We once lived in the country and my 9 year old cat was an indoor-outdoor cat. she would follow hubby outside and lay in the driveway when he worked in the garage and ocassionally catch a butterfly or grasshopper, etc. She loved the adventure. The youngest 2 have never stepped a foot outside. When we moved to the city in December, Callie could no longer go outside. She is a little testy with the little ones but other than that I thought she was fine. They all have their own litter box; her's is downstairs in the basement, the other two are upstairs in the spare room. All the boxes get used and cleaned regularly and I have been told that you cannot tell that I have animals in my home. This morning when I was doing laundry in the basement I noticed that Callie was about to squat and pee on the basement floor right in front of me as if in defiance. Please anyone, if you can help, do because if this continues Callie will have to go to another home where she can go outside once again.
Answers:
SECTION 1: Why isn鈥檛 my cat using its box?
There are three main reasons why a cat stops using a litterbox.
Health Problems
Litter box Preferences
Social Concerns
Health Problems
Before considering non-medical reasons, make sure your cat is physically healthy by bringing them to your veterinarian. Bladder infections can cause litter box lapses as can painful kidney or bladder stones. Male cats can develop microscopic crystals which can cause severe, yet often undetectable, pain and completely block urine output. These crystals can create a life or death situation in a matter of days. Diabetes is another disease which can cause a cat to eliminate inappropriately. Colitis, constipation, and diarrhea may also change litter box habits.
These are just a few health reasons why cats may stop using the litter box and they must be ruled out before addressing behavioral reasons or preferences relating to the litter box. The first step of identifying any litter box problem is to always visit your veterinarian.
If you discover your cat has stopped using its box due to a health concern, your problem may not end after treating the medical condition. You will need to thoroughly clean up any accidents (Section 2) and you may need to help your cat get back on track by litter box re-training (Section 3).
Litter Box Preferences
Cats can be very particular about the condition and location of their litter box. It is very important that cat pet parents make their cat鈥檚 litter box desirable to use.
If your cat stopped using its litter box, be sure to consider the following:
Is the litter box clean? It is best to scoop your cat鈥檚 litter box daily or even several times a day. With some cats you can get by with less frequent cleaning, but make sure there is plenty of litter in the box.
Oftentimes cleaning the litter box IS the problem. It is important to remove the entire contents of the box every few weeks to a month and wash out the box with warm, soapy water. Do not use harsh cleaning chemicals as they can be offensive to your cat.
Litter type can be very important. Most cats prefer soft, scoopable litter. Others will use any clay litter. Many cats dislike scented litter. This can be more offensive to your cat than the odor of his own waste.
Do you use a liner? Some cats tolerate a plastic liner in their box, which makes your cleaning job easier, but some do not like it. If you do use litter liners, avoid the scented liners.
Is it private? Some cats like hoods on the top of the litter box for privacy. Others will not go in a hooded box. Avoid keeping a litter box near a mirror or window. Many cats react negatively to their own reflection or to cats they see outside through a window.
Is it comfortable? Note the height of the sides of the litter box, especially if you have a kitten or an older cat that may have some stiffness in his legs. Big boxes provide lots of room, but if they are too difficult to get in, another spot may be chosen by your cat.
Location, location, location. Put a box in an undesirable location and a cat will avoid it like the plague. Litter boxes should not be in high traffic areas of the house, yet should be easily accessible. Do not put their food or water near their litter box. No one wants to eat dinner in their bathroom. Keep the litter box away from noisy appliances like the washing machine or water softener.
Do you have enough boxes? There should be a litter box for every level of the house鈥?even more if you have a very large home. If you have multiple cats, a good rule to follow is having a box for every cat plus one. Follow this rule even if you think the cats are sharing.
Consider these individual preferences when trying to identify the source of a cat litter box problem. If you think your cat is not using his litter box due to a location, size or substrate preference, curing your cat鈥檚 problem can be as easy as correcting the issue, thoroughly cleaning the mistakes (Section 2) and re-training your cat (Section 3).
