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Cat Forum / Health and Behavior / January 2004Kitty goes _outside_ the litter box... help!
Hi, I have 2 cats, Lukey and Oreo. Lukey is older than Oreo by a couple of years. Oreo is 2.5 years old. They've been together for almost 2 years. Oreo has had a habit of urinating outside of the litter box. But he poops in the litter box. I had the litter box on the bathroom floor, and he started urinating on the floor. This became a lot of trouble to clean up. So I moved the litter box into the bathtub (guest bathtub, no one uses it). He still doesn't urinate in the litterbox, but now urinates in the bathtub. A little easier to hose down. Why is he doing this? He poops in the litter box just fine. I've also tried setting up TWO litterboxes, one for Oreo, one for Lukey. That didn't solve it. I just recently bought an extra-large huge litterbox, thinking Oreo didn't like the smaller one. That didn't solve it. Tried it with the litter box hood on and off. Nope. Tried 2 different brands of litter. Nope. My only thought on this is that sometimes I'll find litter scattered outside of the litter box when the cats leave tracks or scoop at the litter, and that Oreo assumes he's supposed to urinate anywhere he finds the smallest amount of litter, even just litter paw tracks. So he pees on the litter paw tracks. What's going on here? And how do I correct this behavior? Meow! Scott, Oreo & Lukey Take him to the vet. He has symptoms of a urinary tract infection. Gail > Hi, > [quoted text clipped - 33 lines] > Scott, > Oreo & Lukey Gail, I know what UTI is and Oreo doesn't have this. My other cat Lukey had UTI, where it was very painful for him to urinate and he used to urinate all over the house but not the litter box, and his urine came out in small drops. Lukey's problem has been corrected by switching to a higher quality (less ash) cat food, and giving him Methio-Form tablets to dissolve the crystals. Oreo doesn't have the same problems. Oreo's problem is behavioral. He's been doing this for almost TWO years -- ever since I got him. If it was UTI, he'd probably wouldn't have survived to now. Oreo is happy, active, and urinates fine -- just in the wrong place. He used to urinate in my plants, until I put strips of sticky tape across the plant pots. Now, he just urinates in the bathtub. I really think it's bad behavior that has turned into a habit. I need to figure a way to re-pottytrain Oreo. Scott > Take him to the vet. He has symptoms of a urinary tract infection. > Gail > Gail, > [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > > Scott Try a potted plant container with cat litter in it since he seemed to like that shape. Might sound odd, but might work. Karen Very interesting idea! My last straw will be to increase the frequency of cleaning the litter area and scooping the litter box. Oreo will use the litter box if it's been scooped and if there's no litter at all on the ground in the area. I think he's being too finicky. But, I'll try and increase the cleaning of the area and scooping the box, and if that doesn't improve things, I'll try the plant pot idea. > Try a potted plant container with cat litter in it since he seemed to like > that shape. Might sound odd, but might work. > > Karen > Very interesting idea! > [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > and scooping the box, and if that doesn't improve things, I'll try the plant > pot idea. He may be an extremely picky cat. Some are. Not such a bad thing for you. Keeps everything tidy and better smelling for you both. You might also consider having a litter bucket nearby to scatter "fresh" litter over the top each time so it seems "newer". Karen Did anything happen to Oreo recently? Did he get into a fight with the other cat or become upset about something? Did you change the litter or anything where he might be reaction to a smell of some kind? Nah.. Oreo has almost always peed outside of the litter box. Ever since I got him from the shelter 2 years ago. I've put up with it for 2 years, and have been trying all kinds of ideas. The only time he uses the litter box is after I've cleaned up the whole litter area of litter tracks and scooped the litter box. I tried 2 litter boxes, hoping one cat would use one and the other cat use the other one. That didn't work out. I may just have to clean the area and scoop the box more frequently -- like every day, instead of every 2 days. My other cat Lukey is a lot more tolerant. Scott > Did anything happen to Oreo recently? Did he get into a fight with the other > cat or become upset about something? Did you change the litter or anything > where he might be reaction to a smell of some kind? >The only time he uses the litter box is >after I've cleaned up the whole litter area >of litter tracks and scooped the litter box. Here is your answer. He's been telling you for a long tme. >I tried 2 litter boxes, hoping one cat >would use one and the other cat use the >other one. That didn't work out. Although the cats may not use them as you desire, I have no doubt they both used both boxes. Often cats will pee in one box and poop in another, and, especially when you have a cat that has innappropriate elimination issues, you should have more than one litterbox. The general rule of thumb is one box per cat plus one extra. >I may just have to clean the area and >scoop the box more frequently -- like >every day, instead of every 2 days. My >other cat Lukey is a lot more tolerant. No cat should have to "tolerate" a dirty litterbox. If you do the math, in two days your litterbox, which is probably an area measuring about 15x20, would contain a minimum of 4 piles of fecal matter and 8 areas of urine soaked material. If you think about it in that context, can you blame your kitty for not wanting to have to step in that and instead choosing to go somewhere else? If you and a friend were made to share a single toilet, but not be able to flush it for two days, my guess is that you would be pretty grossed out and have a better understanding of how your cat feels. Your best option is to provide the cats with two boxes and scoop them twice a day. This will take about 5 minutes of your time each day, which is likely significantly less than the time you spend cleaning up urine. :-) Megan  Signature"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." -Edmund Burke Learn The TRUTH About Declawing http://www.stopdeclaw.com Zuzu's Cats Photo Album: http://www.PictureTrail.com/zuzu22 "Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his way." - W.H. Murray > Your best option is to provide the cats with two boxes and scoop them > twice a day. This will take about 5 minutes of your time each day, which > is likely significantly less than the time you spend cleaning up urine. > :-) > > Megan That's a good way to look at it! hehe Signature-- ~kaeli~ Do not taunt Happy Fun Ball! http://www.ipwebdesign.net/wildAtHeart http://www.ipwebdesign.net/kaelisSpace > What's going on here? And how do I correct this behavior? Maybe... Get one more box for him. Some cats do not like to use the same box to urinate and defecate. Signature-- ~kaeli~ If a parsley farmer is sued, can they garnish his wages? http://www.ipwebdesign.net/wildAtHeart http://www.ipwebdesign.net/kaelisSpace |
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