You can't "discipline" a cat as you would a child. That's absurd. They don't think like humans do, nor do they reason like we do. To hit or abuse a cat, will create a very frightened animal that will be traumatized for the rest of its life. It will jump at its own shadow, and be constantly petrified in anticipation of the next beating. Why do that to an animal? People need to understand why cats defecate and urinate around the home when there is a perfectly clean litter box nearby. I have a cat, she's now 15 years old and she's been doing this on and off for the past 15 years. We've read up on this, done research, listened to dog/cat experts and none of their advice worked. I've "figured" this out on my own. Cats in the wild (lions, tigers, etc) "mark" territory using their feces and/or urine. When a domestic cat does the same thing inside its home, it's "marking". The question is: why does the cat mark? My best guess is, to help its owner "find it". Translation: I've found whenever me or my husband (or both of us) leave the home for extended periods of time, our cat will "mark" our home using both her feces and urine, usually on my husband's clothing, or a towel. In her little cat brain, she's leaving us a "scent" for us to find our way home. She doesn't like it when we leave the house, she would prefer we stay at home all the time, so we could pet her all the time, which is how she expects us to spend our time - petting her. In her mind, petting her comes above everything else. So when we're gone from home, she doesn't like that one little bit. And if we're gone long enough, she's figured we're "lost" and we need to find our way back home. So she "marks", using her urine, and/or her feces. Our cat has used both to "mark" for us. So would 'beating' her help? Would "discipline" help? As already mentioned, NO. You have to figure out animal psychology to understand just what makes them tick and what doesn't. Our latest way of handling our cat, is to lessen the amount of time petting her. It's hard for us, because we like to pet her, but this is a last resort for us. I'm sorely tempted to pet her, but I don't want her soiling our home. And rather than have her euthanized, we'd rather have her around a warm home with good food and clean water and live out her life. But with minimal petting, because the more we pet and spoil her, the more she soils our home. We'll see where this latest "theory" takes us. More later.

>urine is very yellow and stains do not come out, though god knows I tried Try dumping a whole lot of salt on the stain while it's still wet or as soon as you can (the sooner the better). Brush it in and around really well and let it sit a few minutes. Then get all that salt back up. Then pour not very diluted vinegar straight on the stain and let it sit there all wet for a little while. Blot that up, and blot, and blot... And then pour *very* hot water on the stain spot to wet the rug/dilute the vinegar out as you alternate pouring the hot water with walking on dry towels on the spot to alternately wet and dry the spot. Lots and lots of drying... No, I'm not making a joke here. I must have done this cleaning job a zillion times, especially as our dog aged into dementia and almost a total loss of control. (Even with all that, though, I still miss her...) The stain that's really a toughie is when the dog eats moldy leaves outside and then upchucks it on the rug. Those black stains are the things I never quite mastered. And I didn't always notice the black upchuck right away. (Don't ask _me_ why the dog ate that stuff! Dogs can be crrrrazy!) I've discovered Goop as a miracle worker for laundry stains since then, though, and that might have worked on the rug too, with enough effort at rubbing it in. A plain old-fashioned wood floor might still be a pretty good idea with pets around. We still have some of that, and it still looks decent. Best wishes, Mary

