What should I do? Pet sitting cats?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They are mad at you and showed you who is in charge. Your friend can deal with it when she gets back.

Imagine how stupid a cat must be to destroy its own home to stick it to a complete stranger! Totally makes sense from an evolutionary standpoint! /s

Or they feel threatened by a stranger. I had a cat that would try to attack people she didn't know that came into the house. She had a short list of acceptable humans.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m currently pet sitting a friend’s sister’s cats. My friend and her sister are currently on a cruise through Saturday night. I’ve been taking care of the cats since Saturday.

The first time I got there I noticed a strong cat pee smell and despite my best efforts, it’s gotten worse. Maybe it’s because the house is closed up with no airflow? Maybe because the cats have peed somewhere I can’t find? I don’t know. I have walked the whole house looking for the cause of the odor but I can’t find anything.

Two days ago I cleaned the litter thoroughly, took out the trash, but the next day, the smell was worse than ever. I got such a headache afterwards that I seriously googled “ammonia poisoning”. The cats seem to be just fine.

I’m supposed to spend time with the cats each day, interacting and playing, but for the past two days I haven’t been able to. I quickly feed them, change the water, scoop the poop, and go. I feel horrible about this. Should I let the owner know I can’t hang out in the house with the cats, but they are watered and fed? I don’t want her to worry on her vacation and there’s nothing she can do from the middle of the Caribbean Sea.

Did you check the bed? Cats are know to display their anger by using bed for their litter box!

[Anonymous]

Is there scoopable urine in the box or do you think they are urinating exclusively outside of the box?

Is it possible on something hot like an air vent? I have cats and they rarely pee outside the box, but I can say with certainty that the smell isn't like that. Are you pregnant or ovulating perhaps?

If you last scooped two days ago, you need to scoop again. You don't need to scoop every time, but if there are mutiple cats you should be scooping daily.

If you are not up for this, don't do it again. It's not a good situation for anyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People can get texts on cruises - text the owner and say what you're smelling. Ask where they'd be likely to have peed. The owner would rather hear from you than not - I promise!

+1 My guess is the cats have done this before and the owner may know where to look.

[Anonymous]

I would not want to be bothered about this while on vacation. I can handle it when I get home. OP, just do what’s necessary and leave. You aren’t obligated to anything else.

[Anonymous]

Did they mention anything to you about the cats’ health before they left? I’m going to be 100% honest here, I love cats, but some people get used to the odors of cats going outside their litter boxes (either #1 or #2) and don’t even think to mention that it happens on a regular basis because they’re so nose blind to it.

Cats should have 1-2 poops a day, and probably 1-3 pees a day in their litter boxes. The pee will clump up in the box if they’re using clumping litter. It’s easy to see. If they aren’t using clumping litter, they’re probably using the larger pellet type litter, in which case they use less at one time and the whole box needs to be dumped and changed more often.

If you’re not seeing at least one and probably multiple pees in the box over a 24 hour period, the cats are “going” somewhere else. I would look at the following places for where the pees might be happening just in my experience as a pet owner: a pile of clothes or linens somewhere, or the laundry, the bath tub, near but not in the litter box, a corner, or a potted plant. If you do find an outside the box pee, you have to clean it with a non-ammonia cleanser because a lot of cleaning products do have ammonia and that will obviously not get rid of the smell. They probably have something around specifically for pet messes.

I’d text your sister and see what’s up because this may not be new behavior for the cats.

[Anonymous]

You can get a Pee flashlight. I think they are just blacklight ones. I have one you can borrow lol.

