Expert: Ali - 12/15/2008

Question
I brought home this boy shortly before he entered pound when he was a kitten.  He is neutered, but still clawed.  For several years, we did not even need a litterbox in the house.  We have 5 acres and he usually went outside to potty.  He has acess to the house 24/7 via our dog door (yes we also have dogs).  He has never seemed to mind the dogs or anything else.  One night, a couple weeks ago, we found that a cat had peed on the bed.  We weren't sure which cat until a night ot two later, the cat came into our room while we were sleeping, meowed twice, jumped up on the bed in front of my husband and started peeing.  I have since seen him outside peeing, but he has peed twice more on our bed, and three times on my son's bed in his room.  I am so tired of cleaning sheets and beds.  Any thoughts?

Answer
Briana,

I would suggest that you check into some of  my previous answers on inappropriate elimination, but I have taken the time to send you the short version so that you have an idea of what you are working with. Inappropriate elimination is a very common issue and I have answered numerous questions on this subject. There are a few recommendations that I always make in this situation. Firstly the cat should be completely assessed by a qualified veterinarian including blood and urine testing to rule out any medical causes of the inappropriate elimination. Once the medical side of things has been ruled out then you need to look at the possible reasons for this misbehavior. Sometimes it has to do with litter boxes, sometimes it has to do with not having enough litter pans for the number of cats in your household, sometimes it's about whether or not anything in the litter boxes or surrounding area may be the reason for the litter box avoidance. Despite what many pet parents believe the cat isn't going to the toilet outside of the litter box just to tick you off, there's a reason for it, if you find the reason you can often find a solution that will work. Some cats are sensitive to scents commonly found in kitty litters that are scented, after all their sense of smell is much more sensitive than ours. If cats are sensitive to chemicals and scents scented cleaners, air fresheners or perfumes used in the area of the litter boxes they may opt to find other places to relieve themselves where they aren't going to be exposed to perfumes or scents. I usually recommend that pet parents try to avoid scented kitty litters, air fresheners, and scented cleaners in and around the litter boxes to avoid this problem. I have also found that unscented, clumping kitty litters made from a variety of substances tend to be preferred by most cats with litter box issues, it's well worth experimenting and seeing what your cat prefers. If your litter boxes are located in a higher traffic area within the household it's worth moving them to a quieter area so that the cat can have privacy to do his business - cats are like people that way, nobody likes to use the toilet with someone watching. Some cats prefer specific types of litter boxes or specific fillers, you can experiment with both of these to see if this makes any kind of difference in the toileting issues you are experiencing. If your cat food is located near the litter box that can cause problems in the litter box as well - cats are very clean and don't like to eat where they use the toilet. Sometimes cats will eliminate consistently in the same spots because they can smell previous mistakes, this can be remedied by using an enzymatic cleaner to permanently and completely remove any odor or stains left behind by organic matter such as urine, feces, blood, vomit, etc. I use an enzymatic cleaner called Petzyme which I purchase in the dog section by the gallon at Petsmart for roughly $25 CAN. I do think that it would be well worth placing a couple of litter boxes in the area of the dog beds to see if your cat will respond to that and go to the toilet in the appropriate place, if so you can gradually move the litter boxes away from the dog beds over time. If your dogs have access to the litter boxes it's quite possible that they have upset the cat with a disgusting but common habit - eating cat poop from the litter pan....If this is possible I would suggest that you find a way to make the litter pans inaccessible to the dogs while still allowing them to be used by the cats, a baby gate or two may be in order. Cats can also react to changes within their environment by urinating or defecating outside of the litter box - things like moving, adding or subtracting someone from the household, renovations and other upsets in their routine or territory are often culprits of this behavior. If you aren't fastidious about keeping the waste in the litter box scooped out at least once daily and completely dumping the litter and washing the box with dish soap while being sure to rinse thoroughly it's quite possible that your cats are offended by the state of the litter box, I compare that to how we feel in a dirty public washroom. You may want to try consulting with a holistic veterinarian - a vet that has been trained in conventional medicine as well as one or more alternative therapies like homeopathy, massage or acupuncture to name a few. I have seen incredible results with homeopathy when my family vet has used different remedies in different situations for my cats, it's certainly worth a try. You could also speak with your vet about a referral to an animal behaviorist, this would be an option that would work with your cat's behavior and trying to change it. Another option commonly recommended by vets to treat inappropriate toilet issues is using anti-depressant/anti-anxiety drugs to treat your cat. I normally recommend that pet parents use this option as a last resort and that they take the time to do their research prior to starting any pet on these powerful psychotropic drugs - the drugs used are often small doses of human anti-anxiety/anti-depressant medications.