9 month old kitten peeing outside box???

[BRC71]

Hello, We have a roughly 8.5 month old kitten that has taken to peeing occasionally outside the litter box. Some background info...we found this litte one outside our house in July and have raised her since she was about 1.5 weeks old. We have 2 older females that have been in the house for about 8 years. They get along, but the older girls do a lot of hissing, growling and the occasional swatting at the younger one. There are actually 4 litter boxes in our house, 2 that the older cats have used all along and 2 more that we added for the new one. The kitten starting using the litter around 4-5 weeks old and seemed to be fine with it and then in maybe late Feb. she started to pee outside the boxes. She wasn't spayed and we took her to the vet, they thought it might be a UTI and gave us Clavamox, she has gone through the Clavamox and was spayed 2 weeks ago but she is still peeing outside litter boxes. The thing is, she does poop in the boxes and she does pee in them occasionally, so its not like she won't use them at all, only sometimes does she pee outside. Its usually almost always on carpet or throw rugs (we have removed all throw rugs and litter mats from the house). She will even pee on the carpet right next to her litter box at times. Other times she climbs in and pees right in the box? We've gotten some other litters to try out, but haven't used them yet. Currently all litter boxes are uncovered and using 'Words Best Cat Litter". Any help? TIA!

 

[maggie101]

Have you taken her back to the vet to re test, make sure she's ok now?

 

[BRC71]

She goes back tomorrow for her spay follow up, will bring it up then.

 

[susanm9006]

I would try out some of those litters. I know that Worlds best does have an odor to it that some cats may find objectionable. Also, how large are the boxes. Some cats like lots of room and need an XL box or even a tote converted to an litter box.

 

[IndyJones]

Some people have luck with Dr. Elsey's are you able to get a bag of that to try?

 

[BRC71]

Some people have luck with Dr. Elsey's are you able to get a bag of that to try?

We didn't see that, our local PETCO had Wheat and grass litters to try.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. Does she use both litter boxes that you have added for her? The reason I am asking is because some cats just don't want to pee and poop in the same box. And, there are other cats who won't use a litter box if there are already 'deposits' in them, regardless of what kind. Watch when she goes outside of the boxes to see what 'content' is in the two boxes already. This might be a case where you will have to scoop them right after she uses them and before she goes again. Or, you could consider trying one of those litter boxes that are 'self-cleaning'.

 

[BRC71]

okay, the vet doesn't think it's medical. Here suggests that since she had a UTI and had been going outside the box for a week or 2 that she need to be "re-trained" to litter boxes. Does anyone have any tips for that? His advice was to lock her in a bathroom with a litter box but he was rather vague on for how long etc. We're also going to try some feliway in both floors of the house to ease stress and calm all 3 of the cats.

 

[FeebysOwner]

I have never heard of any cat that had a UTI with inappropriate peeing forgetting how to use a litter box. That's a new one on me, and I personally think it is pretty odd coming from a vet - especially since she does use the box for pooping and sometimes for peeing. So what - she forgets some of the time and remembers other times?? I would highly recommend you try other suggestions as given to you above first. If you lock her in a bathroom and she doesn't like the litter, doesn't find the litter box clean enough for her, etc. all you will do is cause a mess in your bathroom and stress her out even more.

If that doesn't work, find another vet.

 

[IndyJones]

I have never heard of any cat that had a UTI with inappropriate peeing forgetting how to use a litter box. That's a new one on me, and I personally think it is pretty odd coming from a vet - especially since she does use the box for pooping and sometimes for peeing. So what - she forgets some of the time and remembers other times?? I would highly recommend you try other suggestions as given to you above first. If you lock her in a bathroom and she doesn't like the litter, doesn't find the litter box clean enough for her, etc. all you will do is cause a mess in your bathroom and stress her out even more.

If that doesn't work, find another vet.

It's not so much they "forget" as they associate the box with pain and remember said pain.

 

[BRC71]

It's not so much they "forget" as they associate the box with pain and remember said pain.

Yes, the vet's more specific wording (and I've seen this reported elsewhere) Is that they associate the box with pain or discomfort and start to go outside the box as a result. If the problem is solved quickly, they begin to think that peeing on carpets and elsewhere is acceptable. I've read elsewhere about putting them in a small room with 1 or 2 litter boxes for about 5 days to allow them time to "re-learn' the litter behavior and then slowly allow them free access of the house as long as they stick to the litter box. We're trying to avoid that solution for now. She seems to be better, she mostly pees in the boxes, we keep them as clean as humanly possible, we've put 5 or 6 boxes in our house. We may try the Dr. Elsey cat attract litter along with the Feliway diffusers. We tried the grass seed litter, she just wants to eat that...