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Cat peeing outside the box

post #1 of 2
1/9/12 at 9:32pm
Thread Starter 

I brought a spayed female stray cat, about 6-8 years old, into my house in Nov 2010. She lived with, but did not like, my other cat and dog. She never once peed outside of the box, which was a covered box with fresh step litter.

 

I moved in Aug 2011 and gave the cat to my mom in a cat and dog free house. I thought this would be less stressful for her as she really hated my dog and other cat. Same litter and same box. In Oct 2011 she started peeing outside the box in various locations, including right next to the litter box.

 

She has been brought to the vet and does not have a urinary tract problem.

 

We tried feliway. It did nothing.

 

The litter box was moved to different areas. It didn't make a difference.

 

Any suggestions? Why would a cat pee inside the same box with the same litter for nearly a year only to stop?

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post #2 of 2
1/12/12 at 5:28am

Welcome to TCS!wavey.gif

 

There a several reasons for a cat to suddenly stop using a litter box, including being scared by something while she's in there and having the litter manufacturer change the make-up of the litter to something she doesn't like as much. The scary experience happens more with covered boxes, since they tend to only have one door. If something startles the cat, they can feel trapped and might be wary of going back in the box afterwards. If you can find one, you can try a litter box with 2 exits (I know a few members here have made one from a big rubbermaid bin) you can also try just using an uncovered box. As for litter, I'd recommend Cat Attract - it's made specifically to entice cats into using their litter. It's a bit pricy for a ba. but quite a few members found that they only needed one bag to get the behavior back on track.

 

Good luck! clover_smile_ani.gif

Let us know how things turn out.

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