https://www.amazon.com/Flashlight-Vansky-Ultraviolet-Blacklight-Eliminator/dp/B01A5KLUG2/ref=sr_1_5?crid=D45XDP4COAT0&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.MD5WAYAK8V0phDhCltG4sVbKk2h0fuhoxYp-3gG0wRzcKEG41ViT6AsadYNu916LJdznzfA8-jArGMPXCgxCbBWi0oqC1IUxt9NksQHm_nu6AZWK0XALHrjtF1e81qf9Ah6Z9p140TkTml-w3rTBqRvr1Sus7_8N_67ZANDhrw4VZF0SwcnGv0ISd-hBL19bWakap7Yw_p5sSGkt7nOScd-KAI_hnfOjwNGgXBwCprvr7P32Qt8MN3NvId-Ugz91GekM1yYJX0n_zA90kX1jVnwCgYUJMhp2wJPq8VBKda3qTmd--CaxHp6qq-r9qeTdoxXaydFIhFOJC8jOZItsspU7L0RG-5Pkl5Pai5og0JJluZNlOjxQW-FDEMVvx0_DHrTDQEh4msjfF9O92COyI4bPiSuFj-gD1TiQPy4cHGjTZo9UPmY2gA1KGR3aP7cl.RDZBN7YDQ7u7xGQNA9fUgKVZGyfpS9OrEg3xTQGBfC8&dib_tag=se&keywords=cat+pee&qid=1743009218&sprefix=cat+pee%2Caps%2C69&sr=8-5

[Anonymous]

https://www.petsmart.com/cat/cleaning-and-repellents/stain-and-odor-removers/natures-miracle-urine-destroyer-plus-5311553.html?gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwy46_BhDOARIsAIvmcwPZmm7uCsqmib5c4oSkIB96KaAkcR506QbkNqcunwHt_Zj5zxQYJDgaAnqwEALw_wcB

If you find the source, this is the only thing I've found that works. Even the regular strength Nature's Miracle isn't as good as this.

OP, are you getting paid to care for these cats, or are you just doing it as a favor?

[Anonymous]

'Too much respiratory distress'

Does saying 'I'm refusing to spend time in a room that smells of cat pee' seem too plebeian, OP?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would not want to be bothered about this while on vacation. I can handle it when I get home. OP, just do what’s necessary and leave. You aren’t obligated to anything else.

Cat pee is among the rankest smells you will ever experience. You do not want to come home to that.

[Anonymous]

Agree there is pee somewhere. Pick the litter box up and check under the box. Sometimes cats spray outside of the box. We had to get a high walled box because my cat always managed to get the seam of the partially enclosed boxes.

You should also dump all of the litter and refill with new litter. Don't just scoop.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m currently pet sitting a friend’s sister’s cats. My friend and her sister are currently on a cruise through Saturday night. I’ve been taking care of the cats since Saturday.

The first time I got there I noticed a strong cat pee smell and despite my best efforts, it’s gotten worse. Maybe it’s because the house is closed up with no airflow? Maybe because the cats have peed somewhere I can’t find? I don’t know. I have walked the whole house looking for the cause of the odor but I can’t find anything.

Two days ago I cleaned the litter thoroughly, took out the trash, but the next day, the smell was worse than ever. I got such a headache afterwards that I seriously googled “ammonia poisoning”. The cats seem to be just fine.

I’m supposed to spend time with the cats each day, interacting and playing, but for the past two days I haven’t been able to. I quickly feed them, change the water, scoop the poop, and go. I feel horrible about this. Should I let the owner know I can’t hang out in the house with the cats, but they are watered and fed? I don’t want her to worry on her vacation and there’s nothing she can do from the middle of the Caribbean Sea.

I had this experience once. The cat was peeing on my friend's bed because she mad that she was left alone. The smell was awful. I emailed my friend and she told me to just take care of the litter box, food and water. She brought me back a souvenir from her trip and took her cat to a pet therapist, I kid you not lol.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They are mad at you and showed you who is in charge. Your friend can deal with it when she gets back.

Imagine how stupid a cat must be to destroy its own home to stick it to a complete stranger! Totally makes sense from an evolutionary standpoint! /s

Sounds like trumpet behavior. Ruin your own country and constitution just to exact revenge on the people who
Laughed at you

[Anonymous]

Thought - is it pine pellet litter? Just scooping isn’t enough, you have to shake the box to sift powder under the perforated box then empty the bottom part of the box. If not done every day it really stinks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Look in corners or next to the litter box. They are probably pissed their owner left. Cats are the worst.

Np. Cats are not the worst!