Excessive Litter box use

Hello!

I'm in need of some advice as I have found myself in quite a frustrating situation with my sweet cat. I've had him for over 2 years now and he's never had litter box issues until the past few months (he is also fixed). I noticed that he was using the litter box very often and so of course I assumed he had a UTI or some infection. Upon examination at the vet, it turned out he was not ill and the vet determined that this might be a recent behavioral issue that he just developed. I have noticed that he will use the litter box every 5 minutes or so when both my boyfriend and I are home, but if it's just one of us, he uses it more infrequently. 

Because we had determined this was a behavior issue, I tried to discipline my cat, but now I know this was a mistake on my end. Usually, I will shout "NO" loudly and either clap or spray him with a litter box if I catch him doing something he's not supposed to do (like scratch my couch, get up on the kitchen counters, etc) and he has been very receptive and is quite trainable to this disciplinary technique. However -- and I realized this too late -- this same disciplinary action has not worked at all for the litter box. I tried to shout "NO" when I see him go into the litter box after the 3rd or so time within 10 minutes. Now, however, I believe I've confused him and he won't use the litter box if he sees me nearby. He's been peeing sometimes around the apartment and it's really frustrating (not all the time, just once in a while). I realize I have confused him but I would really like some advice on A) how to get him to stop using the litter box every 5 minutes and B) how to make sure he stops peeing outside of the box.

Other than this issue he has been a sweet, loving, mellow cat who usually never acts out/misbehaves. Thank you all for your advice!

How did the vet determine that it was a behavioral problem? Was an urinalysis done? Even without any abnormal findings from the urinalysis, some cats may be prone to idiopathic cystitis. Frequent urination is one of the most common symptoms. Here's a good article on it. http://www.icatcare.org:8080/advice/cat-health/feline-idiopathic-cystitis-fic

I would recommend a second opinion and tests if not already performed. Minimizing stress by enriching his environment and keeping to a routine may be helpful. As you have found, discipline and cats don't mix well. The last thing you want is for him to develop a fear of the litter box through your behavior. I would try adding another box in a different location if he is avoiding the current one.

Thanks for the response vball! The vet ran some tests and said there was no sign of an infection but we did not run a urinalysis, which I will do through another vet. The only reason the vet it was behavioral is because of the inconsistency of his litter box use and the lack of presence of an infection in the urine test she ran. Like I said, my cat will go in and out of the box very often when more than one person is in the apartment, but if it's just one of us, he will use it much less often (like he normally used to, every several hours). I will seek a second opinion, but this behavior in my cat strikes me as odd, and ALSO coincided with the move-in of my boyfriend into my (already) small apartment. He has sprayed twice on the sofa with both of us there, while we were both petting and loving him, so I'm very confused with his behavior. I will take him to the vet but I'm assuming the change in his urination habits have to do with being confused about the litter box disciplining, as well as the recent changes to the apartment.

And regarding your comment on discipline, I must disagree. I actually have found that he responds very well to the spray bottle or a loud "NO" -- for instance, he used to climb all over people and beg and be rather annoying when people were eating at my table, getting his tail in people's food, and with just several times lightly spraying him, he has now learned to not come near the table/people while eating, and will approach us once we are done. So while this doesn't work for his peeing habits, there has to be a way to make him understand what is right (peeing in the box) and wrong (peeing outside the box).

He could also be developing a blockage due to crystals but when you see a cat using the litterbox this often it is basically always a medical problem and never a behavioral one.  By disciplining him for doing the correct thing, and doing it probably in distress at the same time as you now realize has created a very poor message for him.  I would stop disciplining him for anything at all right now, and I would discuss a course of antibiotics with your vet even with a neg test result and discuss a blockage.  Blockages are very serious and can be life threatening.

Hi Stephen, thanks for your input! I should have mentioned before that I have indeed given him a course of antibiotics per the vet's suggestion, and while it seemed to reduce his box usage a bit, he would still go in more than usual, which made us assume it was a behavioral issue. So was the vet wrong to tell me that overuse of litter box could be behavioral? I will take him to another vet but I guess we're just confused as to what is wrong with him. And yes I've definitely stopped disciplining him for anything and petting him more, etc to make him more relaxed, so I'll see what the second vet has to say about his behavioral changes.

This overuse of litterbox has been going on for about 3 months now, with some days more use than others (mostly when both of us are home) and a bit less when he finished his antibiotics (although he still used it much more than usual after he finished the meds).

