advice on cats peeing outside the litter box

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  • cheshirequeen
    cheshirequeen Posts: 1,324 Member
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    bladder infection more than likely. probably crystals. it usually effects male cats, but it does effect female ones. i pet sat for years and a woman had two cats, poor things, no matter what they did, theyd get them. if you only have one cat, then thats what it might be, also if you dont clean her littler box enough. one of my cats was a diva and if you didnt clean them 3 times a day shed wait for me to see her, and then pee on the floor. little butt. but its probably a urinary problem.
  • Starlage
    Starlage Posts: 1,709 Member
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    I am not a cat hater. Really. I used to be a cat person. In fact, I think they are beautiful animals.... but this is why I prefer dogs. It is more difficult to figure out a cat than a dog. My first instinct would be to visit the vet. Even if it is not 'medical'... chances are that he/she will help you address the behavior. Good luck with that. There's nothing more offensive than cat (p)! :noway:

    I wish I could have a dog. rental apartment, indoor cats only. I can't toss her outside either. And yeah I worry about cat pee smell! This is probably what got me angry this morning in the first place, thinking of the smell. augh
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
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    Sounds like a good plan to me!

    I agree with not punishing her - if she does have a UTI, she can't help it. (ETA: I saw your response) Until you get her to the vet and follow the rest of your plan, be upset all you want but give her the benefit of the doubt. Don't mean to make you feel bad - just want to give you some perspective. I've been through the same thing with a cat who had both UTI issues and liked to show her displeasure about changes in our routine by peeing elsewhere. And I lived in an apartment at the time. It's a pain in the rear but that's what happens to us cat owners - you have to deal with the cattitude, right?! :)

    If she does happen to have a UTI, look into feeding her one of the dry foods specifically for urine tract right away and continue using it going forward. I know IAMS makes one that can be purchased pretty much anywhere.

    ETA 2: That was a weird coincidence! As I clicked save changes to post my 1st ETA, I noticed the ad on the right was for a littler robot!
  • cheshirequeen
    cheshirequeen Posts: 1,324 Member
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    poor baby going and sitting in it. 22 is very old and you are very lucky to have her. my one had a broken spine and she tried her hardest to not pee on herself and was so embarrassed, she was 21, but the love she gave was much more important than anything.
  • mckshowie
    mckshowie Posts: 210 Member
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    I actually had a similar problem... with a 20 year old cat.

    The best advice i got was to use Cat Attract Litter, make sure there is a litter box solely for the old one that the young one won't use - so best solution is to have 3 litter boxes for 2 cats. Does your older cat spend more time in one room, etc? maybe keep it in there. mine, unfortunately, was my bedroom. but i loved my cat and it inspired me to keep the thing spotless.

    good luck,. i know how frustrating that can be. i am in the process of replacing my carpet on my top floor now that my poor little lady has passed (RIP Stripe, age 21). but if you love them, you'll make it work, you know?
  • AdAstra47
    AdAstra47 Posts: 823 Member
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    Yes, I would definitely take her to the vet to rule out any health problems.

    But if it's not a health issue, it's probably just a cat thing. If you have multiple cats you need multiple litter boxes, that's all there is to it. Dogs evolved as the top predator in their environment, that's why they're easygoing about doing it anywhere. But cats, although they're hunters, they were also hunted by larger animals. So they have this strong instinct telling them to bury their waste, to hide their presence from potential predators. Which is good, 'cause that makes them easy to litter train. But that also means they're kind of paranoid about it. They need a place that they feel is "theirs," where no one else is going to disturb it or dig it up. Including another cat.
    And that also means that cleaning the box regularly is key. Every other day at a minimum. Once that box starts smelling like her feces, she'll want to avoid it (in case it attracts predators). That's something ingrained in them, you can't train it out of them, you just have to work with it.
    I'd second what Vegan_Chick said as well, about switching the litter type. Some kinds of litter have too much dust, others can have sharp pieces that hurt their feet. If she has her own box, but you've changed to a different kind of litter recently, she may just be telling you she doesn't like the change.

