What grout joint size are you thinking? If it is narrow, I would consider that. Sheet vinyl is perfect, of course. Depends what you can live with for the next 8 years. Some people would not be at all happy with vinyl flooring.

Try Dr. Elsey's Cat Attract litter. One big problem with kitties that go outside the box is that they don't like their litter box. Could be the litter itself (such as pellets being uncomfortable on their feet), fragranced litter (a lot do not like perfumes) or that the box is not kept clean enough for their preferences (have many and clean frequently). They could also have arthritic problems. Cutting out the entrance to be very low, no stepping needed, helps with that.

Yes, I was planning on narrow grout.

Cat Attract has been tried and failed. Regular unscented clumping litter seems to be the only acceptable kind. I think it's a cat vs. cat situation. Psychokitty and my other cat don't get along, and I think Psychokitty marks when she's feeling stressed. (OK, I'll admit it. She's on Prozac. I feel silly giving Prozac to a cat, but it has been a big help -- just not a complete solution.)

Cat Attract is (to us) unscented clumping litter. ? How many litter boxes do you have? I would number them excessively if there is a problem with another cat.

1/16" joints I would feel comfortable with. I'm not sure previous odors alone draws them to go outside the box. There must be underlying issues prompting it, like the other cat or an undesirable (uncomfortable) litter box, for instance.

Check out the Pet forum for suggestions, if you haven't already.

What is a rescue remedy?

Our kitchen flooring choice may not be popular but we LOVE it! Chosen because of my spill-prone self, 4 cats of various health and the garage and deck entrance to our house. Coincidently we have soapstone and grey cabinets. Tile was too hard and cold for us. Our house has old, varied width wood floors throughout and we got a good match with Tarkett Maginitude Collection fiber floor in "aged barnwood". Everyone assumes it is wood and asks us how we matched the old floors so well. It is affordable too. closeup:

I had porcelain for 19 yrs and it survived with no marks against dog, cat and wheelchair.

Grout joint width is the only issue. Enzymes might address that. ? Not sure how fallible. Thin probably not a problem.

My floor installer talked about a product that sealed joints in luxury vinyl planks/tile that we were not planning to grout in a bathroom. We went a different route so I am not sure what he was planning to use.

per grouted tile, wouldn't cat urine soak into the grout?

I did some reading here, and someone (can't remember who) said that it wouldn't soak into epoxy grout.

Thanks for the suggestions for the cat herself, but I've tried everything recommended -- Cat Attract (a clumping litter with scents added to make it attractive to cats), Rescue Remedy (which is a herbal calming remedy), the purple collar, Feliway (both formulas) diffusers and spray, multiple litter boxes (at one point I had seven, for two cats in a small house), every version of litter, you name it. Other than that one (not) small problem, she's a very sweet cat.

if you think a vinyl flooring might work, go into a flooring store and look at their samples. even into lowe's or HD. In the stores they have some very nice options. I have a problem with pattern in flooring so I was very limited but found they had a good number of options. much better than what you can see online for them. I ended up getting vinyl planks and love them. very little pattern and if there's a dw leak or such, I can pull 'em up myself to let the subfloor dry out. they're by Armstrong and I think most of the nicer of the sheet vinyl I saw at lowe's was also Armstrong. I have a terrible problem with things like the glue used to put that down, and even paint. I had my place painted before I moved in but was already living here for the flooring decision.

(OK, I'll admit it. She's on Prozac) - had to laugh at that. my previous girl dog had an illness and took meds for it. She often acted nutso and I threatened to put her on Prozac. When the vet asked how she was doing and I told him I was threatening to put her on Prozac, he looked at me weirdly and said 'that's basically what she is on - to keep her calm because of her condition'. well duh. I had no idea. I thought it was to deal with what she had, not just help her deal with having it... so even with prozac type meds she was a real case. I should have put me on it too. but I felt the same way you do, nuts or not, she was my girl and she was staying. She was probably hoping I'd help myself to some of her meds...

As things would go, I got a pup about a yr before my girl got her wings. And she's even worse than my girl was (that's without a 'medical condition' or meds). Ah well... I figured if I don't keep her, who will? At 7 months, I was her 3rd home and I know why... she's about 4 now and I wouldn't trade her for a not nutty dog. I've just accepted that maybe it takes a nutty dog to live with me.

Wood look porcelain tile with dark small grout joints...seal the tile several days after install.

