Cat Urination Outside Litterbox

[dressagejulie]

Hello -

I realize there are likely hundreds of threads regarding a cat who is not using the litter box to urinate but I wanted to tell my cat's story in hopes I can get some advice unique to him.

He is a male, neutered cat who we rescued from a no kill shelter. When we rescued him he was extremely shy and scared very easily. He was also extremely loving and you could just tell in his eyes that he just wanted a chance. We'll, we are giving him that chance and we have completely fallen in love with him. We've now had him for about 3 years and in those three years he has made huge strides in his confidence and trust in people. He is a completely different cat today versus the day we brought him home. That said, we are fairly certain that he endured some kind of trauma in his life. We have tried to be really patient with some of his quirks and have been very successful in bringing the cat out in him again.

There has been an underlying problem though.... Peeing outside the Litterbox. It has gotten to where I just can't handle it anymore. I use our carpet cleaner weekly, I use F.O.N. spray, I use feliway, I try all the "tricks" and it isn't getting any better. In fact, I would say the problem is getting worse. It's getting to a point where I am worrying about my own health in always breathing in cat pee.

One thing I have noticed about him is how particular he is with the Litterbox. If the Litterbox isn't completely clean, he won't use it. He'll defecate but he won't urinate. I try my best to stay on top of the Litterbox but admittedly I let it go a bit long due to my busy schedule. But literally, if it isn't cleaned within hours, he won't use it. We have 2 other cats... Huge Litterbox and even a second one.

He chooses to per on the carpet just outside the Litterbox so it makes it difficult to try putting something there that is a bad smell to cats to try to make him want to avoid that area. He will also just choose to move his pee spot further away. It seems like any method I try to use to get him to desire the Litterbox only pushes him to a different area of the house.

I love him so much and I want to give him the life he deserves as I don't think any other family would take him in with how skiddish he is but I am getting to the end of my rope. The smell is so bad and I feel like there is nothing I can do to get rid of it. I can also feel how think it is in the air and I truly worry about my own health being affected by breathing in the urine.

Any and all advice is so welcomed. Just to note, we have ruled out any medical conditions that could be causing this. He DOES pee in the Litterbox..... When we had fresh new carpet that didn't smell like anyone yet. As soon as he started peeing on it though, that's been his only method of eliminating.

I'm open to home remedies, things to buy, advice for keeping my own Heath in check with all of this.... Anything that anyone has to share I am open to it!

Thanks so much!

 

[-_aj_-]

Hi there welcome along to TCS first off

Its great that you have ruled out medical issues, although they can pop up when least expected 

Have you tried a cat attract litter might encourage him into the litter tray, has he always done it? he might not like the feel of the litter on his paws sometimes its the little things that can put them off wanting to go into the box.

And cats don't like to go in a dirty box either so that might be putting him off to, Ive even heard of cats using one for peeing and a separate tray for everything else

 

[otto]

Hello and welcome.

First, I suggest you add more litter boxes. At least one more box than cat. This means, if you have three cats you should have four boxes. Add one more even. And regardless of how busy you are, they should be kept clean. Scoop at least twice a day, it only takes a minute or two. With one or two more boxes than cats, there is a better chance there will be a clean one for him to use, when you are not home to scoop.

Secondly, what are you feeding him? Diet plays a very large part in a cat's health.

What diagnostics have been done? Blood work to check kidney function? Urine culture to check for bacteria, blood and crystals? X ray to check for stones?

If all these things have been done and come back negative, there is still the possibility that this is a physical problem. It may be your cat has inflammation of his bladder and urinary tract. Inflammation won't show up on a lab test. But it can cause a cat a lot of pain, and of course he blames the litter box for the pain.

Things that can (cause and) help reduce inflammation:

Diet change. Feed a good quality canned diet. Avoid fish, grains and fruits and vegetables. All these things can create inflammation. He needs meat protein. A canned diet is very important, because he needs as much moisture as he can get, from his food. Even add a little water to the canned food, to help keep his bladder well flushed out.

Supplement with krill oil. Krill is an excellent anti-inflammatory.

Reduce stress. Stress causes inflammation. What we perceive as stress may not be the same as what causes a cat to be stressed. What kind of nature does your cat have? Does he appear relaxed, or is he skittish or aggressive much of the time?

Is your household noisy? Does he get along with the other cats? What's going on outside the house? Busy street? Noisy neighbors? Outdoor cats roaming around? All of these things can cause stress to a cat. I know you mentioned using feliway, and I would keep the feliway going if I were you. It may help more than you realize.

Catnip, if your cat likes it, can help reduce stress. Get him a cat nip pillow made with high quality catnip. Not all nip is created equal so do some shopping around for the best brand. Maine Coon Catnip brand is very good, and they make pillows and beds.

Rescue Remedy is another option for stress reduction. Rub it on his face along the jaw/lip line and the inside tips of his ears.

How much attention does he get. Cats love routine. Spending a little one on one time with him every day at the same time may help him. Give him 15 minutes just for him every day, doing what he likes best, whether it's a special game, massage, grooming session, lovey-dovey session, or combination of things. Do it at the same time every day and soon he will come to expect this special time with you and it will help relax him.

