I can't seem to find this specific issue on the forum, so I'm asking the experts...
I have a 16 year old female calico (spayed)... Patches.
...an indoor cat, never goes out
The last couple of months (about 8 weeks ago) she's been missing her litter box when she pees.
Prior to that... she's never had an issue using her litter box.
The issue...
She poops in her litter box like a champ... in the middle-rear of the box.
But, when she pees, she walks in to her box, leaves her tail hanging over the front of the box and pees just in front of it.
...occasionally peeing in the litter box
The medical...
She has a hyper-thyroid condition and is on medication twice daily for it. It's under control.
...she was diagnosed about 4 months ago when her weight was dropping for no reason
She went through a battery of tests (heart, blood, urine, etc.) when she was being diagnosed.
Other that the hyper-thyroid condition, she's healthy.
No urinary tract infection at that time.
Urine and poo output appear to be "normal".
The home...
We live in a single-floor condo, just Patches and me.
Her litter box is in the spare bedroom, where she can have privacy.
...uncluttered area
She's never interrupted when she uses her litter box.
She doesn't pee anywhere else in the house.
She used to have a covered litter box but about 4-5 weeks ago (shortly after this problem started) I changed her litter box to a new uncovered tray.
...the new tray had a low step over front for easy entry (she is getting old, 16 years)
When the issue continued, I put a small tray in front of the litter box to catch the litter on her paws and the stray pee.
...I've had to expand the small tray to a boot tray as she started to miss the tray and hit the carpet
Anytime she missed the litter box, I cleaned it up. If she hit the carpet I cleaned it up and used an odor control spray on the carpet.
Her litter box is changed regularly.
Today...
Today I had to clean the carpet once again so I also replaced her tray to a new larger, lower walled one.
...the new one is about 3 inches high and 2ft. x 2ft. in size (she's a small cat, this should be more than large enough for her)
I put approx 1 inch of litter in it and kept to her "usual" litter (a mild scented clay based clumping litter).
Keeping my fingers crossed and really hoping that this works.
What should I do next if this does not resolve the issue???
Any assistance is greatly appreciated.
I have a 16 year old female calico (spayed)... Patches.
...an indoor cat, never goes out
The last couple of months (about 8 weeks ago) she's been missing her litter box when she pees.
Prior to that... she's never had an issue using her litter box.
The issue...
She poops in her litter box like a champ... in the middle-rear of the box.
But, when she pees, she walks in to her box, leaves her tail hanging over the front of the box and pees just in front of it.
...occasionally peeing in the litter box
The medical...
She has a hyper-thyroid condition and is on medication twice daily for it. It's under control.
...she was diagnosed about 4 months ago when her weight was dropping for no reason
She went through a battery of tests (heart, blood, urine, etc.) when she was being diagnosed.
Other that the hyper-thyroid condition, she's healthy.
No urinary tract infection at that time.
Urine and poo output appear to be "normal".
The home...
We live in a single-floor condo, just Patches and me.
Her litter box is in the spare bedroom, where she can have privacy.
...uncluttered area
She's never interrupted when she uses her litter box.
She doesn't pee anywhere else in the house.
She used to have a covered litter box but about 4-5 weeks ago (shortly after this problem started) I changed her litter box to a new uncovered tray.
...the new tray had a low step over front for easy entry (she is getting old, 16 years)
When the issue continued, I put a small tray in front of the litter box to catch the litter on her paws and the stray pee.
...I've had to expand the small tray to a boot tray as she started to miss the tray and hit the carpet
Anytime she missed the litter box, I cleaned it up. If she hit the carpet I cleaned it up and used an odor control spray on the carpet.
Her litter box is changed regularly.
Today...
Today I had to clean the carpet once again so I also replaced her tray to a new larger, lower walled one.
...the new one is about 3 inches high and 2ft. x 2ft. in size (she's a small cat, this should be more than large enough for her)
I put approx 1 inch of litter in it and kept to her "usual" litter (a mild scented clay based clumping litter).
Keeping my fingers crossed and really hoping that this works.
What should I do next if this does not resolve the issue???
Any assistance is greatly appreciated.
