Peeing on floor right outside of litter box…

Kbumpas91

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Please help!! I’m new here. I have a five year old male I rescued (no idea of breed) he is neutered. About a month ago he started have urinary track problems, which he has had one other time about two years ago. Took him to the vet. He had a large amount of crystals in his bladder. He got some meds and I started him on a urinary track diet. Well now he will NOT stop peeing on the floor literally right outside the litter box!!! I don’t know what to do and I’m getting so frustrated. Nothing has changed at home as far as environment goes. The box stays clean as it is one of those automatic cleaning ones. We have one other cat but she’s been here since December and she is spayed. They get along great. Idk what else could be going on. I’ve taken him back to the vet because he was still peeing on everything even after his meds. They told me his bladder is clear and to just give the good time to work…. I feel like it doesn’t have anything to do with his bladder at this point.
Please help. Any advise or ideas would be greatly appreciated.
 

FeebysOwner

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Hi. A few questions for you -
1.) how did they determine he had a large number of crystals in his bladder - and how did they determine his bladder was clear on the second visit? Did they do x-rays each time? If not, I am not sure how they could be so specific. I also am not sure any amount of prescription food is going to totally dissolve a large number of crystals in just one month, so maybe they flushed out his bladder on the first visit?
2.) did they run a urine culture to determine what kind of bacteria he had in his bladder? I am assuming when you mentioned they gave him meds you are referring to antibiotics. If no urine culture was run, then the most appropriate type of antibiotic may not have been used and he may still have the infection/bacteria. While most any antibiotic will help reduce the bacteria/infection, some won't entirely eradicate it.
3.) how did you clean the places where he peed? If he can smell it, it is almost like an invitation to pee there over and over again.
4.) is the self-cleaning litter box relatively new? If so, he just may not care to pee in it. Either way, you might place another litter box nearby that is not self-cleaning and see what happens.
 

sunny578

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Hello!

So frustrating I know! But also so common.

For many cats, even when the health issue that led them out of the box has been resolved, the habit of urinating outside the box still remains.

It could be because he still associates his box with pain. It could also be that urinating out of his box has just become a habit.

It's actually great that he's going just right outside of his box! (vs on the couch, bed etc.)

My first move in this situation would be to get another box--a simple, hoodless box, and place it right in the spot where he's urinating, or as close to that spot as makes sense. You could try a new litter too--something like Cat Attract could help encourage him to use it.

Is your only box the self-cleaning one? If so, you might want to consider adding two more boxes--this new one right next to the self cleaning one, and another in another area of the house.

Please keep us posted! If this solution doesn't work, I have lots of other ideas.

Good luck!
 
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Kbumpas91

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Hi. A few questions for you -
1.) how did they determine he had a large number of crystals in his bladder - and how did they determine his bladder was clear on the second visit? Did they do x-rays each time? If not, I am not sure how they could be so specific. I also am not sure any amount of prescription food is going to totally dissolve a large number of crystals in just one month, so maybe they flushed out his bladder on the first visit?
2.) did they run a urine culture to determine what kind of bacteria he had in his bladder? I am assuming when you mentioned they gave him meds you are referring to antibiotics. If no urine culture was run, then the most appropriate type of antibiotic may not have been used and he may still have the infection/bacteria. While most any antibiotic will help reduce the bacteria/infection, some won't entirely eradicate it.
3.) how did you clean the places where he peed? If he can smell it, it is almost like an invitation to pee there over and over again.
4.) is the self-cleaning litter box relatively new? If so, he just may not care to pee in it. Either way, you might place another litter box nearby that is not self-cleaning and see what happens.
 
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Kbumpas91

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They did pull urine samples and test them on each trip to the vet. And yes the meds were antibiotics. To clean the spots I use Clorox wipes and a floor cleaner. I’m not sure what would be best to use to clean that area. When this first started he was literally going everywhere and on everything. Now it’s just the floor in front of his box. And the current litter box we have we have had for a few years. I clean the “hardware” pretty regularly and the box itself gets changed very often due to us having two cats. He’s never had issues of not wanting to go in it before. And I will try adding another box to see if that helps!
Any advice on what to clean the area he’s messed on with?
 
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Kbumpas91

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Hello!

So frustrating I know! But also so common.

For many cats, even when the health issue that led them out of the box has been resolved, the habit of urinating outside the box still remains.

It could be because he still associates his box with pain. It could also be that urinating out of his box has just become a habit.

It's actually great that he's going just right outside of his box! (vs on the couch, bed etc.)

My first move in this situation would be to get another box--a simple, hoodless box, and place it right in the spot where he's urinating, or as close to that spot as makes sense. You could try a new litter too--something like Cat Attract could help encourage him to use it.

Is your only box the self-cleaning one? If so, you might want to consider adding two more boxes--this new one right next to the self cleaning one, and another in another area of the house.

Please keep us posted! If this solution doesn't work, I have lots of other ideas.

Good luck!
Thank you for the advice and encouragement! I’m to the point idk what else to do and my husband is getting angry and wanting to get rid of him. I’ll try adding the new box and hopefully that will help!
 

FeebysOwner

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