strange litterbox issues

sfbridges1

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I only have 1 cat and shes 2 & 1/2.

Cleaned her box (clay not clump) as I do every dew days and there was no pee in there. There was poop. And right as I'm cleaning, I hear yelling from the other room, she was peeing on the floor!! It had to have been going on for Atleast 4 days.

Why has this started happening?

When we used to own a Russian blue, he would poop on the floor right next to the box if it was too dirty, then he would sit next to it and wait for you to enter the room. Could my cat be doing something similar? It's strange because she's always used one side of the box for poop and the other side for pee. It was the same with this cleaning, except no pee.

Shes fixed, been fixed since two months old.

Please help! I really don't want to do the blacklight cleaning twice!
 

vball91

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Most of the time, when a cat starts peeing suddenly outside the box, it's a medical issue, most likely a urinary tract issue. They associate the pain from peeing or trying to pee with the litter box, so they pee someplace else in the hope it will not hurt. It sounds weird, but it's very common. I would definitely take her to a vet.
 
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sfbridges1

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Oh that makes sense! She's probably would benefit a check up anyway since its been almost a year.

I really want to thank you so much for the advice, and I can calm down now. Thank you.
 

vball91

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I know it's the weekend, so getting to a vet might be difficult, but please keep an eye on her to see if she is peeing at all. While blockages are more rare in female cats, it can happen, and it can be life-threatening. Not trying to scare you. Just something to watch out for until you can get her to the vet.
 
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sfbridges1

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Took the girl to the vet, and today they called saying everything's normal. So this is now a behavior thing. I purchased a plug in type product at the vet, the nurse said it stopped her cat from peeing outside the box. Any tips to keep her from peeing on the bathroom floor mats? Her box is in the same room.
 

vball91

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Hmm, which tests did the vet run? A urinalysis at least, maybe blood work? I ask because some people have reported their vets not running any tests and ruling out a problem based on exam only, which is not possible.

Assuming proper tests were run, then you are on the right path. You probably got a Feliway pheromone diffuser which may help. I would also try adding another box. Some cats don't like to pee where they poop, but presumably she's been doing that for some time without ptoblems, so I'm not sure that's the issue. Cats do seem to like to pee on soft things, so picking up anything on the floor is good. They're especially attracted to the rubber backing on bathroom mats for some reason, so you might want to put those away when not in use until the issue is resolved. You could try switching litters, especially to one like Dr. Elsey's Cat Attract temporarily. And finally you might try retraining her to use the litter box. I know it's a frustrating issue, but there's usually a reason and a solution. We just need to figure it out.
 

Willowy

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Take the bathroom mats away. Honestly, I think they treat them with something that makes cats pee on them :tongue2:. I haven't lived with bath mats since I was 10, when we got our first kittens. MAYBE once she gets over her problem, you can try to put the bath mats back (new ones, or the old ones only after being very thoroughly cleaned, soaked in vinegar, etc.), but at least for now, just put the bath mats away.
 
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melesine

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[color= rgb(24, 24, 24)]It's strange because she's always used one side of the box for poop and the other side for pee.[/color]
Do you only have one box for her? I'd get a second box. They recommend one additional box than the number of cats anyway.  If she is only peeing at one end and only pooping at the other it sounds like she might prefer separate boxes for each. My cats are like that. They use 2 boxes 80% of the time for pee and the other boxes are 80% of the time only pooped in.    
 

otto

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Cleaned her box (clay not clump) as I do every dew days
I agree with adding a box. And if you are only cleaning the box every few days, this is not often enough. Cats like a clean litter box. Scoop out pee and poop every day. :)
 

mewlittle

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Took the girl to the vet, and today they called saying everything's normal. So this is now a behavior thing. I purchased a plug in type product at the vet, the nurse said it stopped her cat from peeing outside the box. Any tips to keep her from peeing on the bathroom floor mats? Her box is in the same room.
what product is the plug in? did it work for your cat?
 

poise

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I clean my cat's box every day (clumps) and sprinkle deo enzymes into the box to mask the smell; change the litter once a week. When I started using the rose scented ones I noticed that after 4-5 days the smell was more intense then when I was using another brand of enzymes. And my cat probably noticed the smell intensified plus he had pooped a few hours ago and didn't try to bury it so when it was time to pee he went and did it in the tub, right into the drain.
So maybe your cat's litter is to dirty or to smelly so she's been doing it on the floor?
 

otto

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I clean my cat's box every day (clumps) and sprinkle deo enzymes into the box to mask the smell; change the litter once a week. When I started using the rose scented ones I noticed that after 4-5 days the smell was more intense then when I was using another brand of enzymes. And my cat probably noticed the smell intensified plus he had pooped a few hours ago and didn't try to bury it so when it was time to pee he went and did it in the tub, right into the drain.
So maybe your cat's litter is to dirty or to smelly so she's been doing it on the floor?
If you are scooping the box every day there should be no odor. Are you just scooping the pee clumps? Scoop the poop out too.

Cats generally don't like perfumey scents, I wouldn't advise using anything like that. Just keep the pee and poop scooped out. Many cats prefer to poop and pee separately, add another box. :)
 

poise

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Otto - I don't really have a problem, my cat always uses his box except that one time, I was just suggesting that maybe sfbridges1' cat won't use the box because of the smell from it.