I know this is an old thread but I just went through reading everyone's comments...thank you, I needed to see I am not alone! An hour ago I put down my cat because of incurable inappropriate elimination. When we bought our house 5 years ago and the previous owners left him here..package deal, I guess.. but they always kept him locked up by himself in the sun room and we figured out why pretty quickly. My best guess is that he was captured from the enormous pack of feral cats down the alley by the kids who lived here. They did not neuter him so we did that immediately. He had litter box aversion from the very start so we took the recommended steps... veterinarian visits which turned up urine crystals so we put him on prescription food and took care of that issue, but it made no difference. We ensured his box was clean, we tried different types of litters, litter boxes and locations before we landed on the Catgenie (worth EVERY penny, btw). We even attempted to toilet train him but never got past the pie pan in the rim. We gated him in the bathroom with his box, food water and a bed. We attempted to retrain him in a huge crate that fit his litter box, food and a bed- all to no avail. We supervised him, blocked access to rooms and rewarded him on the rare occasion he'd do the right thing. We decided to let him out with the dog and encourage him to eliminate outdoors, but even after being outside for hours, he'd come in and I would catch him using the den carpet as his litter box. We've used every cleaner under the sun (microban disinfectant from jon don is spectacular) and we replaced the carpet after thoroughly disinfecting and sealing the affected areas. We just went through the drug therapy but it did not work either. I tried to surrender him to no kill shelters but they're overwhelmed with animals due to the economy. We tried making him an outside cat, but he ALWAYS sneaked in and would complain about the cold/heat and would claw the house to come in. I talked to him a lot about his habits because I believe that our pets do understand us. I feel just awful but I exhausted my options ....this is 5 years of trying to solve the problem! Euthanasia with a veterinarian IS a humane choice, but most importantly it was our last option. This isn't a matter of inconvenience or cold heartedness, we've tried every and any thing we've heard or read about...some things we tried more than once! We LOVE this kitty and inconvenienced the bejesus out of ourselves to accommodate, retrain and reasonably coexist. For us, it is a matter of financial strain, health, sanitation and insanity from zero results after years of failed attempts. Cat urine soaked couches, carpets and walls do not even come close to the mild smell of a dirty litter box. No, I will not live in a home that reeks of cat urine. It is unsanitary. Everyday was incredibly stressful walking in the house and being hit with a wall of intolerable odor. I guess in some way I am trying to support myself and come to peace with this by telling you that we tried. Hard. For years. If you're faced with this problem, try like hell to fix it but if you and your vet(s) cannot cure inappropriate elimination, be gentle with yourself through the process. Today is a sad day because my precious boy is gone and I failed him in curing his elimination problem. I'm trying to rationalize an agonizing decision.

If you have cats, you’re going to have issues with your floors. Whether it’s carpeting that catches every single cat hair and thrown-up hairball, wood floors that stain if your cat pees or vomits on them or any number of other problems, keeping your floors in good shape is certainly a challenge. Here are some tips on getting the best flooring for cats: Tips to keep in mind when choosing flooring if you have cats: 1. Carpets and cats don’t mix If you have carpets, you already know why I’m recommending this. I don’t know about you, but my carpets have endured just about every kind of cat mess possible. Carpet is very difficult to clean, especially if your cat urinates on it, because the urine goes through all the layers of the carpet and sometimes even into the underlayment and floorboards beneath. This makes the smell almost impossible to remove. 2. Avoid porous flooring if you have cats Hardwood floors are beautiful, and they’re very popular for that reason. The trouble with hardwoods is that they are porous, and if a cat urinates or vomits on them, it will leave a stain that’s almost impossible to remove. Add to that the fact that if there are any gaps between the floorboards, the urine or vomit will sink into the cracks and stay there until you remove the flooring. 3. Use area rugs that can be easily washed If you need carpeting for noise abatement or comfort purposes, use area rugs that you can easily toss in the washing machine. Carpet tiles are another good option because you can easily replace soiled tiles before any liquids soak through to the flooring beneath. 4. Invest in litter and food mats If you don’t want your cats tracking kitty litter all over your house, invest in some good-size litter mats — at least a foot longer and 6 inches wider than your litter box. Also use inexpensive, easy-to-wash, 3-by-5-foot throw rugs as litter mats. Put mats under your cat’s food and water dishes to avoid problems from spills there, too. 5. Flat flooring is best if you have cats Any time you can use a flooring material that doesn’t have cracks or crevices, you’ll have better results. Some of those choices include poured concrete (this must be sealed, otherwise you’ll have a porous floor that will trap odors and liquids), terrazzo and even vinyl/linoleum. And the best flooring for cats is… 1. Bamboo This is a great choice for homes with cats. It’s stain-resistant, harder than the hardest of hardwoods and completely renewable. Although it may cost a bit more up front, you’ll save money in the long run ناصر پلاستیک because bamboo is so durable. 2. Cork Another green choice, cork is antimicrobial, so it will reduce the growth of mold and other allergens. It’s sound absorbent and will help to calm the thundering noise of cats at play. Although it’s also water-resistant, you should still clean up any urine, vomit or other liquids quickly. 3. Tile Whether you go with stone, porcelain or ceramic, tile is a great choice because of its water-resistance. Some porous types of stone, such as marble, slate or travertine, should be sealed in order to avoid staining. 4. Vinyl I know — if you’re of a certain age, vinyl floors are the stuff of nightmares. But vinyl and linoleum have come a long way. You can buy vinyl flooring that looks like hardwood, for example. It’s scratch- and stain-resistant, low in allergens, easy to clean and maintain. An extra bonus: It’s quiet to walk on. 5. Laminate Laminate is popular because it looks like traditional hardwood floors. Because of the way it’s made, it may be more stain-resistant than hardwood. It also tends to be scratch-resistant, so it’s a good choice to avoid damage from kitty claws.