Cat having behavioral issues - not peeing in catbox

[MarylandChick]

One of my cats stopped peeing in the litterbox a year ago. I have since tried several different types of boxes, litter and locations all with no success. He always pees right in front of the box. Now I lay puppy training pads in front of and underneith the litter box which I change daily

Also, I keep the litterbox in the spare bathroom's bathtub

At first I thought if was his feet because if a cat's having trouble with his feet or toes he won't go in the litter box but he goes in there fine for making #2s. I had him checked and he is completely healthy.

Recently my husband left a suitecase in the hallway open full of chlothes for 2 days and we discovered the cat peed in it

Also once we found a pile of magazines that fell off a table and had been peed I suspect my cat once peed on my couch too. No amount of cover washes and blotting of various products has ever gotten all that smell out.

It's such a smelly problem. If you find a solution PLEASE let me know because this is driving my husband and I crazy. It's embarrassing to have a stinky house.

 

[MagsC]

We had the problem twice, a long time ago. One cat had a UTI and the other would only go in the litter box if it wasnt sifted out EVERY time there was something in it, urine or faeces. I know the latter is probably extreme but I have head a lot of cats wont go in the litter box if it is even the least bit "full" or as stated, they will go outside their usual habits when upset.
My daughter being the "cat person" in our household, I would have no great ideas how to stop it.

Best of luck with anything you decide to try.

 

[chickenannie]

Well, one day with the "old" brand of litter back in the box and so far so good. I also tossed the carpet square he'd been urinating on (in front of the litterbox) and mopped the entire floor with a bit of ammonia in water. The smell is much better today, so I'm thinking he's been using the litterbox. I guess he hated that expensive litter?? He had some runny poo issues the last 2 days which I was associating with him being upset, but now I think it was because I let him run outside twice and it was the first time he's been out in 3 months, and I think he ate something that made him sick. So back to the old cat food. the other possibility is that I just dabbed the flea/tick paste on his shoulders a few days ago and maybe he had a reaction to that? That stuff seems highly dangerous if you ask me. Does anyone know of any alternatives for flea and tick protection? I do NOT want a flea-infested house. Maryland chick, I"m so sorry about your cat peeing around places. It can get really bad, I know.

 

[ole-crone]

We have a multi-cat household. We had a problem with one of our older females and discovered that it was because she was afraid of one of the other cats. Unless she could have a clear view from the cat box she would pee anywhere up high where she could see - i.e. a bed.

Once I figured this out, the problem which had lasted off and on for years was gone. If she started peeing where she shouldn't, it was normally the box had been moved or someone had put something down, blocking her view.

By the way, the male she is terrified of is a sweetie. She'd beat up on him when he was a kitten. However, he grew to be a huge cat and she didn't believe 'turnabout's fair play.'

 

[priszilla]

we had a cat taht had that same problem- and he was checked for a UTI and everything. and was healthy. The vet said he had a behavioral probelm and prescribed birth control pills for him for a month or so. He did stop, but when we had to go out of town, he would do it again for a day or so. So cats do take vengeance.He lived to be 17 years old and was the most spoiled old cat there ever was.

 

[Aneesa's Muse]

I adopted a big 2 y.o. Tom quite a few years ago ..his previous owner said he would not poo in the litter box, so they surrendered him.

He used the litter box just fine for me ..never a stray one anywhere ..until the parasites took over and then he started going poo in the central hallway (that led to bedrooms and bathroom ...well traveled). It turned out that he was trying to show me his ailment and that was the best he knew how ...boy did it work!

After having him treated by the Vet ..no more poo in the hallway.

Months passed and one day he jumped up in my lap and pee'd a bloody mess all over me..

..turns out, he had a UTI and was again ...showing me his illness.

(That cat had been so mistreated in his former home, it took me quite a few years to reverse the damage to him, physically ..and we never got over some of the mental/emotional issues with him)


Cats are smart and they will take vengeance on a human being, if it so tickles their fickle. Don't underestimate the feline!

 

[texasreb]

It sounds like you're on the right track. If his feces don't go back to the normal "segmented Tootsie-Rolls" please don't put off taking him to the vet. When my Maine Coon had a severe UTI, he presented with a runny, smelly stool.

 

[MarylandChick]

priszilla - the vet gave a your male cat birth control pills so he would stop peeing in front of the litter box?

 

[Scrambled Egg]

Quote:
Yep, totally agree..had this happen years ago with a huge long haired cat (no idea if the long hair is related to the issue) but she began peeing on everything soft and it was a urinary tract infection cleared up pretty quickly with antibiotics and the peeing resumed int he litter box...the cat did go through several of these in her lifetime with the same symptoms and treatment....hope your situation works out quickly as cat pee is really not pleasant to smell in your carpets or rugs.

 

[texasreb]

Oh! I just read that you used ammonia to clean with. Oh dear. Ammonia is a component of cat urine. It can actually cause a cat to urinate where ever they smell the ammonia. It is recommended that you never use ammonia based cleaners when you have pets (dogs and cats) who are not totally house/box trained or sick. It might make things smell better to you, but it smells like pee to the cat.

Use an enzyme based cleaner when cleaning up after pets. Nature's Miracle is a popular one. I prefer OxyClean, but they all work about the same.

This one looks interesting, it's non-enzyme based:

http://www.petstain.net/

I have a bottle of stuff in my RV that is really cool but I forget the name and my RV is in the shop right now. Bummer!