Cat Mews: Info & more | Articles - Peeing Outside the Box -
Peeing Outside the Box-
by Dusty Rainbolt
Remember when you invited your new friend from work over to your
house for the first and last time? As soon as she walked through
the door, she waved her hand in front of her face, and exclaimed,
“Oh my! What is THAT smell?” You didn't have to
think twice—it's cat pee. Lot's of it! You knew
something had to change. But you may not know how.
You need to declare war against smelly carpets and unbreatheable
air. It's not healthy for you or your cat. Your battle to
conquer this kind of chemical warfare will require assaults on several
fronts at the same time.
Finding Out What's Bugging the Pee Out of Him
First order of business, TAKE KITTY TO THE VET.
Kitties don't pee in the wrong place just to make you mad.
He's either feeling like something the cat dragged in, or something's
upsetting him. There's a good chance he's got a Lower
Urinary Tract Infection (LUTI), often called a bladder infection.
Although it doesn't sound like that big a deal, LUTIs can
cause life-threatening blockages. And it hurts like the dickens,
so when he goes to the litter box, he believes the box itself is
hurting him. The poor kitty moves his facilities just a bit south
of the pan out of self-defense. If he does have an infection, your
vet will prescribe some antibiotics. After he's over his ailment,
he might return to the box on his own.
If his vet gives him the paw print of approval, then you're
going to have to look elsewhere for the cause. He's either
got an emotional issue or a territorial issue going on here. Whether
you have a boy or a girl, the first step to litter box hygiene is
getting kitty fixed.
He may not be peeing at all, but rather marking his territory.
Since he doesn't have an opposable thumb and can't operate
a spray paint can, he just uses pee instead. You can tell the difference
between a pee spot and pee pee graffiti by the artistic design.
If he's peeing, it usually forms a circular pattern on the
carpet. If he or she backs up to the wall, chair or other vertical
surface, stands on all four feet and holds his tail up, wiggling
it at the base—he's marking (sometimes called spraying.)
When he marks the middle of the room, the spot is long, not round,
Male cats that aren't fixed do this to claim their territory.
Kilroy was here, kitty-style. They start marking at about eight
months. Girls in heat spray when she's looking for a boyfriend.
You can avoid this, by having your cat or kitten altered as soon
as possible. Kittens as young as eight weeks can be safely spayed
or neutered—the earlier the better. Often a quick snip will
nip the kitty's desire to paint-the-town-yellow right in the
sprayer.
Other than spraying or feeling sick, kitty might have any number
of reasons he can't or won't use the box. Some of them
might surprise you. So put on your detective hat and get out your
magnifying glass (or rather your black light.) Here are some of
the most common reasons your kitten is going outside of the box.
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It stinks - Oh, the box may freshly changed or
scooped and still smell revolting to your cat. His nose is 100 more
sensitive than yours. He doesn't want his bathroom to smell
like lavender, roses, orange or anything else. For goodness sake,
don't ever put anything that smells like citrus in or around
his litter box. Switching to an unscented litter will usually reconcile
your kitty with his box.
It hurts his paws - Your cat descended from desert
cats. Their bathroom felt and smelled like sand and that's
what your kitty prefers, too. Some litters come in pellets or big
jagged crystals that can hurt their sensitive paws. Have you ever
walked barefooted on sharp gravel? Try doing that and going to the
bathroom at the same time. The floor next to the box is probably
much more comfortable.
It's too dirty - The box hasn't been
cleaned since the turn of the millennium. Think about it: you don't
want to use a filthy bathroom, and neither does your cat. He shouldn't
have to navigate a poop-mined obstacle course to use the litter
pan. Non-clumping litter should be changed at least twice a week—weekly
(at the absolute minimum) and all litter boxes should be scooped
daily.
It's too clean - When you scrub out his
box don't use pine cleaner, citrus cleaner, or bleach or anything
with a strong scent. These smells stink to kitties and will cause
him to revolt all the way to the carpet. As long you rinse the box
thoroughly with hot water, you shouldn't be able to smell
anything. But if you totally remove his smell, which he worked very
hard to put there—thank you very much—then he's
not going to recognize it as his box. He likes the way his pee smells,
and it assures him he's using the right place.
He hates his litter box - Large cats and covered
litter boxes don't mix; he may not have room to do his business.
Picture Jesse Ventura using portable potty. Big cats don't
have room to cover their poop. Also, hooded boxes hold in the smell.
He might not enjoy holding his breath while he's using the
box. If you must have a covered litter box, you convert one of those
large Rubbermaid™ storage tub into a litter box by cutting
an entry hole in it.
He doesn't like litter box liners - Most
cat don't like them. It makes the litter feel wrong. Even
with traditional litter, they rip and trap pee between the box and
the liner. That really smells good after a few days!
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It's a bad location - You wouldn't
like using the bathroom where there's a lot of activity and
commotion. He doesn't either. Maybe it's too far for
him to go—especially if he's very young or very old.
If it's too inconvenient, he might not make the effort. You
should have at least one litter box per cat plus and one extra.
There should be one on every floor of your house. Try to take a
look around and see if there's nearby noise that may bother
him, like a furnace coming on, a tennis shoe banging around in the
clothes dryer or other loud machine operating.
