All three of my animals have taken to going potty in the house since I moved. Help!

[Mutley]

My two dogs and my cat have all decided that they potty where they feel like it since I moved nearly a month ago. I figured they were just nervous about their new surroundings and that it would stop once they started getting used to our new home. But it hasn't stopped. All three went potty where they were supposed to before this with the exception of the occasional accident.

Any suggestions on how to get them back on track?

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. It might be a way of marking their new territory.

I don't know what to do about the dogs, but as to the cat, there is a product you can get at pet shops to put in litter, I think it's called CatAttract, that's supposed to lure cats back to their litter boxes. Good luck -- sounds kinda stinky.

[Mutley]

5. It is stinky.

x(

Thanks, I'll look for that stuff.

[demnan]

2. It's possible they smell the past leavings

of previous animals. Maybe they are smelling something that you can't smell there and its upsetting them causing them to mark their territory.

[StarryNite]

3. That's a real possibility.

They might be trying to mark over where other animals have gone. So do a really good clean-up, with a pet clean-up product. Also, if they are poohing, take the pooh and put it outside where they are supposed to go. Do they act guilty when they mess in the house?

[Mutley]

6. The previous renters did have a dog.

And possibly a cat, too.

It was professionally cleaned before I moved in, so I don't know what I can do beyond that to get the smell out.

The dogs act guilty, but the cat couldn't care less.

[LiberalFighter]

10. Ultraviolet light will show urine spots. I use Nature's Miracle to deordorize those spots.

[AZBlue]

8. That's exactly what I thought.

There are cleaners out there specifically to clean up previous animal smells - I would try that first.

[njlib]

4. Nature's Miracle

I know a few people who swear by Nature's Miracle for getting pet stains out of rugs and upholstery. The enzymes are supposed to "eat up" whatever traces/odors are left behind. If your guys are marking where others have been before them, this might help to get rid of the old and new problem areas. If they can't smell it, they won't pee on it! Good luck!

[Mutley]

7. Someone told me to get some Nature's Miracle

and mix in a carpet cleaner with carpet cleaning stuff and that should get the smell out. I've been waiting on a check so I can rent a carpet cleaner from the supermarket.

[njlib]

9. It's worth a try

From what I hear, it's a very good product. Hope it does the trick for you! I'm very lucky that I have no rugs in my house. My dogs are getting older now and sometimes I come home to an accident. I feel so bad for them because they give me this look like "I couldn't help it, really, I couldn't"! Even though we ALL pee before we go to bed at night, sometimes all 3 of us are up in the middle of the night. I run to the bathroom while they're outside. Getting old really sucks!!!

[LeftyMom]

12. Pretreat with it first, then run the carpet cleaner.

Also, if your carpet is fast with it (check first, though I've never found it to be a problem applied diluted) some Simple Green in the shampooer should take care of the smell.

[LiberalFighter]

11. You only want to use the stuff on the stain. Easy when you see it right away.

But if the cause is the previous tenants then you need to use an ultraviolet light to expose those stains.