Hi Jennie

Keep calm! Stress related issues like these are not solved overnight! Cats have very sensitive noses so they can still smell where they've wee'd if even a little bit is still there, and ten go back to it again.

Do you have him on the zylkene now? You'll need to keep him on it a while until he consistently is using the trays and then a bit longer to reinforce the behaviour. Have you sprayed the area with feliway and do you have it plugged in again now?

When they went to your OH's parents, same litter trays and litter?

Can you cover the settees with water proof mattress protector sheets until this is solved? And also continue restricting his access to certain areas as you are doing?

I'm going to pm you the details of the behaviourist as well.

Don't give up!

_________________
Clare
Hendrix and Jagger, Brown Marble Boys (born 18 August 2013)
Hampshire, UK

Hi Clare,

Thank you for your response!
I have him a zylkene a few days ago, how often should he be having one?

Plug ins should be arriving tomorrow and no I don't have any spray but I might get some, I'm just on my way to get some litter trays. I feel like it's a race against time to get back to the house before he wees! Ha!

Yes they had everything the same at his mom and dads. They did have quite a few accidents at their house but once they were home, we had no accidents until this Tuesday?

Where can I get a waterproof cover from? It might cover the kitchen sofa but the laknhe one is a huge corner sofa. However, I can shut this room off easily. I just wish I didn't have too.

After reading through a few threads last night, I'm wondering if it's his food? They have always had kitten applaws tuna, two tins a day (breakfast and dinner) and unlimited applaws chicken dry food. They would lick the bowl clean for the wet food as soon as I put it down. The past week or so Simba has walked away from it when I have put the bowl down but then gone back for bits throughout the day.

To cut a long story short, my partners mom fed Nala semi skimmed milk whilst we were away and she spent two nights in the vets when we got back from holiday because of all the lactose she had eaten (I was so angry with his mom). To get Nala to eat again I had to try her with loads of different foods and she finally ate when I bought whiskas & felix. I think it's because they are full of sugar but I didn't care ask long as she ate! Simba took well advantage of this as he also got to eat that yummy food too (we class it as a Macdonald's to them). I'm starting to think he has gone off his food now he has tasted that rubbish and this is his way of telling me? Can you recommend any other foods as I want them to eat good food not cheap stuff?

_________________
Jennie

Simba and Nala born 07/04/16

Hi Jennie

With the zylkene it's 1 per day if he is under 5kg, 2per day if over 5kg. Jagger has 2 per day, one with his breakfast and one with his tea.

Wow, you've had it all going on, haven't you? Poor Nala! How was Simba while she was away and how were they both when she came home? It's always handbags at dawn here when one of them has been to the vet and comes home smelling different!

I honestly don't know about the change in food. Food-wise, I feed mine a combination of Meowing Heads and Thrive as I also try to avoid kitty junk food. But you might have a fight on your hands now they've tasted Felix and whiskas! Having said that, our two were being fed kitty junk food by the breeder and I managed to change it. I guess it will be trial and error, finding something that is good in your eyes and yummy to them. My two really love the wet Meowing Heads hey good looking wet food. It's always gone in seconds. What treats do you give them? Perhaps put a couple of treats in the food to tempt them?

I would have thought any bedding shop should have waterproof mattress covers, or of course good old Amazon. I think the main thing is to cover the areas to avoid the urine getting on the sofas etc again as that is cheaper than replacing mattresses and sofas.

Even though Jagger has been fine since he's been back on zylkene I'm still worried he will wee somewhere he shouldn't again. Hence if he cries at any time, day or night I'm up and checking if he needs his tray and that its clean and Hendrix hasn't used it. I've been cleaning all the trays again today, it becomes an obsession

Jagger was still sniffing the rug he pee'd on a few weeks ago, I've cleaned it with enzyme cleaner but he could still smell his urine. I've been spraying it the last few days with feliway and he isn't doing it so much now thank goodness.

I pm'd you the details for the Behavioirist in case you want to go that route. She has bengals so she knows what she's talking about.

I'm sure you will get there, cats don't like being 'dirty', so something is wrong in his world and it's a case of trying to work it out... Have there been any new animals around your house at all that he might be sensing? There are so many things that could be upsetting him, trying to actually pinpoint the cause can be really hard!

_________________
Clare
Hendrix and Jagger, Brown Marble Boys (born 18 August 2013)
Hampshire, UK

Just been flicking through my cat vs cat book and a sign of stress can be a decreased appetite. Did the picky eating start at roughly the same time as he started peeing and pooping outside the litter tray? What are his activity levels like? I think I mentioned before that Jagger's activity levels dropped for a good few weeks before the inappropriate pee'ing started. I'm trying to remember what his appetite was like, but it was summer and hot and I probably would have put a decrease in appetite down to that.

_________________
Clare
Hendrix and Jagger, Brown Marble Boys (born 18 August 2013)
Hampshire, UK

So many things can be a contributing factor. Many cats are lactose intolerant -- what a bad thing for your mom to do, but hope she has learned her lesson! With the change in food, stress can happen. Do cats get acid reflux? Upset tummies? Absolutely! We don't always know when it is happening to them. If you can afford to consult with a cat behaviorist, that might help. But this may not be something that can be changed overnight. Cannot stress enough that the type of litter box, type of litter can also discourage a cat from wanting to use it. Keep working with your kitty. You have one that is not a problem and one that is, so maybe they each need their own litter boxes for each thing they do.