2 year old neutered male cat is peeing in the fireplace

by Susan
(NJ)

Maisie and Cosmo

Maisie and Cosmo

I think it is because a previous cat who developed a bladder cancer previously left his scent there. (Cosmo is half of a bonded sibling pair and has no problem using both litter boxes.)


So far putting foil down on the bricks works but after removal months later, he did it again. I live in an historic home. The hearths are old bricks set in sand so it's very hard to impossible to eliminate odor.

I use a pheromone diffuser, and cat attract herbs in the litter box. I have looked into motion sensor deterrents but they seem cruel. Citrus scent doesn't seem to work well either.

My thoughts: I'm sorry to hear that your cat is having issues. If he's attracted to the scent of another cat, and now to his own, my suspicion is the only way to solve this is to cover the area with an odor neutralizer.

I'm not an expert in fireplaces or brick, so what I would do is consult with someone who is, and ask them what is safe to use on the materials the fireplace is made of.

From my own experience with home ownership and cats, distilled white vinegar is often safe to use on many surfaces as a urine odor neutralizer.

Vinegar is commonly used to remove odors and as a cleanser, and has been recommended to me by tile care professionals. I don't have any brick surfaces in my house, though, so again, I would ask a professional about it before using it.

If it's safe to use, you might try a solution of vinegar and water in a spray bottle so you can soak all the vertical surfaces. Another option would be something like Fizzion, which is a CO2 based cleaner, but again, I would make sure it won't harm the fireplace.

You may need to do the treatment more than once to get it all. A black light can help determine if there are residual urine stains so you can do any touch up needed.

I hope that helps and I hope he loses his desire to leave his mark. Please let us know how it goes.
-Kurt

Comments for 2 year old neutered male cat is peeing in the fireplace

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Oct 17, 2020
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starstarstarstarstar 		My male is too
by: Rebecca

My male neutered cat has been peeing in the same spot for 3 years now and it's really annoying. I mean you can't really get rid of a 7-year-old family cat. He started peeing on the carpet, so we pulled it up and had new waterproof flooring installed by Home Depot. And he continued. Even though we cleaned, painted with Bin, replaced the molding, etc. He then continued peeing on the fireplace in that area, which we are now on #2. It's getting a bit expensive.

I even moved the litter boxes to the spot where he is peeing. It's now turned into a 6-foot area. Along the wall where the cat boxes are and the fireplace... help. I've tried to clean it with everything and anything. I'm trying the vinegar again. I was hoping since I moved the cat boxes there it would have stopped.
Oct 27, 2016
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starstarstarstarstar 		2 year old male...
by: Susan

Thank you so much! I will try the vinegar. (I had been using a commercial product but it didn't seem to deter Cosmo.) I am wondering if it is simply a habit or a memory for him now or if he even needs to smell anything in that/those spots at this point.
Oct 26, 2016
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starstarstarstarstar 		Urinating in the Fireplace
by: Anonymous

Hello, I foster kitties and I sometimes have issues with the males going in various places too. I have found that using just plain ol' vinegar and the same amount of water sprayed on the area will remove the scent of urine on anything. I use the vinegar in my wash for material and I spray it on the areas like flooring (wood, tile, carpets, etc.), walls, tile... just about anything. Nothing has been harmed using this process. I too live in an older home, not on the historical registration though, (90 yrs old) and there are a lot of items in the house that could have been ruined, but I find this method to be a good choice. I too have tried other methods of trying to rid the place of the odor, but like you, to no avail. Since your home is historic, I would suggest that you locate a brick that is rather obscure and find a place that isn't very obvious and dampen a small area on a cloth of the vinegar solution and then clean that small area of the brick, wait until it dries thoroughly and see if the solution left a mark. If not I would use a larger spot, try it once more and wait and see. If again it doesn't show, I would say that it would be safe to use on the fireplace bricks. You may find that it has cleaned the brick, in which case it still wouldn't hurt the brick as with use it would look used once again.

I must say that I was amazed at your pic. of the kitties as they look exactly like two of mine. One's a foster (the tuxedo, Smoochie) and the other is our kitty, (main coon mix, Mr. Gracie Guy); however, our two do not get along, so this type of pic. would never happen here! lol

P.S. I've also tried using white vinegar with little to no positive result(s).

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