Expert: Tina - 12/2/2008

Question
Hello, Tina
I adopted a female cat in August, who was shelter raised and is about 4 years old. She is a nice cat and is making the adjustment to her new environment. In the beginning she urinated on blankets and stopped and now she is urinating on our sofa. Why is she doing this and how can I prevent this. My family is upset with her, but I will never give her up. I need some help. Thank you kindly
nancy

Answer
Hi Nancy,

Cats generally urinate outside the box for one of a very few reasons. The most common reason is a urinary tract problem - bladder infections with bacteria are not very common in cats, but inflammation of the bladder and urinary tract is very common. Often it is caused by tiny crystals that form in the urine which make microscopic cuts in the lining of the bladder and urethra, causing burning and irritation.

The second most common reason is that the cat does not like the litter box - the box is too dirty, too small, or the type of litter. Make sure you have a jumbo sized litter box, you scoop it at least 1x a day preferably 2-3 times a day, and use a non-scented clumping litter. PLace the box in a quiet private place that is easy for your cat to get to. I highly recommend that you try Cat Attract litter, the litter cats like the texture of and it has a herb added in that attracts cats, so they are more likely to use the box.

Even when the problem is medical, this litter will help bring your cat back to the box while you treat her for the urinary tract problem. You must also keep the box clean enough that you would feel comfortable stepping in it with your bare feet - that's what your cat has to do, after all, and she has to lick her paws! Here is some more info on Cat Attract and keeping the litter box pristine:

http://www.catinfo.org./litterbox.htm

http://www.amazon.com/Dr-Elseys-Precious-Cat-Litter/dp/B0002ML1ZY

Now going back to the medical problem -  the best way to combat this is to test your cat's urine for pH, you can do this by getting the vet to take a urine sample or you can get one yourself and use the pH test strips they sell at drugs stores (ask the pharmacist). The pH should be between 6.0 and 6.5 ideally. If it is higher than 6.5, struvite crystals form and if it is lower than 5.5 oxalate crystals can form. Most commonly cats have a urine pH too high from eating a dry cat food with grains and too much plant protein instead of animal protein (rice, potatoes etc). If your cat's urine is too high you should first try a change of diet (see below) and if that does not bring the pH down below 6.5, you may need to add L-methionine, an amino acid that acidifies urine. The danger of adding L-methionine is that if you add too much, you can make the urine too acidic (below 5.5) and that can lead to a different type of crystal. So if you start using L-methionine (available online and at your vet) you must test your cat's urine pH at least every 3-4 weeks to make sure it doesn't fall too low.

Here are some tips on getting a urine sample from your cat:

http://tippedearclan.wordpress.com/tlc/cat-urine-sample/

Whatever the pH, you should immediately change your cat's food to a meat based canned diet - I recommend Innova Evo 95% meat canned, Nature's Variety Instinct canned, Wellness canned or Ziwipeak canned. If you can't find these in your local pet store you can order them online at places like www.onlynaturalpet.com - I recommend these foods specifically because 1. the companies are reputable and have not been involved in any recalls 2. they contain NO grain and minimal or no vegetables.

You must feed your cat canned food and no dry food, because dry cat food encourages the formation of crystals in the urine by making your cat chronically dehydrated. Canned food on the other hand provides more water, diluting the urine and flushing it out of the urinary tract faster before crystals have a chance to form.

To learn more about why you need to feed a meat based canned food - or even a raw meat diet, please read the following websites:

http://www.catinfo.org

http://www.felinenutrition.net

You should also know that if your vet prescribes a "prescription diet" such as Hills, that is simply low quality food with added L-methionine, that costs way more than a good quality cat food. Instead I recommend you try one of the foods recommended above and add 250mg/day of L-methionine. It is sold by vets for cats, but you can also buy L-methionine cheaper at vitamin stores, just be sure it contains no other ingredients. For example this brand:

http://www.iherb.com/ProductDetails.aspx?c=1&pid=2088720095314746183&at=0

These are 500 mg capsules so you would pull apart the capsule and feed 1/2 of the powder inside capsule a day - for example 1/4 of the capsule at breakfast and 1/4 at dinner, mixed into the food.

Finally some more information about how to treat your cat and how to clean up the problem areas so she does not go back:

http://holisticat.com/flutd.html

http://catnet.stanford.edu/articles/litterbox.html

Good luck!