WHY DOES MY CAT DO THAT? 

Cats by nature are very "tidy" about their bathroom habits, in the wild they almost always bury their waste. They learn at an early age to urinate and defecate in absorbent material and cover over. Why then would a well behaved, apparently well adjusted cat suddenly forget where the litter box is?

There are many possibilities... all of them relating to the natural reactions of cat behavior. The cat that suddenly starts to urinate in "inappropriate" places is very definitely trying to communicate something to the world. The first thing to check is whether or not there could be a medical reason that Fluffy suddenly finds the box an unhappy place.

Cats, especially male cats, are prone to crystal formation (gravel) in the urine. This is usually caused by the pH of their urine being too alkali. This is fairly easy to combat by the addition of an acid substance such as APPLE CIDER VINEGAR or CRANBERRY JUICE to the cat's drinking water. (Usually 1 oz. of APPLE CIDER VINEGAR or CRANBERRY JUICE to 12 oz of drinking water is sufficient.) If in fact there is a urinary tract problem, your vet will have a course of action for you to follow which MAY include a change in your cat's diet. If the problem is not medical in nature, you are then faced with a behavioral situation that you will need to decipher. It is necessary to realize that cats DO NOT have the same motivations for their actions as humans... they have their own agenda and their own "reasoning" for their actions.

In the case of "inappropriate" urination, the causes could be;

1) Sadness

2) Anger, Fear & Boredom

3) Defensive territory marking

1) SADNESS Has any of the following happened in your home lately?...Death of a family member...The long absence of a family member...Divorce...The birth of a baby...The acquisition of a new cat (or dog)? All of the above "causational" events could be perceived by the cat as a loss. In many cases, for example, when a new person enters the home scene, (such as in the case of a new marriage) the cat will feel a sadness of loss and "forget" his or her litter box training. The best response here is additional TLC (tender loving care) to show the cat that he/she still has an important place in the household. Greet him/her as soon as you come in the door. Many loving pets... ear rubs and belly scritches will reassure your sad kitty that they have not been abandoned.

2) ANGER is also often shown by the cat as a direct result of one of the events also related to a sadness response. The difference here is that the cat who is "pissed off" generally directly defiles something belonging to the person they are angry with using either urine or feces. Needless to say, this can be disconcerting to the object of the cat's scorn, (especially if it happens to be feces inside the new GUCCI loafers).The remedy here is to catch the offender in the act, and let him/her know in no uncertain terms that this is unacceptable behavior. A firm "NO!" and "time-out" will go a long way to convincing Fluffy or Chester that this is not an acceptable way to show his/her anger toward a human.

NOTE: DO NOT -- UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES - HIT OR OTHERWISE PHYSICALLY "PUNISH" A CAT!

It doesn't work and just teaches the cat to be afraid of humans. There are certain "adverse consequences" that can be used to modify feline behavior which will be explained later, that do not involve physical "punishment". Remember -- NEVER HIT A CAT... NEVER, NEVER, NEVER!!!

3) Defensive territory marking; Although it occurs most frequently in unneutered cats, spraying, (marking of territory with urine) can occur with neutered cats also. If your cat suddenly stops using the litter box and he or she is not neutered, the first step is to have that procedure done as soon as possible. Solving the problem of a neutered cats' spraying begins with figuring out the location and motivation of the spraying. If shoes or clothes of one member of the family are involved, it is a pretty good indication that the cat is either angry at that person or fearful of losing them. You need to ascertain which it is and broker a "peace treaty" between the cat and that person. Sometimes cats will start "missing" the litter box as a sign that they are unhappy with the box itself. It then becomes necessary for you to determine exactly what it is that has angered PUSS. This can be almost anything from not cleaning the box often enough, (every day or at the least every other day... if it ain't pleasant to use the cat WON'T use it). You need to pay particular attention to the substrate, (that's the type of litter you use... clay; clump or whatever). Some cats develop a serious and sudden dislike to a particular litter and this will cause a problem.

Conversely, DO NOT arbitrarily change litter types unless you are prepared for the cat to use the Oriental Rug as a litter box substitute. In multiple cat households, it becomes necessary to have more than one litter box, (the ideal situation is to have a minimum of one box per cat). You MAY be able to get by with less, but especially in multiple cat households it just makes sense to eliminate, (no pun intended) anything that can cause a potential problem. Too many cats using the same box can and often does create unacceptable social stress on the cats which will precipitate problem house soiling.

There are four big reasons why a cat will refuse to use the box;

• The box is too deep. This can make it a hassle to get into and out of. If the cat falls into the box head first into the litter ONE TIME he or she figures out that the bed pillow is probably a more fun place to poop.
• There is too much substrate in the box. We seem to have the opinion that if some is good, a whole bunch more is tremendous, (if I put enough litter into the box I won't have to change it until next week). When there is too much litter in the box, urine tends to spread out rather than sinking down to the bottom. It becomes difficult for the cat to cover the wet spot, (which is their natural inclination) and the next time they jump in to use the box their feet get wet up to their ankles or they are half buried in their own excrement. This is not a good thing from a feline point of view and usually leads to finding a more cat-friendly toilet, (like the antique hand-knitted afghan from aunt Tilly).
• The "privacy" top is a pain in the neck, (literally) for the cat. Low covered tops on boxes cause the cat to "hunch over". This scrunches his/her insides together which can cause bladder or bowel impairment. Yes, cats like privacy when in the box (unless it has changed recently, "BATHROOM" is not a spectator sport) but put yourself in your cats fur, would YOU be happy if the only way you could use the toilet was to be all hunched over inside the equivalent of a smelly coffin? Neither does your cat!
• The box isn't changed often enough. When you're careless or messy and don't change the box often enough, (ever other day at the least... scoop out solids as soon as you see them), don't complain if your cat refuses to visit it. He/she would rather eliminate on the nice, clean floor or in the bathtub. Wouldn't you?