A cat, dog or kid is tormenting him - Watch from
afar. Someone may be blocking his access to the box, teasing him
while he's going or keeping him from leaving once he's
in there.
Something near the litter pan has changed - Ask
yourself if there have been any changes around the house: new or
moved furniture, a new floor runner or a new litter mat. Have you
moved his box or changed the brand of litter? If you have, move
it back and then make necessary changes slowly.
His food and water are too close to the box - You
don't eat in the bathroom. He doesn't want to either.
He still smells pee in the carpet - If you've
changed what's bothering him but he still smells his scent
in the carpet, he'll keep going back. You need to make sure
you completely remove his odor from the caret. If he's spraying,
thoroughly clean not only the carpet, but also scrub the walls and
the baseboards as well.
Other changes have occurred - There may be changes
in his life that are beyond your control. You may have: moved, gotten
a new cat or dog, or someone in the household has died or moved
out, a new person has moved into the home, the kids or another pet
are picking on him. These are all reasons that may upset your cat
enough that he strays from his litter box habits.
You can't figure out what the heck is going on-Unless you're
a cat psychic, you may not be able to figure out what's troubling
your kitty.
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Retraining Your Kitty
You need to retrain him to use his box. Confine him to a small
room, like a bathroom, with his litter box and food. Get him used
to using his proper facilities again. Then let him out for short
supervised periods until you feel comfortable giving him total freedom.
If you see him sniffing around in the wrong place, simply scoop
him up and put him in his box. Tell him he's a good kitty.
If he uses the boxes praise him. You can even give him a reward.
If this fails, talk to your veterinarian about some short-term
tranquilizers to help your cat break the cycle. Never
hit your cat or yell at your cat for missing the mark. Rubbing his
nose in it won't work either. It will only confuse
him more and add too his stress.
Try giving him the Bach Flower Remedy Agrimony or Willow or Anaflora
Spraying Cat Formula to help with stress and causes missing the
box.
At least for a while, switch to fine, sandy cat litter. Dr. Elsey's
Cat Attract litter is formulated to get litter box avoider back
on peeing terms with his box. You can get it at most pet supply
stores. If Dr. Elsey's doesn't work, then it's
back to the bathroom. If that doesn't work, then you might
need to consider talking to a kitty shrink.
Try plugging in a Comfort Zone with Feliway (you can get it at
most pet supply stores). It's like a plug in air freshener,
but instead of cinnamon or citrus, it smells like a comforting friendly
cat pheromone. This will help keep him calm if his problem is stress.
Cleaning Up His Act
It's time to do a little toxic waste clean up: Unless you
clean ALL of his indiscretions, you can't conquer the overall
problem. Because his nose works so much better than yours, he can
quite easily smell pee that you completely miss. And where there's
cat pee, there will be more cat pee. So you must find all his spots
and clean them thoroughly.
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Before you can clean up his messes, you've got to find them—ALL
OF THEM. That's not as easy as it sounds. Just as a ventriloquist
can throw his voice, cat pee can throw its smell. This can be most
frustrating, but not incurable. Buy a black light or ultraviolet
light from a pet supply or janitorial supply house. (Don't
waste your money on a cheap black light from a novelty store. It
won't work.) Under the cover of darkness, your cat's
indiscretions will be crystal clear or rather will glow florescent
yellow. Pay attention to where the glow appears. If it's only
on the floor, he or she's probably peeing. If the wall, baseboards,
and carpet glow, you're kitty is marking or spraying. Mark
them with a piece of masking tape, turn on the lights and start
your assault to reclaim your home. I've had the most success
treating pee spots with a peroxide based product called Tuff Oxi
from at 310-574-3252 and Enzym D® an enzyme/bacteria odor remover.
You can find a distributor near you by calling 800-654-4752.
Whichever product you use, read the directions thoroughly. It's
very important to make certain that the product is not harmful to
cats. If you aren't sure, call the number on the bottle and
ask them.
When you find a brand new pee spot, put a towel over the spot and
blot it up by pressing down or stepping on the towel. Do this with
dry towels until you can't pull any more moisture from the
carpet. Don't rub the carpet; that will just force the pee
deeper.
A pee stain is like the iceberg; you're only seeing the tip.
If you find a stain the size of a silver dollar on the carpet, you
a probably have a five or six inch stain in the pad. If you don't
treat the entire area, you're wasting your time. Remember,
carpet pads hold the stink forever. Try injecting the solution into
the pad with a large syringe (needle is not necessary).
Clean the mess up as soon as you find it, otherwise if not cleaned
up, cat pee can bleach or fade the carpet.
Make the Litter Box a Fun and the Carpet Unpleasant
Finally, make using his box more fun and messing up the carpet
less pleasant. Switch to an unscented, softer, finer cat litter
and/or a bigger box. Try placing a litter box near the place where
he likes to water the carpet. Gradually move it to the location
you prefer. At the same time, make the area he's been using
unattractive. Once you clean the carpet, place Sticky
Paws XL on and around the spot. Cats hate the gummy
feel of Sticky Paws and should avoid touching it. It takes two to
three weeks to break a habit. Be patient. You won't have to
leave it down forever.
Pretty soon you'll be back to scooping the litter box daily
rather than mopping up. You'll cat will thank you and so will
that coworker the next time she visits your home.
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