Thread: Please Help - Peeing problem

Hello fellow Maine Coon Lovers,

It has been a stressful week for us and I am at my wits end - I am hoping somebody will have some advice on how to make this better. Roxy is nearly two years old and very much loved by me and my husband - she is adorable and very good natured/snuggly with us. She has never had a toilet problem before, she even refuses to go in the garden when she is out there and we have to take her litter box out with us so she can do her business.

Fast forward to this week. In August we decided to get new living room furniture, the old one was getting shabby and uncomfortable. It was due to be delivered this week, so we decided to paint the living room beforehand. Now, I am sure you all know how inquisitive MCs get, so we decided to kepe Roxy in the hallway for the four days it took us to paint - not least because of the fumes. We tried everything to make her as comfortable as possible - we put all her toys, litter tray, comfy bed, favourite blanket etc. out there with her. When we weren't painting we went out there to play with her/ give her cuddles and at the end of each night tidied everything away so she could have a few sniffs in the living room and not feel left out. However, she is quite attached to the point of almost being needy, and I think she did feel left out when we were painting. To aggravate the situation, we then had to get rid of the old furniture to make room for the new one. We kept the cushions behind, thinking she might like them as beds and their familiar smell might calm her. Yesterday the new furniture arrived, and of course it smells really new, and Roxy was sniffing about and freaking out a bit. Eventually she seemed to settle, and even fell asleep on the big armchair. I was hoping things could get back to normal now.

However, today, while she seemed normal during the day, Roxy peed on the big sofa. I had been out of the room for a little while, and when I came back in she sat on one end of the sofa, looking content and relaxed. I sat down on the other end. Suddenly she leapt up and went into her litter box. I looked over to where she had been and there was a massive pee stain. Of course I was really upset, and immediately tried to dab the stain with water. The couch is covered in cotton velvet, which might have been a silly choice retrospectively, but Roxy had always been so good about these things that it never occurred to me it might be a problem. It looks like the stain has come out, but now there is still a faint urine smell where it has been, and I am worried she may take to doing this more often if I leave it. So here are my questions:

A) Motivation for peeing on the sofa. Was it because of all the stress/upheaval of the last few days? Was she annoyed with me? Was she trying to mark her territory? Another reason I could think is that we got her a new waterfountain yesterday as a treat and that she might have just had too much water as a result and had an accident.

B) How can I get the pee smell out of the sofa, considering that it is (cotton) velvet?

C) How likely is she to make this into a habit?

D) Should I visit the vet with her to rule out any medical reasons?

E) How can I restore her faith/trust and relieve her upset from all the upheaval in the last week? She did seem to be really angry with us even after we let her back into the room.

My husband was really angry, but of course that won't help anyone. I am looking for ways to move forward any advice from more experienced purrents would be much appreciated. Thank you!