Issues with Cat and urine

[septbride2002]

Hello. We own this kitty Gabby now for about 6 years and she has never ever used the litter box for stool. Funny thing is none of her litter mates do either. Recently in the last 2 months she has started to also urinate outside the litter box - something she has never done before. We tolerated the stool, but we are afraid she will begin to urinate all over our belongings as well. She does this right next to the litter box. We recently added a kitten to our home but she has been here since July and the urinating just started. We've increased our litter boxes thinking that was the issue - but she is still continuing to do it. Anyone have any suggestions?

~Amanda

 

[chell]

Good luck with your problem. I think they just like to be a pain in the butt sometimes! Last night mine decided to go on her bed (which was my spare comforter). I've washed it several times and can't get all of the smell out. So I hope you don't have any problems like that!

 

[tar heel]

I used to have a cat and whenever she did that, it meant urinary tract problems, which are common in cats. She sometimes, but not always, had a little bit of blood in her urine, too. You might want to call a vet.

 

[Pop Daddy]

I sometimes miss the toilet

 

[catsrule]

Can't help you, Simba and Cali always go in the litterbox or outside, except for one time, when we left to go to WDW and my nephew came into the kitchen and one or both took a dump everywhere. They were mad at us for leaving them and showed how mad they were. Nephew cleaned it up though, we got out of cleaning it. They never did it again. Although when we go on our next vacation next year, who knows.......

 

[catsrule]

Originally posted by Pop Daddy
I sometimes miss the toilet

I miss it too, when I have to go and there is none nearby.

 

[Mickey527]

We have 4 cats in this house and I am always complaining about the mess they make. 2 cats belong to each of my two sons. Personally I prefer dogs, and have 2.
Their cats use the litter box for poop, and urine, but if the boys leave piles of clothes on the floor the cats will urinate on those instead of in the box. They don't urinate on the floor or anywhere else, only on piles of clothes.
I thought it might have been urinary tract infections because I had heard that they have them when they refuse to use the box, but when I took them to the vet (all 4 because I couldn't catch any of them in the act) the vet said they were all ok. It only cost me 2 nights stay at the vet, urine lab costs, and 4 exams to find out they are just rotten animals. Personally I prefer dogs. Peggie

 

[KrnB]

As far as I understand it, it usually means a urinary tract infection. When our cat Angel had a UTI, she would go right in front of the box. I finally figured it out when there was blood on the litter mat along with the rest. The vet said that she was trying to find another place where it didn't hurt to go to the bathroom, as cats tend to blame the bad experience on the location.

It could be because of the other cat as well, just a delayed reaction. I had a cat growing up that didn't handle me going away to school well, and he got lonely. He used a spot on the carpet outside the bathroom to show his unhappiness.

I would definitely take your kitty to the vet to see what the cause is and what they recommend to do to fix the situation. Good luck!

 

[GailT]

Originally posted by Pop Daddy
I sometimes miss the toilet

I havent slept all night, tossed and turned then I get on here at 5:40 and again Poop Duddy has me laughing, You are to much butin a good way

 

[septbride2002]

Thanks for the replys. It is not a UTI, my father-in-law is a vet and it has been checked. She just doesn't like litter boxes very much. Plus my 2 grown cats are on special food to prevent UTI because my one does get them quite often. Because of the special food we have to keep it up during the day because the kitten shouldn't be eating this food and we wonder if maybe this is the issue. We are going to start leaving the food down again and see if it improves anything.

~Amanda

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Have you tried to change litters? I would even use sand or dirt if I could get the cat to "go" in the box.
Is it an open box or one with a hood?
I have had cats that hated the hooded box.
Some cats have to have privacy to "go".
I have had cats that were litter picky too.
When we added cats we would have to change the litter if the kitten "went" in the the other cats litter.
Every cat had their own "box". That does help.

Perhaps (just a theory), the cat "goes" outside the box to mark that as his. Maybe give him a litter he prefers and give the other cats different litter?

Good Luck!

 

[Minnesota!]

How many boxes do you have?

You are supposed to have 1 box for every cat plus an extra. We used to have the same problem when we lived in our apartment, but the vet told me this, and so we put out 3 boxes (2 cats) and urinating outside the box hasn't been an issue since!

 

[KrnB]

My vet suggested the 1 box per cat + 1 as well for the same reasons, but I can't imagine cleaning that many litter boxes.

But that may be worth a shot to give it a try and see if that helps. If curing the UTI wouldn't have cured Angel of going in front of the box, I definitely would have tried it. It would be worth it to not have to clean up the mess!