Expert: Shanti Zinzi - 12/30/2010

Question
My cat Kazam is an 8 month old female who has had problems with peeing on people's things in my house for a few months now. At first it was just on things that were cluttered on the floor. This didn't suprise me though beacaue she had been born in a very neat home. Other kittens from her litter had the same behavior. But lately it has gone to her peeing on our beds and pillows, especially my dad and his girlfriend's bedding. She knows what she's doing is wrong because if we bring a pillow to her so we can try to correct the problem, she bolts. We really don't want to get rid of Kazam, but my dad will not tolerate any animals who pee on his things. Help would be greatly appreciated.
                   Thanks for the help,
                            Dolores

Answer
Hi Dolores,
Thank you for inquiring.
Keep her out of your dad's room by keeping the door closed. Make a peaceful, safe environment for her until you figure out what is going on.
Punishing or "correcting" her may just serve to alienate her and make her behavior worse.
We must remember cats and dogs are very different.

The most important thing to rule out is a medical problem. She must be seen by a vet to see if she has a bladder infection or health issue that would be causing her irritation and pain.
A bladder infection can be caused by too much magnesium or tuna in the diet or other things.
So it it important to find out before we explore anything else.

For litterbox issues:
1)  With cats, we first need to determine if she spraying or urinating. Both males and females can spray- if she is squatting that would be urinating. (you mentioned she pees on the pillow so this sounds like urinating)
2)  Then all medical issues need to be ruled out. A urine analysis and blood panel.
3)  Then we need to play investigator.
4)  If the litter box has litter that cats don't like or there aren't enough litterboxes or litterboxes aren't adequately cleaned we change that.
The box MUST be scooped TWICE DAILY. CLEAN, CLEAN, CLEAN litterboxes are very important.
To understand this- think of continuously using an unflushed toilet and just how awful that would be days.Think of the amount of waste that will be piling up. Same goes for litterboxes.
You would be completely repulsed!! Cats are the same. They do not want to be digging or stepping in or on waste.
Scoop twice daily, use UNSCENTED litter. Cats are extremely sensitive and have up to 50 million more scent receptor cells than a human -so those perfumed litters are dreadful to them.
Use a dust free clumping litter to scoop out the urine. If you stick to plain old Johnny Cat then scoop out solids and put in new litter every 2-3 days.
The plastic of the box should be cleaned weekly with a mild natural detergent or vinegar. Remove all fecal stains and urine smells from plastic.
ADD MORE LITTEBOXES AND KEEP THEM MAINTAINED. SCOOP OUT URINE AND FECES TWICE DAILY, EVERY DAY.
5)  If none of this works, you must explore the idea of anxiety. If not using the litterbox is truly a behavioral issue then it is about anxiety. Have there been any changes in the home since the behavior started? New cat in the home, new neighborhood bully cat? new dog? new roommate? work on the home? new baby?
Something can be making her very anxious and this would have her stop using her litterbox.
When you figure out the culprit you work on slowly and gingerly desensitizing her to whatever is making her anxious and consult a behaviorist or spca for tips. Create a safe peaceful home. Never scold kitty or rub her face in her urine or you will make it much worse as her anxiety will be heightened.
Add several litter boxes to the home especially if more than one cat, use unscented clumping litter like Swheat Scoop or World's Best,clean 2x's daily, scrub boxes once a week.


Best of luck in figuring out and please contact me via my website if you would like further help or a consultation. (fees posted on site).
If you figure out the culprit, you can solve it. I hope your can keep her and solve it as most shelters put cats to sleep with this issue which is completely unfair and the poor cat pays with his/her life for no fault of her own but faulty diet or not being understood.
Thank you for caring so much, you can figure out !!!
Shanti  www.thenatureofthebeast.org