Expert: Tina - 12/15/2008

Question
I have a young male cat whom is nearly a year old along with our seven cats around the same age. They have all been potty trained including him and they go outside during the day and stay inside at night. My male cat has been behaving funny for the past couple of days he makes poops in the basket and then I found three on a towl in our bathroom and again this morning I found one in the washing bath for cleaning privates. He seems to urinate on our clothes if we leave them on the floor especially mine and not my boyfriends. I asked a friend about this behaviour she suggests that he is doing this for attention or for domination among the other cats because they all use the litter box and so does he but lately hes not. Please can you help me to understand his behaviour and what I should do?

Answer
Cats generally urinate or defecate 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. It is common for vets to look for bacteria or large amounts of crystals in the urine and pronounce there is nothing wrong with your cat but indeed inflammation and discomfort are present. Intestinal parasites can cause cats to defecate outside their box.

Make sure you have a jumbo sized litter box with no cover, 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 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 if the problem is medical, this litter will help bring your cat back to the box while you treat his 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

Please read the following article on how to prvent litter box problems and how to clean soiled areas so they don't attract your cat to return:

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

If you are not already feeding it you should immediately change your cat's food to a meat based canned or raw meat diet - I recommend Innova Evo 95% meat canned, Nature's Variety Instinct canned, Nature's Variety frozen raw, 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, creating an overly-concentrated urine. Even without crystals, a very concentrated urine can irritate the urinary tract lining due to the ammonia content.  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 a home made raw meat diet, please read the following websites:

http://www.catinfo.org
http://www.catnutrition.org
http://www.felinenutrition.net

You may also want to try some herbs known to soothe the urinary tract lining, the following are safe to give to cats for this purpose: Marshmallow root or cornsilk - you can find them in bulk powder form at health food stores. Bring one cup of water to a boil. Pour it over one rounded teaspoon of dried herb. Cover and steep for 20 - 30 minutes. Add to his food twice daily for 2 weeks.

Cosequin, the joint supplement, can also be given to help soothe the urinary tract lining. This lining contains the same proteoglycans found in joints, so the joint supplement can do double duty.

Your cat may be  urinating in the same spot because he can still smell traces of the urine even though you cannot on the mattress. You need to really soak the mattress spot with a urine remover sold at pet stores, like Nature's Miracle or Anti-Icky-Poo (yes there really is a product called this). Let it dry gradually so the enzymes have time to break down the urine proteins that your cat can smell. You can also soak your bedding in a laundry tub with diluted urine remover, then wash in very hot water with regular detergent and some of the urine remover added to the washing machine.

Good luck!