Why do my cats pee in my home?
I have 2 healthy female cats about a year old, they recently started to use the bathroom outside of thier litter boxes. i have 2 boxes in the house and regularly keep them clean, i have done many things to stop this my next step will be to get rid of them i love them so much but will not tolerate a smelly house please help!
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7 Answers
I think that they are telling you something is wrong. Have you changed litter brands? Maybe they don’t like it. Have you moved the litter boxes? Is it both of them or only 1? I had a cat that didn’t like to share a litter box with another. You will also want to make sure that they don’t have some type of UTI going? Also, is there something that maybe they don’t like near the cat boxes??
Syz is our resident vet & I’m sure she’ll have an idea or two for you.
They might be marking their territory, another thing to try to get them to go back to it is one i’ve seen for dogs, puppy training pads, they should have them for kittens aswell. It smells like another cat/dog so they will use the bathroom on the pad(like a flat diaper) and then you slowly will move it near the litter box and eventually into it, then after it stays in the same place for a while they will just naturally go there. Hope it helps
I think they are jealous of your ten month old. (Read your other question.)
There are two different categories of inappropriate urination, behavioral and physiologic. If they are standing, with tail lifted, peeing on walls or objects, then they are “spraying”, which is a form of territorial marking. This is a very difficult behavior to eliminate once it has become established, but there are options.
The second scenario (which it sounds like you’re dealing with) is squatting and peeing, more like a normal “bathroom” posture. There are quite a few things that can be causing the problem. The first thing that you need to do is get one or both of them in for a urinalysis. Cats can have urinary tract infections, just like human women. The condition is uncomfortable, making them feel as if they have to constantly go and it burns when they do. You may or may not see blood in the urine (hematuria) and while it would be somewhat unusual for both members of the household to have it at the same time, it is not impossible. We see multiple cases surprisingly often. If you don’t check it out, imagine how awful you’d feel that you got rid of cats that were trying to tell you about a ouchy condition.
The most common reason for inappropriate urination is dissatisfaction with the litter box situation. Most experts agree that you need to have one box per cat plus one. (I know, that’s a lot, and I have never done that, but hey, they’re the experts…). You need to make sure that the litter brand suits them, that the litter is cleaned regularly, and that the litter box is not in the vicinity of food and water bowls. The other thing that is vitally important is that you eliminate all traces of the urine that has been deposited – just a whiff stimulates cats to repeat the infraction. I would recommend one of the various enzymatic cleansers designed for pet odors. The enzymes actually digest the material.
If there have been changes in your household (i.e. a new baby), the cats may be expressing their stress and unhappiness. Again, there are options.
I strongly urge you to talk to your vet about both of these possibilities before consideriong trying to find a home for your pets.
You sound overwhelmed in general – too many creatures asking for attention. Sounds like a lot. Please try all syz’s suggestions, yes she is our resident (UNPAID) vet, and
take some time-outs to just cuddle with everybody, too. It will be good for you, right?
Lovely little creatures loving you? Otherwise why have them? Don’t we get
babies and kitties so someone will lurve us all to heck?
Good luck, it sounds like the upside down version of a wonderful household. I know this can be turned around.
different cat litter maybe?
could be a bladder infection
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