litterbox issues,peeing outside the box

I work at an animal hospital and the other day a client came in asking what to do about her cat who pees outside the litterbox. This cat has peed on clothes, bedding, etc...This cat also will go in the litterbox but hang her rear out of the box and pee on the floor. She brought her cat in to rule out any medical problems first, but she was asking for advice if this is behavioral. The only thing I could think of suggesting was to confine the cat to one room with the litterbox, food and water and keep her in there for a week or so. I did this with my cat and it worked.

What other things might work for her? Im not sure. Thanks!

 

I did the same, I confined the cat to one room with the box to give the cat the understanding of using the box. I also have watched and when it looks like they are going to "go" somewhere they shouldn't I put them in the box. Maybe the litter box needs to clean the box more often, sometimes a cat can be picky and not want to use an unclean box. With 10 inside cats of my own, I change the litter boxes quite often, so that they will all use the box and not make messes around my home. Sometimes if it's one area it's going in, they should put the litter box in that area. Make sure all clothes are hung, put in drawers, and closets and dressers closed, no clothes laying around so they can't pee on them. Just some of the things I have done since I've been a cat owner, hope it helps.

 

It's not a good idea to shut up a cat in one room with the litterbox and food/water dishes unless instructed to do so by a vet. Kitties don't like to go anywhere near they eat. And it sounds more like a punishment than an attempt to find the problem.

Is this client's cat suddenly peeing on things? Has her litterbox behavior been ok in the past? Has she changed routine lately like moved the box? If nothing has changed, then there is an outside influence like the box has been moved, he/she is in heat and/or responding to hormones because of a cat outside that is tempting them? (pee smell can be confused with spraying/marking territory)...there could be many reasons. We need more info in order to attempt a guess as to what could be causing the problem.

 

Hey, this sounds like Copper lol! Was that you I was talking to? :lol:

I take him to his box(es) a couple of times a day and tell him to "get in your box" and "what a good kitty--use your box". I feel stupid, but it works. This morning tho, he took a poo instead and then peed in front of the back door while I was at work. :x That was his only spot I didn't "booby trap". :roll: I think his problem is that there are just too many odors in this small house. Like I have 3 litter boxes and they are all in a bathroom that isn't very big but there's not another non carpeted area that I could move a box to. So it's almost like he sees the whole room as a litterbox. And I've also decided that since I scoop the box and tie the clumps up in a bag and put them in my trash can that he can smell them. I've started taking the bags of clumps outside. But I just came up with that idea...so I don't know if that's working or not.

 

my Tilly used to poop outside her box and I discovered she was hanging her backside over so I got hooded litterboxes and it ended that. I also have a large size box she prefers.
I know many people who use masonry mortar pans for litterboxes cause they are large. Anotehr good choice is one of those storage boxes cut a side down for an entrance/exit

 

Larger box, hooded box, more boxes as others mentioned could fix the problem. Also, that Dr.Elsey's Cat Attract litter really seems to help with some cats too. My grandmother was having some problems with Prince Harry....she added a second box and switched to Cat Attract which seemed to do the trick.

 

I agree with what nern said above. I had the same problem with Sierra and I noticed she grew, but her box wasn't growing with her. So I went out and bought a box twice the size of the old one and some Cat attract. Havent had a problem since.

 

my friend's cat was going outside the box constantly even when the box was right there.... so my friend put her cat in a crate overnight, and her kitty immediately got the message and started going in the box again. I guess her kitty knew she was being bad!

 

Please help with my cat

I'm having a similar problem with my new kitten Isabella. She's 5 months old, and she's fixed already. I also have a 1year old female. Miss Isabella only has a problem peeing in the litter box. She'll go #2 in there, but refuses to pee in there.. She even peed in her box of toys!! What on earth can I do?? Yes, the 2 cats share one box, and her good and water are close to it, but I figured if that was a problem then she wouldn't go in the littlerbox at all, but she does. I've seen her go #2, just not pee. Please help!!