Have you tried Feliway for the cat? Also have 1 more litter box than the number of cats. Make one box a covered box. If cat is old talk to vet about arthritis supplements. Assuming the position can be painful for old kitties, and they associate the box with the pain, so go elsewhere. If they do Adequate injections on cats, consider it, because it works great on dogs and horses with arthritis. One shot every 4 days for a month, then yearly. It's easy to give shots...Vet can show you.

Feliway diffusers work really well for stress related responses like urine marking. Also try feliway cystease - a bladder supplement which calms the lining of the bladder. Especially for use for stress marking

I would do a wood-look vinyl sheet like flexitec. Very cleanable, very durable, well cushioned and decent looking. I have it in my craft room and really like it.

We had a cat that started marking when we moved into our new house (of course in our new expensive DR carpeting!) and it was because he felt threatened by the neighbor cat who kept nosing around. I suspect had we been more diligent about discouraging the neighbor cat, our cat would've felt less threatened. In the winter it was too cold for the other cat to 'visit' and our cat became more 'cooperative'.

Porcelain tile + epoxy grout is pretty much impervious to everything, and doesn't require sealing. Our lower level, which is on a concrete slab, has porcelain tile and epoxy grout (Laticrete Spectralock). We have an elderly dog and it has held up beautifully.

Our townhouse kitchen is on the second floor though. If your floor has wood framing, be sure to check it's joists for span and deflection, and an appropriate subfloor, if you plan on using porcelain tile. Our framing was 24" on center and had too much deflection for a reliable tile installation. Any bounce in the floor will result in cracked grout eventually.

Is your cat spayed? I remember one time on the cat show with Jackson, (can't remember the name) where the cat was spraying and once Jackson convinced the owners to spay the cat, the cat stopped spraying.

Otherwise, I'd suggest the sheet vinyl for now and when you're ready you can put wood floors in.

Quarry tile works well . We used in a house where the kitchen and dining room all ran together with the living room.

Holds up great (My dogs are a giant breed and I have kitties too.)

Basic old mortar that comes in a bag and you add water works just fine. Tile and mortar are not complicated.

As to the resale, a quarry tile floor (or nice other tile - not some 12x12 boring beige) would be a plus in the kitchen/dining area.

Putting in vinyl would make it a negative for me - I would look at the house and be deducting the cost of ripping it out from any offer.

I beg you not to put in that gawd awful fake wood tile stuff. It looks fake and is obvious a mile away. Local realtor was moaning the other day that someone stuck it in a house all over and they had to drop the price 15% to get an offer - buyers hated it. (And a 15% cut on an $800,000 is a lotta money LOL!)

(And I'm not gonna offer advice on your kitty. Although I am with a breed rescue for dogs and have been training critters for 52 years, sounds like you have tried everything. Will note that maybe replacing the subfloor will help - gets rid of the old urine scent you can't get to in cleaning.)

PS Elpaso1 meant ADEQUAN - not 'adequate.' Great arthritis drug - have been using it for 30+ years since it came out. Need to have her xrayed to see if she has premature arthritis somewhere. It works on joints but doesn't work on spinal discs.

Quarry tile is porous. I would not use it with incontinent animals.

Maybe consider terrazzo flooring?

There are all KINDS of things to do to de-stress a territorial cat. Separate litter boxes, more vertical territory, more play, etc. Make sure you have exhausted every suggestion before installing an expensive floor you don't love.

I feel you though. Our cat is a neurotic weirdo. She was on prozac for a while too when we were in a stressful living situation that made her start overgrooming and peeing in random places. She calmed down enormously after our living situation calmed -- no more errant peeing, less overgrooming (but not gone -- vet thinks once the overgrooming habit is triggered, it never completely goes away).

On top of that, she has always had a sensitive stomach even before she got all stressed out, and she vomits OFTEN. We have taken her to several vets, tried every kind of food there is, and I've gotten her down to vomiting once a week or so on average. Still way too much.

There are some pretty decent vinyl floorings out there that look like wood grain. We're considering using luxury vinyl plank flooring in our cabin. We have 3 cats and one or the other is always puking up a hairball or trying 5 times before its successful. I have read the seams are so tight on the locking type, that spills are not an issue. So I am hoping cat puke can sit there till I get up in the morning and clean it up.

