Cat Urinating In Your House?

During the times that I was having problems with my cats urinating in places other than their litter boxes, a bad odor was filling my house. If you have ever had this happen, then you know how crazy it can make you. Having friends over is not an option, after all, how can you explain those bad smells. If you do have friends over and they comment on the smell, they usually say, "if it was me, I would get rid of that cat". After a while you start to agree with them, that maybe this is the answer.

Day after day, I found myself exhausted trying to get rid of that horrible odor:

...I would wash bedding everyday, because the cat peed on the bed

... burn candles of every scent to cover up the odor

...gallons of Fabreze were sprayed into the air in hopes of covering the smell

...I used enzyme eater products from the pet store

...I had boxes of Arm and Hammer in every room of the house

...one of my friends gave me their secret receipe for stopping cat odor ---- put baking soda on the spot after you remove as much of the pee as possible, rub it in and vacuum it up, then put some more on the spot and vacuum after about 15 minutes. Seemed to work OK.

I let the odor problem drive me crazy. Don't let it drive you crazy, find out solutions at Cat Odor Gone

It was not easy to rid the house of the odor, I realized that the only real solution was to get the cat back to using the cat box.

I finally got rid of the odors, when I was able to get the cats to use the litter box again. There are many ways to train your cat not to pee outside of their cat box Click Here! to get extremely useful information.

One of my friends gave me their secret receipe for stopping cat urine odor ---- put baking soda on the spot after you remove as much of the pee as possible, rub it in and vacuum it up, then put some more on the spot and vacuum after about 15 minutes. Seemed to work OK.

Put The cat box against wall lengthwise and put a newspaper about 10 inches up the wall behind the catbox. If a cat is in the box and sprays high, the paper will catch it.

Put 6 layers of newspaper around the cat box extending about a foot out from the box, all around the entire box. This will catch any urine spray that goes past the edge of the cat box.

To pick up cat throw up and cat poop, use a serving spoon, dig the spoon into the carpet at least 1/4 to 1/2 inch and scrape towards you. This will pick up the solids and also the liquids. Then take a product, such as, Nature's Miricle (from Petsmart) soak the area and follow instructions on the label.

Thousands of cat owners, me included, have suddenly found themselves with a cat that urinates everywhere in the house. Urination spraying is, by far, one of the most terrible of all cat behaviors. Why in the world do they do it???

The simple answer to this question is....when a cat sprays they are marking their territory. No matter how you slice it or dice it, marking territory is the main reason for spraying. If your cat is an outside cat, they may be spraying a territory that is blocks around your house, an inside cat may spray urine in a few rooms of your house or the entire house. That is why it is so important that your cat have a "spot" in your house that they know is theirs. (more on this later)

Another reason cats spray, is when they are in heat. Cats have a great sense of smell and are easily attracted to the odor of urine. For cats in heat, spraying is a way to attract the males that around. The only way to avoid this, is to have your female cat spayed. This is usually an immediate solution to the problem, and helps keep the cat population under control.

Cats spray when they are under stress: a new house, a new baby in the house, a new pet in the house, or an owner who is under considerable stress. All these and more can result in your cat starting to spray.

Photo courtesy of Center for Disease Control and Prevention

Something to keep in mind, cats will begin urinating outside of their box, for a number of reasons;

...they are sick, (if you see your cats behavior changing, they are not eating, you find throw up after they eat or if they just aren't acting
normally, be sure to take them to your Vet for a check up)

...another cat has been brought into the house, (don't over do the attention to the new cat, make sure the first cat gets as much attention as did before)

...you have moved their litter box (if you have to move the litter box, make sure to put your cat in it a number of times each day, so they know where it is)

...you have moved to another house (if possible, take the cat to the new house a few times before the actual move, let them know where their new cat box area is and have a second litter box in that place for them to use)

If you have had your cat for some time, it is a good idea to look at what has been happening within your family for the past few months that could cause your cat to be upset and cause them to urinate where they shouldn't.

If you have just got a new kitten, some training will go a long way toward letting the kitten know where they are expected to urinate.

Another of our cats began spraying in the house and did not use the litter box.

Once again we went through the check list of things that could have upset her and made her change her habits. This time we could not come up with an answer, and the urinating about the house continued.

Our children were young and had been in the house when we got the cat, so that should not have been a problem. Our children loved the cats and treated them with respect and did not over handle or abuse them.

Simply by accident, we happened to see our 2 year old, toddle into the area where the cat box was and start to run his fingers through the litter. One of our older kids told us that he did this quite often, even when the cat was in the box trying to do her business. BINGO, the lights came on and we finally had our answer.

We moved the cat box into a different part of the house, showed the cat where it was and put her in it a number of times each day, so she got the message. Problem solved---no more spraying about the house.

Another Big lesson learned....cats are like people, they like a little privacy when going to the toilet!!!

No matter what you do, no matter how hard you try, all your efforts could be in vain if your cat is sick. Since most of us look at our pets as small lions and tigers, it is hard for us to believe that they could get sick. But a cat is just like any other animal on this earth, they can and will get sick.

Older cats are prone to diseases and problems, the same way as older people. Their joints can become stiff and painful, their eyesight can become cloudy or they may become blind, they can lose control of their bladder and bowels. No matter how active your cat has been, at age 9 or so, old age can set in very quickly. This should be one of your first considerations, when a cat's toilet pattern changes.

Cats can be attacked by parasites, such as ringworm, heart worm, hook worm, round worm and rabies. Your Vet can recommend annual shots that can take care of this type of problem.

