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Message from the Site Admin:
Do you have a specific problem with your cat peeing outside the litterbox? You've come to the right place!
Click to Join Our Community and post your question on our forums for input from our experienced members.
There have been so many recent inquiries about this problem that I went through and did a search and consolidated some of the answers given to help remedy the problem. This way, it will only be one url needed to hopefully solve the problem. Most of the answers copied each other, as the primary reason for inappropriate elimination is the cat's health is suffering and this is the way a cat lets their human know they are off a bit.
Here it is- hope it helps people and more importantly their cats
Contributed by lotsocats:
Please take the cat to the vet and tell the vet what she is doing. You need to specify that the cat is urinating outside the box so that the vet knows what to look for. Peeing outside the litter box is the #1 symptom of urinary tract problems!
If the vet says she is okay, then consider making a few changes.
If you use a covered litter box, take off the lid. Many cats refuse to use covered boxes.
Cats prefer fine grained unscented litter. So, you might try changing litter.
Make sure you have at least one litter box per cat.
Do not place litter boxes right next to each other because they cat might interpret the two boxes as one and then refuse to use the second box if the first box has any old urine or feces in it.
Make sure you scoop the litter box daily, and with multiple cats, scoop twice daily. Cats often refuse to use dirty boxes.
If your litter boxes are real old, they may have absorbed odors even if you regularly clean them. So, try buying new boxes.
Make sure your litter boxes are in a place where the cat feels safe while going potty. If she is disturbed by you or your kids(?) or the other cat while she is trying to potty, she will choose to
use a safer location. So, move the litter box to a location where she can see the comings and goings of the other people & animals in the house.
Put a litter box on each level (floor) of the house.
Make sure you thoroughly clean all old urine spots on the rug and elsewhere. If she can smell the old urine she will think that place is a good place to pee. Use a flourescent black light to find old urine and treat all old spots with an enzymatic cleanser.
Try putting a plastic carpet runner upside down on the places they like to pee....most cats don't like to walk on the "spikes" so they will avoid the covered spots.
Put something real smelly where she likes to pee...most cats hate the smell of citrus, so try
putting citrus scented air freshener or orange peels or citrus potpourri where she pees.
Contributed by hissy:
Once a cat starts peeing out of the box
and you have cleared him of UTI's or other medical problems, then you have to remember that peeing outside is his way of marking his territory. Can he possibly see other outside cats from this location he has chosen? Even if they are outside, he will consider them a threat and spray his marking to warn them to stay away. Perhaps you can block his view of this world temp. until he stops doing it. Also, once he has marked a spot he will return to it time and time again because he is following the scent he left, and when it starts to recede, he will want to "reinforce" it again. Use a good strong cleaner like Simple Solution, or call your vet so that he can recommend a good cleaner that clears up ALL the odor. Cat pee is very strong, and the carpet is probably saturated with it at this point. You can also try throwing a good thick throw rug over the spot, spray the throw rug with a good citrus scented room deodarizer as well.
He is a cat, and they have specific rules of behaviour handed down through the generations of his wild ancestors. You can not always make them conform to what you want them to do, you have to think like them and try to figure out what is causing this. As I do rescue work, I see all the time the after-effects of cats whose people have given up on them because of behaviour issues. Try all the suggestions that have been offered, do an internet search for more answers if you need to, and then, I guess, if it doesn't work to your satisfaction then take him back. But it could be just one minor change in his enviornment that is setting him off, you just have to try and find out what that is.
Contributed by lotsocats:
First, we need to know for sure that the problem is spraying rather than urinating. If the cat is standing and the pee shoots straight back so that he/she is aiming high on the wall or side of the couch, it is spraying. If the cat squats while peeing, it is normal urination.
If the cat is peeing (not spraying) inappropriately, you need to get him or her to the vet ASAP. The #1 cause of inappropriate urination is urinary tract infections or blockages. Given the stress your female is under, that may be what is going on. You can also read some of the other posts on this forum for other great ideas for stopping inappropriate urination.
If the cat is spraying...he is marking his territory. Basically, he's saying this is my place, not yours! This can be a difficult habit to break but it is absolutely possible to do so.
Try the following ideas and also do a search for spraying on this forum for excellent ideas on other threads.
1. Use Feliway to help him not want to spray. Feliway mimics the friendly marking that cats do when they rub their faces on things. When a cat smells a friendly scent, they are unlikely to mark with urine. The Feliway box will give detailed instructions on how to use it....follow the instructions carefully.
