Indoor Cat Sneaking Outside, Urinating on Deck BBQ Cover

Question

I have an old cat (16+ yr) who has figured out how to tailgate the dogs out the dog-door (the door is self-locking door which to dogs can open via a dongle on their collar). This does not bother us too much, since our back yard is fenced and he does not jump it. However, he has gotten into the habit of peeing on BBQ cover on our deck -- just outside the kitchen door.

The deck is a tile floor deck with plastic drainage, so the urine drips off the cover and can soak into the tile or it just falls through and sits in the plastic trough -- stinking up the deck, the kitchen and not making using the BBQ (or just sitting around the deck) particularly enjoyable.

We've used several pet cleaning products to eliminate the smells, but have not found one that discourages him from going back. We'd stop him from going out it possible, but have not figured out how to do this without hindering the dogs' ability to use their door.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how we might better discourage the cat from urinating on the BBQ cover, when he has snuck outside?

Answer 1

Given his age, your three basic options are:

1. Stop the cat from going outside, or at least stop him from tailgating after the dogs unless he has used the indoor litter tray, which I am assuming you have. Probably easier said than done in your instance.
2. Stop the cat from going on the BBQ cover. You say you have already tried this, so this can be discounted in your instance as well.
3. Adapt to the cat's new pattern, and move things such that there is a more appropriate item in that location, one which the cat can learn to use and be happy with. I don't know whether moving the barbecue is a practicable option in your case, but it should give you a different angle from which to view the problem.