    Good luck!
  • Starlage
    Starlage Posts: 1,709 Member
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    If anyone has an answer for this I would be interested! My cat "goes" just outside the box too but she is 22 years old and completely lost her marbles! I try to chuck her out in the mornings but she just turns around around and comes straight through the catflap, into the kitchen and pees :grumble:
    A new thing, she pees and then (having dementia) fortgets what she was just doing and then sits down in the same spot and gets covered in wee :indifferent: so now I have to wash her everyday - getting very sick of it !!

    poor thing! I feel bad for you and her. She probably can't crawl in the box very well right? What if you put litter on something flat like plastic. Messy and space consuming but maybe she'd use it? augh. good luck!
  • LycosNyctereutes
    LycosNyctereutes Posts: 61
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    Do you have Google at work? You might have better luck there...

    Please don't Google about animal medicine, it does not make you a veterinarian. Instead, it causes people to do stupid things that sometimes endanger their animals. For example, I had one lady with a Sphinx cat think it ate some thread or something, so she tried to induce vomiting with hyrdogen peroxide (even vets can't make a cat vomit unless they don't want it to) and the cat aspirated the H2O2 and died in my oxygen chamber. Oh, and she found the supposedly eaten object later. On a lighter note, I had some guy bring in a dachshund this weekend he thought was constipated. He had given it Miralax and a vaseline enema (WTF?). Turns out the dog had bladder stones blocking the urethra and couldn't urinate. Poor dog, what a bad day she had made worse because her owner googled about constipated dogs.
    As for any actual advice, make sure she continues to produce urine. Cats get blocked easily, more so males than females tho. If you see her straining and not producing urine, take her to the emergency vet (or your reg vet if it's normal business hrs). Also pay attention if you can, to whether she's drinking a lot/little and peeing a lot/little, and if her urine is dilute or concentrated if you actually see her go. This will be helpful info for the vet on Saturday. Since it is just Thursday now, keep a close eye on whether she's eating/drinking, because the most common cause of illness in older cats in kidney disease. If she's too sick to eat, take her in ASAP.
    BTW, you haven't added any new cats lately have you? Or other major household changes? It could always be behavioral.
  • NoAdditives
    NoAdditives Posts: 4,251 Member
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    First of all, punishing her the way you did will not work and it shouldn't be done to any animal. It's really not cool. Yes, it's a frustrating situation but you can't do things like that out of anger.

    Second, since this just started it's most likely a health issue, not a reaction to your other cat. You've had the other cat for a year, your older cat is used to her already. Their relationship has no bearing on this sudden peeing. I've had two cats (out of many, many cats my family and I have had over the years) pee in places other than the littler box. One had kidney problems that went undiagnosed for a few years because we thought he just had behavioral problems. The other had a bladder infection as a result of a sudden food switch.

    As far as a separate litter box goes, it's probably not going to work. If your newer cat has a more aggressive personality she will use both boxes. Make sure you're cleaning your litter box at least twice a day, once in the morning and once at night without fail, and any time you're home and smell that someone has pooped. Not cleaning it frequently enough is not only gross for your cats and for you, it's unhealthy for your cats. They will breathe in feces and urine particles and can get urinary tract infections from using dirty litter. And, they will track urine and feces around your apartment, which is unsanitary for you. You should also make sure you're using a natural litter made from corn, wheat or paper materials. (I recommend World's Best or Nature's Miracle.) They clump and are flushable just like traditional clay litters but they don't have silica dust which is harmful to cat's lungs.
  • Starlage
    Starlage Posts: 1,709 Member
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    thanks for the advice; I haven't changed anything for about a year (when I got the younger cat) but the peeing didn't start until a few weeks ago and there haven't been any drastic changes in their relationship either, still the same fights as always. I'll keep an eye on eating and drinking. She's peeing just as often as she always has and in the same amounts..... but I'll keep a close eye until I get her to my vet saturday, thanks! I'm always careful with google, I knew to take her to the vet but I was hoping for other advice. I get that people do crazy things with google :o) I work in medical so we get plenty of crazy google things too :o)
  • Matiara
    Matiara Posts: 377 Member
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    My dog lived to be 19. When he got old (15+), he started having random accidents all over the place despite having been flawlessly housebroken all his life, so I'm not so sure it's a cat thing.

    It may be due to bringing the other cat into the household, especially if the younger cat is above her on the totem. I have two cats who are littermates and the dominant one would literally beat up his brother whenever he used the litter pan, so I had to get two. Now, he still beats up his brother for walking through the house, meowing, and breathing, but I can't do anything about that. :)
  • Vegan_Chick
    Vegan_Chick Posts: 474 Member
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    I had the same problem and I have 4 cats (5 litter boxes).

