Cat Litter Box Problems — How to Solve Them
My Cat Is Peeing Everywhere. What to do?
This issue is one of the top reasons that cats are either left to go feral or are dumped in a shelter. Cat urine has to be one of the most unpleasant odors.
Before we can help solve this kitty’s problems, we need to ask Mommy or Daddy a few questions:
1) Is this cat spayed or neutered? If male cats aren’t neutered, they can often “spray” to mark territory, which could be confused with pee.
2) Have you taken this cat to the vet to rule out an UTI (Urinary Tract Infection)?
Once these two major things are ruled out in this cat’s case, consider what’s been changed in the house. If this is a cat that always used the cat box and is now refusing to use it, ask yourself:
1) Has anything changed in the house – new baby, new dog, new cat? This may be causing stress and that may be the reaction you’re seeing with your cat.
2) Have you moved the litter box to a new location?
3) Is the litter being changed regularly? (Every day, couple of days, no more than a week…)
4) Have you changed the type of little you’re using? Some cats are finicky (yes, an understatement I know), and may not like the feel of corncob litter on their feet. Or they may not like the smell of the piney litter. Consider if you’ve made a change in the litter.
5) Have you added another cat to the family? If so, some cats will share litter boxes. Most people recommend one litter box per cat – i.e. 2 cats, 2 litter boxes.
6) If everything’s fine on these fronts, you might consider buying a new litter box – maybe an open box, rather than a covered one. Sometimes older cat boxes can retain odors that we cannot smell, but animals with a heightened sense of smell may be bothered by the heavy smell.
7) If your cat is older, you may want to help it navigate the stairs by placing a litter box on every level, reducing the number of times an arthritic or older cat needs to expend energy in this department. Cats cannot tell us that they’re bothered by arthritis or stiff joints and may be taking a short-cut to avoid pain.
8) If there’s a “special spot” on the rugs that the cat likes to pee – consider using an enzymatic cleanser and a fluorescent black light to find the spots.
9) Try buying a plastic carpet runner (from a place like Home Depot or Loews at about a buck a foot) and place the runner upside down (spikes up) to discourage your cat from urinating in that spot.
10) Almost like “potty training” a new puppy, you may need to restrict the out of the box pee-er to a small space – like a crate or a bathroom –that includes a litter box. Start there and when the successfully use the litter box 100 percent of the time, gradually increase the space – with supervision, until you can be convinced that this cat will not pee outside of the litter box again. It’s a process and won’t happen overnight. But, it can be, with patience, cured.
Good luck with your kitty!
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Boy you’re sure right about that being a frustrating problem. But you give some great advice!