I clean up both pee and poop every day but since I don't have the money for good litter I buy him a cheap clumping brand and as the clumps of pee stick on the bottom of the litter I have a problem with scooping it out and the clumps usually break. Because of this I manage to scoop out only 80% percent of used litter clumps so I started using the enzyms from the start because my parents were against getting a cat, one of the reason was we haven't got a good place for the litter box so I put it in my room where I sleep. Since it was winter and we hadn't put nets on the windows I couldn't open the window and leave it open unsupervised, so I used enzymes to mask the smell of the box.
 
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Willowy

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Aren't the enzymes expensive? I would think that buying a better brand of kitty litter would be cheaper :dk:.

But, yes, non-clumping clay litter tends to get smelly very fast, it really needs to be changed every 3 days or so. And the poop should be scooped out daily. So maybe it's smelly and she doesn't want to use it. Try keeping it cleaner and see if that helps.
 

poise

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Not really, in dollars they would be around 5.5$. Whereas good brands od kitty litter are around 15-20$ for 5 kilos while the clumping brand I'm buying him is 5$ for 10kilos. So I can change the whole litter in the box often.
 

happybird

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Hello, this may be a bit off topic, but I thought it would be helpful, considering the problem you are having. My husband has discovered the ultimate way to clean cat urine off of the carpet. It is cheap, using regular household products and completely removes the odor (to human noses, at least!). We have a male cat who will pee in front of the box if it is not totally, spotlessly clean, so I've used this many, many times with great results.

First, soak up any excess urine with paper towels, getting the area as dry as possible.
Next, squirt some liquid dish soap directly to the spot. Using a damp, rough sponge, scrub the spot. Soak it up again with clean paper towels.
Do the dish soap again, this time with more water. You should try to penetrate the soap into the carpet as much as possible, even getting the pad.
Blot with clean paper towels again till as dry as you can get it. Stepping on the towels works really well.
Here comes the messy part: sprinkle the whole area liberally with baking soda.
Next, drizzle with hydrogen peroxide and scrub it into the baking soda with your hand, mixing well and getting into all the carpet fibers.
Let dry overnight and then vacuum up once totally dry. Sometimes you need to use a damp sponge to remove all the soda and it takes a few tries.

We had dark brown carpeting at our old apartment and I was afraid the peroxide would bleach it out, but it did not. Still, though, you might want to do a spot check somewhere inconspicuous, just to be sure as all carpets use different dyes. After the dish soap steps, you can sometimes still smell a bit of urine, then after the baking soda/peroxide, the smell should completely disappear. Once, I had to do the whole process twice before it worked, but that was on an 'accident' that went undiscovered for several hours while we were sleeping and really had a chance to set in. Also, I have used this process on the wall where it was sprayed. For the baking soda step, I just mixed up a thick paste with the peroxide in a coffee cup and slathered it on the wall. Good luck to you, and I hope you get the litter box issue sorted out:)
 
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catspaw66

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Seems like a lot of work, when an enzyme cleaner is available.  Yes, it is cheaper, but I would be concerned about the pad developing mold that will eventually result in having to replace the pad and carpet.
 

pricklypaw

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I don't get it. How do any of you get away with scooping only once a day?

My Momo digs until she's pushed all the litter out onto the floor and then scrapes and scrapes at the plastic box for about three minutes straight, or until I stop whatever I'm doing and come clean everything again. This happens three to six times a day! If I don't scoop it within a couple of hours, she finds somewhere else to pee. Plain and simple. In the meantime, the litter is spread all over the floor and I eventually find it in my bed


Are there really cats out there that let you get on with your life and only clean their toilet once every day?

P.S. Seeing as we're sharing, alternate urination places include: Under the table (pick a table, any table), on the table (bye bye, TV remote), corner of the kitchen that nobody else can get to. Favourite pee-spraying spots include: Everything on my coat rack (how do you clean pee off handbags?), anything within squirting distance of a window or couch (that's a pretty big distance).

Momo: "Have fun with that." Me: "Did you seriously just do that in front of me
?!!!   But... my day... so many things I wanted to do today.."
 

vball91

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I don't get it. How do any of you get away with scooping only once a day?

My Momo digs until she's pushed all the litter out onto the floor and then scrapes and scrapes at the plastic box for about three minutes straight, or until I stop whatever I'm doing and come clean everything again. This happens three to six times a day! If I don't scoop it within a couple of hours, she finds somewhere else to pee. Plain and simple. In the meantime, the litter is spread all over the floor and I eventually find it in my bed


Are there really cats out there that let you get on with your life and only clean their toilet once every day?

P.S. Seeing as we're sharing, alternate urination places include: Under the table (pick a table, any table), on the table (bye bye, TV remote), corner of the kitchen that nobody else can get to. Favourite pee-spraying spots include: Everything on my coat rack (how do you clean pee off handbags?), anything within squirting distance of a window or couch (that's a pretty big distance).

Momo: "Have fun with that." Me: "Did you seriously just do that in front of me
?!!!   But... my day... so many things I wanted to do today.."
I used to scoop once a day, and it wasn't an issue for my cat. I now scoop at least twice a day and have added an additional litter box. I think adding another box may help you as well, so she has a clean one when the other is dirty.
 

di and bob

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I have three boxes for 2 cats, I hate to brag, but I only have to scoop every other day, they go outside a lot of the time when I take them out!
 
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