2. Hang aluminum foil on the places the cat likes to spray. Cats usually will not spray on foil because it makes an unpleasant sound when hit with the urine and it makes the urine splash back on the cat. Each day that the cat does not spray a strip of foil, tear about an inch off the bottom of the foil until the foil is completely gone. Don't remove the whole strip all at once because the cat may interpret this as you saying it is okay to spray here again.
3. If you see the cat getting into the spray position, yell "No!" and then grab him and put him in time-out (in the bathroom for example) for only 2-3 minutes. Do the same if you caught him in the act.
4. Check to see if there are stray cats hanging out outside your house. A cat will often spray in response to strange cats around the house. Make sure you don't walk through outside cat spray and track that smell into the house.
5. Be patient and persistent. Breaking the spraying habit han take a while, but it should work.
Good luck!
Contributed by Sandie:
If they aren't spayed or neutered I would start there as well. With the neutralizers, I have found the only thing to work is NOK-OUT. You can even put it in a cool mist humidifier for a whole room. Breeders I have talked to use it on whole males. You can read up on it at www.kalever.com. Just click on the word NOK-OUT.
Also if you cat is peeing on a pile of clothes or other objects, some cats are drawn to the smell of bleach, so if you leave a laundry bag of bleached whites within reach, the problem kitty will pee on them. You can take an old sheet that you care nothing about and soak it in a bucket of lemon juice and water- making the lemon juice stronger by adding less water. Once the sheet has soaked for a few hours, take it out and line dry it, and use this to cover anything the cat is peeing on. They will avoid citrus smelling items at all costs.
Along the lines of peeing on clothes: According to Cat Behaviorist Amy Shojai- if your cat is peeing on personal items and has been checked out medically as ok. The cat could be stressed out over something. Urinating on some object that holds your scent is calming to him. You can read more about Amy on her website www.shojai.com
Here's a clever way to deter a cat from a place where the cat previously peed, contributed by Kev:
Take a Tea bag, then once used and its cooled, pour a few drops of OLBAS OIL on it. Olbas oil is a herbal remedy ideal for colds and completely natural. Health food shops as well as pharmacies sell it here and its cheap enough.
Then place the Tea bag with this smelling stuff on a small food bag and place it in the vicinity of where the cat has been urinating.
They hate the smell and he's given it a wide berth ever since - gone back to the litter tray which is great.
Its solved my problem without the need for chemicals etc which I am all for. The even better part is that the house smells of olbas oil and I am breathing a lot easier too.
Do you have a specific problem with your cat peeing outside the litterbox? You've come to the right place!
Click to Join Our Community and post your question on our forums for input from our experienced members.
There have been so many recent inquiries about this problem that I went through and did a search and consolidated some of the answers given to help remedy the problem. This way, it will only be one url needed to hopefully solve the problem. Most of the answers copied each other, as the primary reason for inappropriate elimination is the cat's health is suffering and this is the way a cat lets their human know they are off a bit.
Here it is- hope it helps people and more importantly their cats
Contributed by lotsocats:
Please take the cat to the vet and tell the vet what she is doing. You need to specify that the cat is urinating outside the box so that the vet knows what to look for. Peeing outside the litter box is the #1 symptom of urinary tract problems!
If the vet says she is okay, then consider making a few changes.
If you use a covered litter box, take off the lid. Many cats refuse to use covered boxes.
Cats prefer fine grained unscented litter. So, you might try changing litter.
Make sure you have at least one litter box per cat.
Do not place litter boxes right next to each other because they cat might interpret the two boxes as one and then refuse to use the second box if the first box has any old urine or feces in it.
Make sure you scoop the litter box daily, and with multiple cats, scoop twice daily. Cats often refuse to use dirty boxes.
If your litter boxes are real old, they may have absorbed odors even if you regularly clean them. So, try buying new boxes.
Make sure your litter boxes are in a place where the cat feels safe while going potty. If she is disturbed by you or your kids(?) or the other cat while she is trying to potty, she will choose to
use a safer location. So, move the litter box to a location where she can see the comings and goings of the other people & animals in the house.
Put a litter box on each level (floor) of the house.
Make sure you thoroughly clean all old urine spots on the rug and elsewhere. If she can smell the old urine she will think that place is a good place to pee. Use a flourescent black light to find old urine and treat all old spots with an enzymatic cleanser.
Try putting a plastic carpet runner upside down on the places they like to pee....most cats don't like to walk on the "spikes" so they will avoid the covered spots.
Put something real smelly where she likes to pee...most cats hate the smell of citrus, so try
putting citrus scented air freshener or orange peels or citrus potpourri where she pees.