    1) make sure you have at least 1 more litter box per kitty as they can get picky.

    2) switch the cat litter as the dust can bother some kitties which makes them not want to pee in it. I just had this problem and fixed it about a month ago. She was peeing right in front of me all the time and wouldn't stop for about 1 month. We switched the litter and instantly the problem was solved.

    good advice, didn't think about changing litter. I'll try a different brand. I've just been using petco's brand and I am going to get another box and figure out somewhere to put it
    Wow, that is the SAME cat litter I had to switch out of! That might be your problem considering I just had the same issue with the same brand! Was it in their big bin that you scoop it yourself? It must be some crappy litter (no pun intended)
  • Starlage
    Starlage Posts: 1,709 Member
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    yep! stuff from the big bin!! I think i'll try the more expensive flushable stuff, more convenient anyway so worth the cost if she likes it
  • hypotrochoid
    hypotrochoid Posts: 842 Member
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    Could be stress. They have a pheromone thingie- it plugs in like an air freshener- that may help relax the kitty and stop stress related squatting. That and clean the litter box. Oh, and if she has a favourite spot you can spray it with bitter apple to keep her away.
  • Johnnyswife
    Johnnyswife Posts: 1,447 Member
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    Can you uncover the other litter box? Maybe the fumes are getting to her as well? Cats have a much better sense of smell than we do, so even though it smells clean to us, it smells like the "other cat" and they can reject the box. Glad your taking her to the vet though..it sounds like something might be wrong.
    Oh, and apologise to your kitty for smacking her and rubbing her nose in her pee. Lots of cuddles and treats.
  • tabbydog
    tabbydog Posts: 4,925 Member
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    Get her to the vet ASAP. She could have a urninary tract infection, bladder infection, etc.... My cat has done this twice in his life and both times he had something wrong. He is on prescription food now.
  • Starlage
    Starlage Posts: 1,709 Member
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    i can uncover the other box, I'll try that too- thanks!
  • risefromruin
    risefromruin Posts: 483 Member
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    Don't rub her nose in it and don't smack her.

    These work for some cats: http://www.feliway.com/gb

    This. I've worked in the pet industry for going on five years now. If what you say about the younger cat is true, your older cat is probably stressed. Definitely take her to the vet to rule out any bladder/kidney problems, as that can be a medical reason. The feliway however is a diffuser that you can put in the area that she spends the most time at your house. It emits pheromones that will make her feel more comfortable in her environment if the peeing is stress induced. You can also try internal calming supplements, such as Bach Rescue Remedy (they have an alcohol free one for animals) or Hilton Herbs Kitty Kalm. They are both liquid based supplements that can easily be put in the mouth or in canned food on a daily basis to help with any stress she has. Adding the extra litter box is also a great idea. The general rule for litterboxes is: one for each cat in the household PLUS one box. This prevents any litterbox guarding and ensures that they have a clean place to go each time. Hopefully something in here helps ya...
  • Starlage
    Starlage Posts: 1,709 Member
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    i've actually never heard of it before, I'll check it out. She is kind of naturally high strung, when i'm at the store for the box and litter i'll check out the kitty stress products :o)
  • Starlage
    Starlage Posts: 1,709 Member
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    Just wanted to make a little closing THANKS!!! I appreciate all of the advice, pretty much what I planned on doing- I just wanted some conformation/ other thoughts on how to go about things and good products to use.

    here's my revised plan, i'll post later on how things are doing:

    1) taking her to the vet this weekend just to make sure there's nothing really wrong
    2) getting another litter box or two, uncovered and finding places in my little apartment to leave them....
    3) changing litter; thinking about taking the advice on the clumping flushable all natural kind. Hopefully they like it, i'd imagine that'll be dustless and easier for me to clean often since i'll be able to flush stuff instead of finding a bag and tying it up
    4) remind myself not to get angry, even if it's happening first thing early in the morning! :o)
    5)keep an eye on her water/food intake and output until I take her saturday (when I'm home that is... work during the day)
    6)getting a citrus scented something to spray on the areas to add/ put ontop of the enzyme cleaner
    7) check out kitty de-stressing stuff when I'm at the store tonight for the litter and boxes
    8) clean the boxes at least once a day
    9) accept it!! :o)

    I'll jsut have to work on creating new habits for myself as far as cleaning out more often goes. THANKS everyone!

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