Thanks for all your input!

@MacMac

When he is doing this is anything coming out of him? Pee? If its just a small amount of pee then a partial blockage is probably happening, but his urine can be examined for crystals and stones.  It could also be an unresolved infection.

As to your question, we see LOTS of behavior problems for not using the litter box, and LOTS of medical problems for appearing to go to often or straining at the box, but in 15 years of working with cats I have never seen a behavioral problem connected to using the box too much.  And while there are plenty of obvious reasons why a cat will use a box normally, there is no behavior motivation/reward process that will cause a cat to over use the box.

Usually we see avoidance behavior due to many types of environmental reasons (poor litter not cleaned etc) or human induced reasons, but over use is always connected medically.  I would suggest that your cat has not been properly diagnosed

I do want to say that as someone whose cat has idiopathic cystitis, it doesn't necessarily indicate a blockage (either partial of full) or medical emergency when a cat is going in the box a lot.  My cat exhibits this behavior frequently, and has never been blocked or partially blocked and I've had him checked enough times. ETA: I don't mean to say you should not always go to a vet to make sure though.  I still do almost every time my cat has an episode, but he has never been blocked.  Now that I know him and the condition better, and how he specifically acts when he's having an episode, I don't always go to the vet when he exhibits this behavior, but if I have ANY DOUBT at all I do, and actually did as recently as last week. So a vet check is a good idea and I didn't mean to say otherwise 

If he does have IC, it is very important that you stop the discipline permenantly and work to make him feel secure.  If it turns out that is what is going on let us know and I have a lot of tips/suggestions, but in all honesty if it is that, this is likely to be an ongoing issue that you need to accept. Unfortunately if this is what is going on, antibiotics are not generally helpful.

Out of curiosity, why is overuse of the litter box a problem? Many members have the exact, more worrying opposite: reluctance to use the box. 

As @vball91 said, it could be idiopathic cystitis which is a fancy way of saying inflamed bladder for unknown reason.  Stress is one of the possible reasons so working to lower your cats stress may help.

FhiCat said:

 
Out of curiosity, why is overuse of the litter box a problem? Many members have the exact, more worrying opposite: reluctance to use the box. 

Click to expand...

as others have posted in this thread, there's the possibility of a UTI or something like idiopathic cystitis. but if kitty is urinating many times each day with regular or large sized urine clumps made each time, there's the possibility of CKD or diabetes. it's the symptoms that point to these possible medical issues, and these are medical issues that need treating.

StephenQ said:

 
@MacMac

When he is doing this is anything coming out of him? Pee? If its just a small amount of pee then a partial blockage is probably happening, but his urine can be examined for crystals and stones.  It could also be an unresolved infection.

As to your question, we see LOTS of behavior problems for not using the litter box, and LOTS of medical problems for appearing to go to often or straining at the box, but in 15 years of working with cats I have never seen a behavioral problem connected to using the box too much.  And while there are plenty of obvious reasons why a cat will use a box normally, there is no behavior motivation/reward process that will cause a cat to over use the box.

Usually we see avoidance behavior due to many types of environmental reasons (poor litter not cleaned etc) or human induced reasons, but over use is always connected medically.  I would suggest that your cat has not been properly diagnosed

Click to expand...

I absolutely agree, I have NEVER seen or heard of a cat using the box too often where it was behavioral, something is not right here.

Something is causing him to feel pressure in his bladder and now that he has been in trouble for using it, why wouldn't he pee in other places? He's gotta go somewhere!

As for undoing what you did by yelling or squirting him to get out of the box, you need to undo it. Baby him lots, pick him up and put him in the box often and pet him, tell him what a good boy he is, etc.

Poor kitty needs to be further examined, whatever it takes, he's got something going on.

Oh poor cat. I have never heard, ever, of anyone disciplining a cat to stop going in and out of a litter box. Unfortunately, you may just be causing an even more serious issue with your cat now needing to find another location to pee/poop other than the litter box and to use that spot when you are not looking or not around. You are ultimately training your cat to stop using the box and causing emotional stress during a time when he may truly need more in depth medical testing.

As @mickNsnicks2mom mentioned, other thigns could be wrong with your cat as well.  Cats who live by the water bowl and pee like crazy may have diabetes.  One question that remains is, with all this frequent litterbox use, how much pee is coming out? A lot, normal, very little?