Contributed by hissy:
Once a cat starts peeing out of the box
and you have cleared him of UTI's or other medical problems, then you have to remember that peeing outside is his way of marking his territory. Can he possibly see other outside cats from this location he has chosen? Even if they are outside, he will consider them a threat and spray his marking to warn them to stay away. Perhaps you can block his view of this world temp. until he stops doing it. Also, once he has marked a spot he will return to it time and time again because he is following the scent he left, and when it starts to recede, he will want to "reinforce" it again. Use a good strong cleaner like Simple Solution, or call your vet so that he can recommend a good cleaner that clears up ALL the odor. Cat pee is very strong, and the carpet is probably saturated with it at this point. You can also try throwing a good thick throw rug over the spot, spray the throw rug with a good citrus scented room deodarizer as well.
He is a cat, and they have specific rules of behaviour handed down through the generations of his wild ancestors. You can not always make them conform to what you want them to do, you have to think like them and try to figure out what is causing this. As I do rescue work, I see all the time the after-effects of cats whose people have given up on them because of behaviour issues. Try all the suggestions that have been offered, do an internet search for more answers if you need to, and then, I guess, if it doesn't work to your satisfaction then take him back. But it could be just one minor change in his enviornment that is setting him off, you just have to try and find out what that is.
Contributed by lotsocats:
First, we need to know for sure that the problem is spraying rather than urinating. If the cat is standing and the pee shoots straight back so that he/she is aiming high on the wall or side of the couch, it is spraying. If the cat squats while peeing, it is normal urination.
If the cat is peeing (not spraying) inappropriately, you need to get him or her to the vet ASAP. The #1 cause of inappropriate urination is urinary tract infections or blockages. Given the stress your female is under, that may be what is going on. You can also read some of the other posts on this forum for other great ideas for stopping inappropriate urination.
If the cat is spraying...he is marking his territory. Basically, he's saying this is my place, not yours! This can be a difficult habit to break but it is absolutely possible to do so.
Try the following ideas and also do a search for spraying on this forum for excellent ideas on other threads.
1. Use Feliway to help him not want to spray. Feliway mimics the friendly marking that cats do when they rub their faces on things. When a cat smells a friendly scent, they are unlikely to mark with urine. The Feliway box will give detailed instructions on how to use it....follow the instructions carefully.
2. Hang aluminum foil on the places the cat likes to spray. Cats usually will not spray on foil because it makes an unpleasant sound when hit with the urine and it makes the urine splash back on the cat. Each day that the cat does not spray a strip of foil, tear about an inch off the bottom of the foil until the foil is completely gone. Don't remove the whole strip all at once because the cat may interpret this as you saying it is okay to spray here again.
3. If you see the cat getting into the spray position, yell "No!" and then grab him and put him in time-out (in the bathroom for example) for only 2-3 minutes. Do the same if you caught him in the act.
4. Check to see if there are stray cats hanging out outside your house. A cat will often spray in response to strange cats around the house. Make sure you don't walk through outside cat spray and track that smell into the house.
5. Be patient and persistent. Breaking the spraying habit han take a while, but it should work.
Good luck!
Contributed by Sandie:
If they aren't spayed or neutered I would start there as well. With the neutralizers, I have found the only thing to work is NOK-OUT. You can even put it in a cool mist humidifier for a whole room. Breeders I have talked to use it on whole males. You can read up on it at www.kalever.com. Just click on the word NOK-OUT.
Also if you cat is peeing on a pile of clothes or other objects, some cats are drawn to the smell of bleach, so if you leave a laundry bag of bleached whites within reach, the problem kitty will pee on them. You can take an old sheet that you care nothing about and soak it in a bucket of lemon juice and water- making the lemon juice stronger by adding less water. Once the sheet has soaked for a few hours, take it out and line dry it, and use this to cover anything the cat is peeing on. They will avoid citrus smelling items at all costs.
Along the lines of peeing on clothes: According to Cat Behaviorist Amy Shojai- if your cat is peeing on personal items and has been checked out medically as ok. The cat could be stressed out over something. Urinating on some object that holds your scent is calming to him. You can read more about Amy on her website www.shojai.com
Here's a clever way to deter a cat from a place where the cat previously peed, contributed by Kev:
Take a Tea bag, then once used and its cooled, pour a few drops of OLBAS OIL on it. Olbas oil is a herbal remedy ideal for colds and completely natural. Health food shops as well as pharmacies sell it here and its cheap enough.
Then place the Tea bag with this smelling stuff on a small food bag and place it in the vicinity of where the cat has been urinating.
They hate the smell and he's given it a wide berth ever since - gone back to the litter tray which is great.
Its solved my problem without the need for chemicals etc which I am all for. The even better part is that the house smells of olbas oil and I am breathing a lot easier too.
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