She just started doing this!! HELP...

Okay everyone..

I'm at my wits end. I've had a few issues with Angel my white cat, with randomly pooping in the house. Sometimes the cat box is completely clean, sometimes it isn't.. I have two cats. Chestnut and Angel.

I can deal with poop.

I can not deal with the newest thing. Peeing in my house. She pee'd in the playroom (my daughter's), and then she pee'd in the kitchen.

I don't know why she has started to do this... I can't have her do this,, I rent. This is not good..

What do I DO?????PLEASE I BEG OF YOU,, ANY HELP I NEED IT!!

Heather
"The distraught meowmy"

There are several reasons she could be doing this -

Territorial issues
Being picky about the litter box
Being picky about the litter
Smells in the carpet or rooms that attract her
There are more, that's all I can think of right now.


I went through this with my cat Turtle. She refused to use her litter box, no matter where it was or how clean. We eventually tried switching litters, figured out that she didn't like the texture of the stuff we had. We use Tidy Cat Multiple Cats now - it's a very fine, soft litter and she loves it. Another thing you can try is CatAttract litter, it's sold at most pet stores. We used that with her as well, and it worked wonderfully. It's a little more expensive, but it was worth it to stop finding little surprises around the house.

Make sure you have more than one litter box in the house - at least two, one per cat, and do your best to keep them out of high traffic areas. Some cats won't use it if there are too many feet around.

If she's going in the same places over and over, make sure you clean these spots thoroughly (sp?), and use something that's meant to take pet odors away - if you need to afterwards, use a product that's meant to deter cats.

Some cats are very picky about how clean their litter box is - if you can, scoop it once a day, and fully clean it 1-2 times a month (it's different for every box, that's what I do). I bought a sifting litter box instead of a standard one that you scoop, and it's made cleaning the box a lot faster and easier, so I do suggest one of those. You can find them at Wal-Mart and probably a pet store.

Btw, I also suggest taking her in for a vet visit - if this is recent behavior and nothing in her environment has changed, she may have something like a urinary tract infection.

Always see your vet when a new bathroom behavior issue arises. Sometimes urinating outside of the box is a sign of illness. It's best to rule out medical problems first. Cat's tend to hide illness so sometimes things can be hard to spot. Changes in behavior are sometimes the only hints you get.

Get her checked for a UTI ASAP. Often, peeing or pooping outside the box is because they have a UTI, making it painful to use the LB. I've had Ophelia tell me she has a UTI by pooping outside the box, but not peeing outside the box.

i too say it could be a UTI but if not have you changed anything in the house? my cat started doing this and i thought he had a UTI. but it turned out he decided he didn't like the litter i switched to (recycled paper instead of the usual clay stuff). but it took me a while to figure this out because i had been using the new litter for over a month. it was like he gave it a shot but then decided he didn't like it, so he stopped using it.

This is not an uncommon problem and there are lots of ways to help. You have gotten great advice in this thread, a trip to the vet ASAP is in order for an UTI. Do you feed your cat wet food or soak dry food? Cats don't always drink as much as they should and get their moisture from their food, so if the cat is only being fed hard dry kibble type foods, there can be problems.
Search the archives, this question comes up all the time. There is hope to fix the problem

I had similar issues with one of mine recently.
He absolutely hates a dirty litterbox. My other two love their robots but he prefers his own.
A vet check should be first on the list.

Originally Posted by jimmylegs

i too say it could be a UTI but if not have you changed anything in the house? my cat started doing this and i thought he had a UTI. but it turned out he decided he didn't like the litter i switched to (recycled paper instead of the usual clay stuff). but it took me a while to figure this out because i had been using the new litter for over a month. it was like he gave it a shot but then decided he didn't like it, so he stopped using it.

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Hey Jimmylegs

Good advise, I has two cats before Steeli who lived to 19yrs. and they both went through that problem in their later yrs. Probably just an infection and it burns when the kitty pees and they associate it with their litter box.
Dave

Originally Posted by white cat lover

Get her checked for a UTI ASAP. Often, peeing or pooping outside the box is because they have a UTI, making it painful to use the LB. I've had Ophelia tell me she has a UTI by pooping outside the box, but not peeing outside the box.

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Sorry for not giving first credit too white cat lover........