Bathroom help!

This is urgent! I don't know what is wrong with my 1 yr old cat. For some reason she insists on peeing on our stuff. She was spayed at 8wks old so it isn't that..... I clean the litter box 2 x a week sometimes 3x..... I use a large covered box and 1 large bag of litter.... She does live with 2 other OLDER cats but they DO NOT do this behavior.

She will pee on stuff like our dirty laundry, my son's school backpack, blankets etc......

This has to stop or we will be forced to rehome her which I DON"T want to do cause I do love her dearly...... I need help at stopping this!!!! FOr lack of knowing what else to do I did spank her when caught and then put her in her litter box..... but I know that really isn't a solve to this......

PLEASE HELP!

she may well have a urinary infection - which hurts! ( she'll associate the pain with the litter box) if this is the case it is not her fault! please don't use physical violence to discipline your cat!!

get her to the vet, if she doesn't have a UTI atleast you'll have ruled out any health problems & can then get to the bottom of the problem (which would be a behavioural problem though i much doubt it is as you say your other cats are fine)

yep I agree - this needs checking at the vets

It's time for a trip to the vet's to rule out any kind of medical problems. Until then, I'd put her in the bathroom with her own box, food, water, and toys. Then, I'd work on ridding the house of the spots where she's urinated with an enzymatic cleaner. You might need to make some other changes once you've seen the vet, like adding another box (w/out lid), changing food, changing litter,and etc.

Stephanie

I've gotta agree.... A vet visit is a good idea!! Rule that out,, if you find out it's not that,, then it time to see what else is going on. IE. behavioral wise.

I can't blame you for popping her butt,, I think that would be my first response too.. But check to see if something else is a matter. That seems odd that all of sudden your cat just stop using the litter box.

Good luck and let us know what happens.....

Heather

Thanks for the replies... SHe does still use the litter box so its not that she has stopped she just has adopted other places that she likes too...

She was just at the vet about 2 weeks ago so I don't think its a UA...

Its been going on a while now. ITs just I'm catching her in the act now cause I wasn't sure who it was.

UTI can develop quickly, so even if you just had her to the vet 2 weeks ago, if they didn't take a urine specimen then they have no way to know if she has or had a UTI at the time. I'd still take her back to the vet's letting them know that she's not using the box properly so they can specifically look for this.

Also, I would suggest another, uncovered, box in the house. Sounds like she may be a little stressed for some reason, which just aggravates the situation and can lead to the UTI.

If you don't remove the odor from the places she's been urinating, she'll just continue to use it as a litter box. Thoroughly clean everything with an enzymatic cleaner. Look for things that could be causing her stress....kids returning to school, some other change in routine, a new cat in the neighborhood, altercation with another cat in the house, new litter, and stuff like that. Try using a couple of Feliway plug-ins and see if that doesn't help.

BUT, I still think you should take her to the vet first.

Stephanie

Stopping Inappropriate Urination

The first and most important thing to do is to take the cat to the vet! You need to specify that the cat is urinating outside the box so that the vet knows what to look for. Urinating outside the litter box is the #1 symptom of urinary tract problems! A urinary blockage can quickly kill a cat! Note that the only way the vet can test for a urinary tract problem is to draw a urine sample. A medical examination without a urine sample will not detect a urinary tract problem.

If the vet says she is okay, then consider making a few changes:

• If you use a covered litter box, take off the lid. Many cats refuse to use covered boxes.

• Most cats prefer fine-grained unscented litter. So, try changing litter even if she liked this litter in the past.

• Most cats prefer to poop in a different box than the one in which they pee. So have at least two boxes for one cat.

• If you have more than one cat, make sure you have at least one litter box per cat PLUS one extra box. So, if you have two cats, three litter boxes is ideal. Do not place the boxes right next to each other. Two boxes that are together is the same as just one box in the catâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s mind!

• Make sure you scoop the litter box daily, and with multiple cats, scoop twice daily. Cats often refuse to use dirty boxes. Most of us avoid toilets that are full of pee and poop. Cats are even more fastidious than us humans and certainly have more delicate senses of smell, so of course they do not want to step in a box full of old feces and urine! A clean rug is much more attractive than a dirty box!

• If your litter boxes are old, they may have absorbed odors even if you regularly clean them. So, try buying new boxes.

• Make sure your litter boxes are in a place where the cat feels safe while going potty. If she is disturbed by you or your kids or another cat or dog while she is trying to potty, she will choose to use a safer location. So, move the litter box to a location where she can see the comings and goings of the other people and animals in the house. You can set up the box in the corner of a room, then surround the box with nice house plants. It will be attractive and open enough for the cat to feel safe!

• Put a litter box on each level (floor) of the house.

• Make sure you thoroughly clean all old urine spots on the rug and elsewhere. If she can smell the old urine she will think that place is a good place to potty. Use a flourescent black light to find old urine and treat all old spots with an enzymatic cleanser.

• Try putting a plastic carpet runner upside down on the places she likes to urinate....most cats don't like to walk on the "spikes" so they will avoid the covered spots.

• Put something real smelly where she likes to urinate...most cats hate the smell of citrus, so try
putting citrus scented air freshener or orange peels or citrus potpourri where she urinates.

• According to Cat Behaviorist Amy Shojai- if your cat is peeing on personal items the cat is probably stressed out over something. Urinating on some object that holds your scent is calming to him. If you can eliminate the stressor, chances are good that the potty problem will end.

• If your cat is standing inside the litter box and aiming outside the box, you simply need a larger box! Try a Rubbermaid under-bed storage container as a litter box instead of the typical small box.