Inappropriate urination

The first step is to have your cat examined and urine assessed by one of our veterinarians. Cats can have infections, crystals, or bladder stones that can cause them to inappropriately urinate. These conditions can be painful, life threatening, and/or debilitating if ignored. If we can not determine an obvious medical reason for your cats inappropriate urination then you may try the following:

Remove the cover from the litter box. For many cats, going into a covered box is like being trapped in a smelly bathroom stall…. yuck!
Add an extra box to the house. The general rule is one more box than you have cats.
Provide the largest size box you can find – the bigger the better. As a rule, it should be approximately 1 ½ times the length of the cat.
Avoid electric litter boxes. The electric mechanism can scare your cat so they are hesitant to use the box.
Make sure you are using non-scented, clumping, scoopable litter.
Offer a new litter type or a litter box to a new location to determine if there is a preference.
The box must be kept very clean. This means scooping the box 1-2x daily (some cats need it done more often) and washing the entire box once weekly with a mild detergent such as dish soap.
Keep clothing, blankets, and bathroom rugs (or any other “target” items) off of the floor.
Clean urine spots with an enzyme based cleaner – Urine-Away or Nature’s Miracle are good ones.
Avoid placement of boxes in noisy (ie…loud washing machine) or high traffic areas (dog or human). Avoid placement of litter box in areas that are difficult to reach.
Correct conflict between cohabiting pets. If your cat is being (or has been) scared by another pet getting to the litter box they may not regularly use it and may need a litter box in a safer location.
Older cats with vision deficits or arthritic pain may need a night light near the litter box at night or a box with lower sides so they do not have to step up to get into it. We can show you how to make one of these boxes from an inexpensive storage tote.
If the urinary issue is determined to be behavioral and you’ve exhausted the above recommendations we can discuss the use of anxiolytics.
Consider the use of Feliway spray or plug-ins.
A) Feliway Spray: may decrease the desire to mark in the house.
B) Plug-in: may decrease stress and anxiety.
C) Feliway is not a cleaner; do not spray directly onto just cleaned surfaces and the enzymes in the cleaner will break down the active ingredient in Feliway.

Remove the cover from the litter box. For many cats, going into a covered box is like being trapped in a smelly bathroom stall…. yuck!

Add an extra box to the house. The general rule is one more box than you have cats.

Provide the largest size box you can find – the bigger the better. As a rule, it should be approximately 1 ½ times the length of the cat.

Avoid electric litter boxes. The electric mechanism can scare your cat so they are hesitant to use the box.

Make sure you are using non-scented, clumping, scoopable litter.

Offer a new litter type or a litter box to a new location to determine if there is a preference.

The box must be kept very clean. This means scooping the box 1-2x daily (some cats need it done more often) and washing the entire box once weekly with a mild detergent such as dish soap.

Keep clothing, blankets, and bathroom rugs (or any other “target” items) off of the floor.

Clean urine spots with an enzyme based cleaner – Urine-Away or Nature’s Miracle are good ones.

Avoid placement of boxes in noisy (ie…loud washing machine) or high traffic areas (dog or human). Avoid placement of litter box in areas that are difficult to reach.

Correct conflict between cohabiting pets. If your cat is being (or has been) scared by another pet getting to the litter box they may not regularly use it and may need a litter box in a safer location.

Older cats with vision deficits or arthritic pain may need a night light near the litter box at night or a box with lower sides so they do not have to step up to get into it. We can show you how to make one of these boxes from an inexpensive storage tote.

If the urinary issue is determined to be behavioral and you’ve exhausted the above recommendations we can discuss the use of anxiolytics.

Consider the use of Feliway spray or plug-ins.

A) Feliway Spray: may decrease the desire to mark in the house.

B) Plug-in: may decrease stress and anxiety.

C) Feliway is not a cleaner; do not spray directly onto just cleaned surfaces and the enzymes in the cleaner will break down the active ingredient in Feliway.

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