One of my first male cats died of a urinary tract infection. This type of problem is most prevalent in male cats that haven't been neutered, but females can also suffer from it. Since our cat was an outside as well as an inside cat we didn't catch the symptoms until it was too late. He was not using his litter box and we finally noticed that he had a very strong smell to his urine. He was one of our first pets and we didn't know enough to look for this type of problem. At the first signs of a urinary tract infection, take your cat to the Vet, they have medication that will take care of the problem and they can advise you on how to avoid it happening again.

Two other things you might discuss with your Vet are: Feline leukemia and feline diabetes. These two can be very dangerous to your cat and can shorten the life of any pet. The Vet can recommend treatment to prevent or treat these diseases.

Any time you see your cat changing their habits, look to health issues right along with all the other things that have been talked about in this article. Take care of your cat, the same way you would take care of your children, after all, they are just "little people" in fur coats.

Photo courtesy of NPS.gov

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Cats are complicated "people", things set them off just like they set you and me off. The big difference is this....we can talk to each other to help resolve the problem. Have you ever tried talking to a cat? They just look at you and then just go about their business, completely ignoring your little chat.

How then, can you ever get through to a cat that their urinating around the house is not acceptable?

The number one rule for changing a cat's behavior is----never ever, hit them. Don't scream at them, and don't stop loving them. As I said, cats are complicated and they don't understand why the person who once loved and cherished them, now wants to beat and disown them.

When my cats began to stray from their litter box, I would carry a bottle with a sprayer on it, filled with water. When I saw my cat start to back up to something to spray, I would give it a squirt of water. A few times like this and the cat would usually get the message. I would also take them to their litter box, place them in it, push their rear ends down to indicate that this was the place to urinate. I had good luck with this method, but sometimes a lot of persistence was required.

I began to carry small cat treats around so I could praise my cat when I saw them do something right, using their litter box, scratching on their scratching post were a couple of things that got them a treat.

One of my cats was really difficult to break of the house urination problem. I ended up putting 15 pennies in a tin can and when she was doing something wrong I would shake the can at her to get her attention. The noise would get her attention and she would stop what she was doing, giving me a chance to pick her up and take her to the litter box. Eventually this and the treats made the correct impression and she always used her litter box after that.

The one thing I learned that I always tried to remember was........stay calm, don't shout and don't hit them. If you continue to show your cat love and affection, they will want to please you, they will still trust you and will be more easily bribed by a treat. All this and a lot of patience will eventually get the job done and your cat will be more likely to always use their litter box.

Photo by Nick Bobby

Many cat owners drive themselves crazy trying to figure out why their cat doesn't use their litter box. There are thousands of reasons why , but let's start with some basic ideas on how you may solve the problem. You can find a great deal of information at Litter Box Help

One very important thing to remember is, do not put food and water near the litter box, cats like these two areas kept separate

Also don't forget, if you have more than one cat get each one of them their own litter box

First, check the litter box itself and where it is placed. Cats are no different than people when it comes to going to the toilet, they like a little privacy. The litter box should be placed in a quiet, private area of the house, away from the hustle and bustle of family life.

Here are some ideas on placement and dealing with the litter box:

* always keep it away from high traffic areas, privacy is very important

* place it in the basement, with the door open or a cat door installed

* put it in a closet, with the door open! make sure it is not on carpet for easier cleaning

* try putting it in the laundry room next to the washer or dryer

* maybe in the garage, as long as the cat has easy access

* always make certain that there are no obstructions and the cat can actually get into the box

* make sure that the box is big enough, if you got it for a kitten , it may be too small now

* make sure you clean the box, a dirty box will certainly stop a cat from using it

After placing the litter box correctly, ask yourself if you changed the litter box in any way, such as adding a new type of litter with a new fragrance, new litter with a different texture or not filling the box deep enough with litter.

Cats are usually clean and careful with their urinating, if a problem develops, check out all the surroundings before assuming the cat has gone bad.

One cat started going in my garden that I had just dug up for planting of flowers. Another cat decided that my bedroom carpet was a better to place to go. Being completely stunned by the new urination habits, I called the Vet to get his advice.

Some of the things he asked me about, were:
...had anything changed in my household
...had we brought any new animals into the house
...did the cat seem sick
...had his behavior changed toward the family because of something that had happened
...was the family under stress
...had the cat been spayed or neutered
...had the litter in the litter box been changed to a different one

As he was asking me these questions, many things were going through my mind. There were no new animals, no change of litter, the cat didn't appear to be sick and we hadn't moved houses recently. WHAT HAD CHANGED, was that I had begun working nights and that changed the way the family interacted together. We ate our meals at different times, watched TV at different times and had our family time at different times. None of us had any idea that a cat could be so sensitive to the change in family dynamics and I guess we didn't pay as much attention to her as we did before.

It was an eye opening experience to realize that our cat could be so upset by these family changes. We all made an effort to give her more attention, include her in the times that the family were together and to make certain that she was highly praised when she used her litter box correctly. After a while, the urination problem ended and she used her litter box instead of other places.

This was a BIG lesson learned..........listen to what the cat is trying to tell you. Cats are like humans, they go along on an even keel until something upsets them. The secret is.....find out what upset them!!

Some people feel that the best way to treat cat urination problem, is before it starts, by getting their cat spayed or neutered at a young age, such as 12 weeks. Although this may seem quite young, this is the age that the SPCA is getting it done on the cats that they take in. This is considered to be the best way to nip bad cat urination in the bud, especially spraying. Of course it is always best to talk to your Vet first.

For one of my male cats, this was the only solution that stopped the urinating and spraying around the house. I did not intend to breed him, so the neutering did not interfere with any plans I had for the cat. Once it was done, he became much more loving and affectionate and he always used his litter box. The problem was solved and it also helped hold down the unwanted cat population.