How much elevated space do you have for the cats? Cats like to be up high. Make sure he has a perch where he can relax and feel safe and survey his world. Give him a Cardboard Box Fort, too. Cats love cardboard boxes.

Exercise is very important. I mentioned play time in his special one on one time, but you should also play with the cats as a group every day. Exercise is a great stress reducer for cats, just as it is for humans.

I know all this may sound like a lot of work. But it's really isn't, once it is all worked into a daily routine. And the results will be worth it. Just remember not to expect improvements all at once. Anything like this takes time and patience. But I really think it will be worth it.

 

[the_food_lady]

Hi there,

I just responded to your post over in the Cat Health Forum about your query as to whether the ammonia smell in your home could be impacting your own health, please see my response there.

If he's as particular as you say about the cleanliness of his box, then I think it's obvious you need to get another litterbox, or even 2 more.   I gather you have 2 cats?......the rule of thumb is...one box per cat plus one extra.   You might also want to try a different kind of box........if you current use boxes without a hood, try adding one WITH a hood.   I have 6 indoor cats and I have 8 litterboxes (all in my unfinished basement, thankfully I have a storage room down there for all of the boxes).......and I have 6 without hoods, and 2 WITH hoods...........and I find that 3-4 of the cats prefer the hooded boxes, particularly my more skittish ones........I think they feel safer in a covered box and more privacy to do their business.

Also...........a lot of people don't know this but litterboxes should be discarded and replaced with new ones every 6 months because the plastic DOES absorb urine and will retain the urine scent that many cats (fussy cats) find offensive.   So completely cleaning out the box and scrubbing it is not enough.   I find the most economical way to do this, particularly having so many boxes, is instead of actual non-hooded litterboxes, I go to Walmart and buy the large clear rectangular storage totes.........usually come with lids, I just toss the lids (or don't bother taking them).    I like them because you can often get them on sale and they're truly cheaper than a traditional litterbox....but they're larger and hold a lot more litter so you can fill it more full and that means the cats can bury their waste better.   I recently bought 3 new ones, I'm here in Canada, got each for about $7!    Of course for the hooded kind there is no replacement for those.

As mentioned in my other response on the Health forum......if you're still smelling strong cat urine/ammonia in your home, it means that despite your attempts to clean the areas, you're not fully getting them.   And even if you're changing the carpet, are you changing the underlay beneath the carpet too?....and in some extreme cases, urine can soak through the carpet, through the underlay and into the wood subfloor so that needs to be replaced as well otherwise you're really only 'surface cleaning' the carpet but the urine still lingers in the underlay and/or subfloor.....and if you can still smell it, cat surely can too and will continue to pee in these areas.

The other benefit in having multiple boxes is that if you are very busy in life and not able to scoop every few hours to satisfy a fussy cat, multiple boxes mean each one contains less waste then less boxes which would contain more.  

Is it possible at all that your cat sometimes accidentally hangs his butt over the edge of the litterbox, not realizing he's missing the box and peeing on the area around the box?   I've got a couple that do this, or did this......until I switched to the larger clear plastic storage totes.   Previously when I was just using the normal large regular litterbox, I would sometimes SEE my own girl peeing over the edge becuase she didn't realize it.    That's a good thing about the hooded boxes too........that it's not possible for them to accidentally pee over the edge as the box it fully enclosed.

If you have carpet beneath where your current boxes are, or you add more boxes, I would suggest putting boxes in spots where there is no carpet..........even if it means getting a section of lino to put under the box ( a good sized piece) and maybe a washable throw rug on top so that if he does pee on the rug, you can wash it and then properly clean the lino beneath it.  

I'm not familiar with the type of enzymatic cleaner you are using.......F.O.N. (just looked it up, Feline Odor Neutralizer).  I do have a female who has an occasional thing for baskets of freshly folded clothing or soft fluffy freshly washed bath mats.......and I've used Extra Strength Nature's Miracle for this, in the event the urine went through these things and onto my hardwood floors.    I come from a family of NON animal lovers and they think I am a nut for having 6 cats and they would be the first to tell me if they ever smelled cat urine/ammonia in my home (actually, they would derive great pleasure from it because I'm sure then they could have a "reason" for telling me I have too many cats LOL).   I know many people swear by Nature's Miracle (another one is Simple Solution).   I couldn't seem to find any info stating that F.O.N. is an enzymatic cleaner that really breaks down the bacteria in the urine, only that it just 'neutralizes the odor'?   I'd personally try something else.

You might also want to buy a Black Light and go over your home with it to check for areas your cat has peed that you might not be aware of.    They're not very expensive, most pet supply stores sell them.   You essentially take the black light and shine it over all surfaces (namely floor) with the lights out and body fluids such as cat urine will 'glow'....then mark these areas with something, like white chalk, so you know where to clean when you turn the lights back on.

If you're still smelling urine so strongly it would say to me that despite your efforts to clean, you're not adequately getting rid of the urine smell/traces.   And if you're not and you can still smell it, that means your cat can still smell it and will just continue returning to these spots to pee.

Hope this helps.