap plastic grocery bags anymore which is what I used for my previous cats. It feels so wasteful to use the big thick plastic ones. So what does everyone scoop into? Seems like such a simple thing but I’m not sure the easiest plan.

Do you completely empty the litter box once a month and wash it with soap and water even if the litter still looks ok?

Edit: I have a stainless steel box and I scoop 1-2 times daily.

We moved into a new place, and unfortunately the only room we can have the litter boxes in is the laundry room, which sits right next to the dining room separated by a door which we have left slightly ajar for the cats to pass thru (it's a rental, so we can't cut a cat flap into the door)

This means any particulating smells would immediately kill any appetite and would be especially shitty if guests are over and the cats are going over to do their business.

The laundry room does have 2 windows with a screen, which we keep open, and a door that opens up to a deck, which we can't keep open because the cats are indoor only (the deck has a climbable fence to the outside world). We use World's best corn litter.

Open to trying:

1. Covered litter boxes (we have an open one right now)
2. Smell sucking machines? fans?
3. Strong chemical-free deodorizers
4. Some kinda cat patio (catio) that allows the deck door to be open in the day and the cats now get to go outside and chill in it too, though that won't stop the smell from infiltrating the dining chamber.

Thanks all!

I'm moving to a place where there is just a bath tub. Do people generally wash litter boxes in the bath tub???

I've always washed in like the laundry area in the house but I'm moving away from my parents place so

We have an old-school litter box that has to stay in our bedroom because we have limited space in our apartment. How often should it realistically be scooped?

The cat belongs to my boyfriend, and he’s primarily responsible for taking care of her. The problem is that he’ll sometimes go as long as four days without scooping the litter box, and by then the bedroom smells awful.

I’ll occasionally scoop it myself because I can’t tolerate the smell and I don’t want the cat to have to use a filthy litter box. But I’m also the person who spends the most time in the bedroom, so I’m the one most affected when it isn’t cleaned.

Is expecting the litter box to be scooped every day unreasonable?

My question is two fold:

1. To people who own 14 cats, how many litter boxes do you use?

2. To people that don't own 14 cats, 3 litter boxes is an insanely low number right!?!

This is not regarding me, but someone else I know who owns this many cats. Their home smells very strongly of cat urine.

I have one cat and one litter box, and sometimes I think I should have two because I've heard that you should have one litter box per cat plus an extra.

Frankly, it baffles me how there isn't just one cat litter option that does everything you need it to do. For context, I adopted two rescue kittens three months ago. I adore them.

However, since becoming a new cat owner I feel like I have done nothing but research litter options, try different options (thankfully my kittens are happy to use everything so far) and wonder why there isn't just one universally accepted litter type that just works!

Paper litter? A bit smelly and lasts only a few days...

Tofu litter? Expensive. A bit smelly.

Crystal litter? Lasts the longest and locks in the smell the best so far. But, the tracking and the environment!

What else should I try? I'm so keen to just settle on something long term... Economical, environmentally friendly, long lasting and as odour free as possible!

Edit to add: I'm located in Australia, some of the options suggested look great but I'm not sure is available here :)

My cat has had soft stool for the entire time we’ve had him (about 2 years now and we got in at 2 years old). It doesn’t form in logs, it’s kind of a cowpie texture and it smells so bad, it makes a room uninhabitable for at least an hour after he goes, and that is with his box being behind a closet door. I just hate it. I dread every time he steps into his box. I don’t know what to do about this. His behavior is so normal. He’s playful, he eats well, and he seems to be perfectly happy. The vet has never expressed concern for his health either. We mentioned this issue and they gave us some meds to try that didn’t do anything. Seeing as he is considered healthy though, I don’t want to go down a rabbit hole of vet bills trying to figure this out. It just feels useless and impossible to fix. We’ve tried forti flora, meds from the vet, pumpkin, and changing his food. What do I even do at this point? This is a never ending cycle of frustration. DISCLAIMER: this is not a “medical advice” question necessarily. Just any sort of guidance, support, or common experience notes are welcome and appreciated.

A) Garbage bin inside home, then take that out regularly, or

B) immediately remove from home every day (communal garbage chute/dumpster, bin in garage, etc.)