We had a male stray cat that we adopted that was spraying in the house and he was temporarily put on valium. The problem instantly stopped. Our vet said it is done for that problem occasionally. I assume Prozac does a similar thing, but maybe a different drug like valium would work better. Once our cat was neutered and also quit the habit of spraying, he was able to come off the valium. We have also had good success with the Feliway for a cat that was clawing furniture (insecurity and territory marking). but I see you have tried it.

I have used epoxy grout in a shower and we will be tiling our bathroom floor using some kind of epoxy or urethane grout. But I find it quite gritty and I fear it might have its own cleaning problems because of that when placed on a horizontal surface. Unless there are newer more fine textured products out there now. It was only 2 years ago that we used it tho.

OP You may want to also post in the pet forum for help with dealing with the cat... it may help give you more choices re flooring.

Opinions vary on the "gawdawful" vinyl wood planks - obviously some people don't like it or at least don't like the brands and installs they have seen. We have it, we love it - very easy to clean, wears like iron and it actually looks quite real. Yes, we can tell it's not real wood but real wood in addition to not being a good choice for your home also would have cost us 10x more, since I was able to install the vinyl plank myself. It was so inexpensive that some day we could replace it with real hardwood if we get the budget and want to.

Around here if you expected anyone to deduct off the price of a home because you didn't like the type of flooring you'd be laughed off the lot. I hate carpet far far more than our vinyl plank floors but we didn't get a price cut because our home was carpeted when we bought it. We just ripped it out and put in the vinyl. But any future buyer who doesn't like it doesn't even have to bother pulling it out and disposing of it, It would be easy to carpet over or lay another floor directly over, so resale is not an issue.

It is quite waterproof when installed with tight joints, the vinyl planks squish up against eachother and form a tight seam. We've spilled puddles of water in the kitchen and had stray ice cubes escape the dispenser to melt off in corner and be found later - no damage. To ensure waterproofing in your case, you can apply an adhesive or clear silicone to the edges of the planks as they are installed.

I am sorry your kitty is stressed with the situation and I am glad to hear that you are committed to her despite the issues. Since you're certain it is behavioral (and hopefully that means you are feeding exclusively wet food to avoid idiopathic urinary tract disease which is associated with dry foods) Is there any way you can separate the cats in your home? You can also provide retreats - there are cat flaps activated by each cat's microchip number which can be used in interior doors to selectively exclude cats for example from scaredy-cat's litter and/or food area, strategically placed cat towers, getaway routes etc. Litter boxes in every room - that may sound unappealing but they can be disguised inside furniture, and better that there is a litter box in the room than the cat using the floor as the litter box!

Also another medication to consider is amitriptyline - usually more effective for cats than prozac, and can be formulated in a transdermal ear cream dispensed in a felt tip pen from Wedgewood Pet Pharmacy, since many cats won't eat these pills in a pill pocket etc and pilling a cat daily doesn't exactly help with the stress situation!

I've tried amitriptyline. Prozac works better for my girl. Luckily she's easy to pill and doesn't act stressed about it, surprisingly. I tried the transdermal ear cream (with the Prozac) and it was more difficult than pilling her, plus it didn't seem to work as well. I've also tried liquid -- if giving Prozac to the cat made me feel silly, ordering Prozac and being asked if I wanted it in chicken, fish, or beef flavor felt even sillier. I've had litter boxes all over the house, including in the dining room (yuck). Neither cat will use a covered box, so hiding them in furniture is out. I do have a tall cat tree, so one cat or the other can get up high. I have a very small house, so my ability to separate the cats is limited -- plus, they both want to be with me. Sadly, my cat vs. cat issue may soon be resolved. My other cat is 18 and not in good health. (However, I'm concerned that lingering "other cat" odors may still cause Psychokitty to pee in unwanted places.) Thank you for the info re dry food -- I did not know that.

I wouldn't put a wood floor in with the cat issue. Porcelain tile or vinyl flooring would be best. Regarding the cats though - have you tried a feline pheromone? Pet stores sell plug ins with a feline pheromone, I think its called Feliway or something like that. It is supposed to be very calming, mimicking a natural cat pheromone. I used them when I introduced a new cat to my other 2 cats. It might not help, but it can't hurt to get a few and plug them in here and there. It does sound like a marking issue, which is what cats do when they feel threatened or want to let the other cats know "this is my area"

tmnca, what brand of vinyl plank flooring did you use? I am still looking.