Bathroom Issues!! Please Help!

[minniethecat2]

Hi I made an account specifically because I don't know where else to go.

I have a cat named Minnie, she's 2 years old, and we adopted her when she was 5 months old from a shelter. She's a mixed breed cat, and she's very very pretty.

My issue is though, that she continues to pee outside the litterbox. She started scratching up our leather couches, so we put sheets on them, and bought her a scratching post that she loves. But every once in a while, she'll scratch up our furniture again, when we're RIGHT THERE, for absolutely no reason. Likewise, she's got a clean litterbox, and she uses it, but sometimes goes outside the litterbox for absolutely no reason, right in front of us. This has been an issue for nearly her whole time with us. We took her to the vet last year, specifically for this, and she did a urinalysis that came back clean. When we took her to the vet for her annual checkup this year, we also mentioned how the urinating hasn't stopped, and the vet recommended we buy one of those phermone collars, as they say it's territorial peeing. The thing is, my family cannot afford to pay $30 a month on a collar. My dad works 2 jobs, my mom works, and I work. We block off the 2 areas she's taken to her new litterbox, but anytime somebody forgets, she pees.

Her litterbox is in the shower of the spare bathroom that nobody uses. It's not a shower/bath combo, just a regular, standup shower. We've been using the same litter for the entirety of her time here. Unscented, natural, less than 2 inches in the box. The box is a high walled box, which we had to use because when she had the low walled box, she'd pee against the corner and all the urine would spray out onto the floor. She had no issue with the high walled box when we got it. It's not covered, and she still uses it.

My mom and I are really at our wits end with this cat. I honestly don't know what to do. Today she pooped outside her litterbox, and that is the last straw. I'm tired of her using our house as her own personal bathroom, but I don't know what to do with her! Should we lock her in the bathroom at night? My friend recommended putting lavender essential oil on her collar, is that even safe? Should she be on anti-anxiety medication? Can we even afford that? Please bestow all your cat wisdom on me, because I really don't want to get rid of this cat.

 

[maggiedemi]

Have you tried moving the litterbox somewhere else? Maybe she doesn't like the location. Is it big enough? I use the jumbo or giant size. Is it clumping litter? What is her diet like, what brand and type?

 

[minniethecat2]

Have you tried moving the litterbox somewhere else? Maybe she doesn't like the location. Is it big enough? I use the jumbo or giant size. Is it clumping litter? What is her diet like, what brand and type?

We can't really move the litterbox anywhere else, as the rest of our house is very open and carpeted. However, it's away from where she eats and sleeps, and is easily accessible. It's the jumbo pan too, as my cat is kinda big. It is indeed clumping litter, which is what her shelter used when we adopted her. Her diet is pretty straightforward, she gets half a can of Purina wet food for lunch, and the other half for dinner. She also has two bowls that are always out, one filled with water we change regularly, and another filled with dry food (also purina) for her to eat whenever she gets hungry.

 

[maggiedemi]

That's the same brand that I feed my cats. Which dry food do you use, Cat Chow Complete? I can't think of anything else, except maybe put down a throw rug over the carpet and try moving the litterbox. Maybe there is something about the location in the shower she doesn't like? Cats are funny like that. Is she urinating okay amounts, not just tiny amounts at a time?

 

[minniethecat2]

That's the same brand that I feed my cats. Which dry food do you use, Cat Chow Complete? I can't think of anything else, except maybe put down a throw rug over the carpet and try moving the litterbox. Maybe there is something about the location in the shower she doesn't like? Cats are funny like that. Is she urinating okay amounts, not just tiny amounts at a time?

It's the Purina Cat Chow Naturals I think, it comes in a dark green back with a drawing of a woman on it. I just don't know where else to put the litterbox, as our house is pretty open and the bathroom is the only place where she can get a bit of privacy. Her first pee spot is right next to the laundry room, which leads out to the garage (which she's afraid of), and the second one is near the dining table where we eat. I don't know why she suddenly started peeing in the second spot, but the first spot has always been chalked up to fear of the garage. And yes, regardless of where she's peeing, she pees a good amount. There isn't any issue with painful urination or anything like that.

 

[maggiedemi]

You could try moving it for a day or two and if it doesn't work, you could move it back. What brand of litter are you using, it's not Tidy Cats is it? I had a problem with a couple of their new scents with my cat, the 4-in-1 and Glade scents.

 

[minniethecat2]

You could try moving it for a day or two and if it doesn't work, you could move it back. What brand of litter are you using, it's not Tidy Cats is it? I had a problem with a couple of their new scents with my cat, the 4-in-1 and Glade scents.

No I'm not using tidy cats, it's the So Phresh advanced odor control cat litter. Should we try something else? What would you recommend? My family's main concern with moving the litterbox is the smell, which would circulate through the majority of the house, and the fact that our house is pretty busy, so my cat wouldn't have somewhere private to go.

 

[maggiedemi]

The So Phresh litter should be fine, I've tried it before and had no problems. The litterbox shouldn't smell if you are keeping the litter deep enough, 3 inches and scooping every day. I would definitely put down some kind of throw rug or litter mat to protect your carpet though if you try moving it. I only suggest moving it because cats are so picky and it's hard to figure out what they are trying to tell us.

 

[DeannaF]

your kitty may want a more secluded space for the littler box.

My cat perferts it in the closet (nice and quiet). I have a rubber mat underneath it to catch the access litter.