Social and Territorial Concerns
Many times a change in the household can cause a house cat so much anxiety that he or she may begin to mark territory with urine. If your cat used to use the litter box all of the time and has recently changed his habits, think about what changed at the time the cat started to urinate or defecate outside of the box.
Do you have a new baby? Have you adopted a dog? Have some house guests stayed over? Cats, in general, can feel threatened by any perceived addition to the family. This stress can cause litter box problems.
Do you have new furniture or new carpeting? Are some home repairs taking place? Many cats dislike change. The anxiety they experience can cause some cats to mark their territory.
Did you get a new cat? The more cats you have in your household, the more likely one of them will start urine marking. Statistically speaking, an unneutered male is most likely to urine mark, even if he is the only resident cat, followed by a neutered male who comes into the territory of a female cat. Urine marking can be an indirect challenge to a dominant cat in the household or a sign of reasserting dominance by the lead cat. Some cats will even chase others out of a litter box, forcing them to urinate in other areas of the house.
Are there outdoor cats or neighbor cats that are being let outside? Sometimes it鈥檚 the presence of an outdoor cat that is causing your cat anxiety. They may begin to mark their territory if they think the outdoor cat is a threat to them.
Thankfully, there are ways to help a cat though its anxiety and lead it back to its box. The first step is to understand why cats mark.
What is Urine Marking?
Both male and female cats have the ability to mark their territory with urine, even if they are spayed or neutered. Marking is a very instinctive and anxiety-relieving behavior.
Many cats mark by spraying either a vertical or a horizontal surface. When spraying a vertical surface, a cat will back up with its tail quivering and spray urine onto the surface. When cats spray a non-vertical surface, the urine will form a line on the surface. Other cats may mark by squatting. In this instance, there will be numerous, small, round puddles on the ground. Sometimes this type of marking is almost undetectable, especially if the surface is absorbent, such as on carpet.
The second step is to redirect your cat鈥檚 behavior in order to stop it from marking. This can be difficult. Because marking is a natural, ancestral, behavior, cats may do this in front of their owners, not knowing that it is inappropriate. If you reprimand your cat when you see him, he will simply learn to urine mark when you are not looking. A better technique is to clap or make a loud noise and then rush him to the closest litter box. Pet and praise him in the litter box and even give him a treat, so he understands that this is the place where you want him to put his urine and good things happen when he goes there. Keep in mind, a cat is not doing this out of revenge, spite, or anger, so please do not punish your cat if you catch him in the act of marking. This could make the problem worse, causing more anxiety and thus more urine marking.
Hi Its possible that your cat perfer to use the bathroom out side or you may have to buy some spray called "No Go",something like that.Go to your nearest pet store and ask them about this spray it works well and its oderless.
I had this same problem and I used this spray and it works.To me it sounds like your cat wants to go pee and do number 2 out side.Well I wish you the best take care
If she did it right in front of you, she may be trying to tell you something. She is older, she may be having some problems with her kidneys. When a cat starts going outside the litter box and has never done it before, usually it is a health issue.
I imagine that Bonnie is correct and it is quite possibly a health issue. Which is common among cats her age. Ours did this when she developed a urinary tract infection.
Oh stop it. Don't you know her by now? It's not "defiance." UTIs (Urinary Tract Infections) are common among cats and can be one reason why they suddenly stop using the litterbox. Your cat is trying to tell you there is a problem in the only way she knows how. She probably tried more subtle approaches and, like most humans, you missed the message.
After all, if you were stranded on a planet of bears, how would you communicate?
Get her checked by your vet.
Please take her to the vet to have her checked for UTI. There's a wealth of information here on Yahoo too, and you can see from that that the most common cause of litterbox avoidance is in fact UTI.
You need to remember just one thing with animals - first thing to check is ALWAYS physical causes. Always. Most likely you'll have it nailed, especially with litterbox stuff, since they are by nature clean animals.
Good luck with kitty, the vet will prescribe her some sntibiotics and she'll be fine.
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