While talking about cleaning out the box, it is imperative, (not just a good idea) that the box is SCRUBBED OUT with soap and water followed by a 15 minute soak in bleach water (1 part bleach to 32 parts water) to disinfect it.

This will cut down tremendously on bladder infections and ODOR. You should use ZEOLITE powder (a natural odor controller)  when you change the box.

I do NOT advocate the use of plastic pan liners because they get torn when the cat scratches and urine gets between the plastic and the pan. This leads to a prime opportunity for odor to form. In short, if you take care of the box responsibly, there should NEVER be an odor in your home --- and you cat will love it.

WHAT DO I DO ONCE "IT" HAS HAPPENED?

The first thing you want to do is to totally remove ANY trace of the smell of urine from the "inappropriate" spot. This can best be done by thoroughly washing the spot with a good cleaner and, more importantly completely rinsing with clear water. Step number two is to get some PET ODOR CONTROL liquid concentrate and, following the directions on the label, (yes, Virginia REAL cat owners DO read and follow label directions), thoroughly treat the affected area. After the area is treated, there are a few "tricks" that they work to keep KITTY from returning to the scene of the crime and becoming a repeat offender;

• If the cat is spraying a vertical object (door frame, window, etc), it is sometimes useful to temporarily hang a sheet of aluminum foil or plastic by some fishing line in front of the object which is being sprayed. Cats do not like the splash-back of their own urine onto their fur... it is taken as an affront to their dignity and many cats will be discouraged from the offending practice after just one such experience. If you are going to use fishing line or string, however, you must be certain that there is no chance that the cat can chew and swallow the string or fishing line, (that would cause a much greater problem than you are attempting to cure).
• Another method to use is to feed the cat in the exact spot that he/she has been spraying. Cats DO NOT like to soil where they eat, (would you?)
• Sudden noise, (hand clapping, a whistle, loudly shouting NO!) at the moment when the cat is about to spray can be very effective. The only practical problem here is that you might have something else to do with your time than following KITTY around waiting for him/her to spray, (like going off to work so that you can afford to buy cat food). This method is effective but not practical for all occasions.
• Change the substrate in the litterbox. Sometimes cats just take a dislike to the litter that you use. It could be that some got stuck between their toes, or they don't like the fragrance or whatever. The trick here is to remember that cats don't like change, so if you are going to change substrates, do it slowly.
• Change the location of the box. This might sound somewhat strange, but sometimes it helps to put the box in the spot where the cat has decided to eliminate. This will often cure one problem, but cause another. It become inconvenient to have the feline toilet in the middle of the living room or in front of the office door. The trick here is to put up with the inconvenience temporarily and move the box SLOWLY to a more appropriate location once the cat is once again using the box. Just as when changing the substrate, it is necessary to make moving the litterbox to a new location a SLOW and GRADUAL process. Cats like routine and ritual. Sudden changes cause problems for them emotionally and because of that we as humans live with the fall-out.
• If all else fails, try drugs. Many times with long-term sprayers success has been had with the use of long-acting progestins (such as Depo-Provera). Progestins can be used with both castrated and whole males and with spayed females, (intact females are another subject). This drug also has the effect of reducing aggressiveness and roaming tendencies. I am, generally, against the use of chemicals and non-natural answers to feline problems, but if all else fails, this should be something you would discuss with you veterinarian.
• A quick word about cats that urinate or defecate in the tub. If this is an "alternative" for your cat and you wish to break him/her of the habit, put the plug into the drain and leave about 1 inch of water in the tub. This will certainly discourage the cat from using the tub as a toilet, (just remember to drain the tub and rinse it down before YOU use it as a tub).
• The isolation cell. This sounds worse than it is. If you remember back to when you "trained" your kitten to be a member of the human household, chances are you started him/her off in a small room, (possibly a bathroom) with a bed, food, toys and a litter box. Sometimes it becomes necessary to send Kitty to camp for retraining in the finer points of living with humans. If you do decide to use this process, make sure that you set aside enough time for play and socializing. It is a good idea that "Camp" is in a room where there is a tile floor and no rugs or other absorbent surfaces so that the only "appropriate" substrate (from the cats' point of view) to do "bathroom business" is in the litter box. After you are pretty sure that the retraining has done its' magic, allow Kitty to slowly regain access to the entire household.

Finally, cats by nature HATE to be uncouth and "unclean", if your cat is house soiling, it is his or her cry for help. Sometimes it can be a simple as setting aside an addition 15 minutes a day for cuddle-time which shows your cat that he/she is a valued and loved companion.

As always, before embarking upon ANY home-remedy solution to ANY problem with your companion feline, consult your veterinarian.