Expert: Tina - 1/20/2004

Question
My 1 year old neutered male kitten is urinating on clothes in the laundry room, which happens to be the same room as the litter box.    He has no problems using his litter box unless if the litter has not been changed in more than 2 days.  When this is the case he will urinate on the clothes in the laundry room clean or dirty.  I currently use Fresh Step clay non clumping litter.  I have tried clumping litter, but it doesn't seem to help either.  Other than changing the litter ever other day, does anyone have any suggestions to have him use the litter box when it is not 100% fresh?  I have never seen a more picky cat.

Answer
Hi Erika,

When you say the litter has not been changed in 2 days do you mean you have not cleaned it at all? Cats need clean litter, if you would not step in the box with bare feet your cat won't want to either! Cats are very clean creatures and won't go where they have to step in their own excrement or urine.

I use scoopable litter and scoop the waste out twice a day (I have 3 cats). At minimum you have to scoop at least the dirty parts once per day (even with non-clumping litter you can remove feces and large wet areas). It's not hygenic for your cat to go in a dirty box anyway, if he steps in feces then he is walking all over your house and on you with those dirty feet!

The brands of litter I recommend are:
1. World's Best Cat Litter http://www.worldsbestcatlitter.com
2. Our Cat's Choice
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=10272&R=16709&N=20...

These are more expensive but very economical in the long run because the litter stays fresh a long time - if you scoop out the waste one a day and add more as needed, you only need to dump the whole box about once per month. They are also flushable even with a septic tank, so it's so easy to clean - you just scoop out the clumps and flush them right away.

To get the smell out of the clothes, soak them in an enzyme cleaner, I recommend Nature's Miracle available at most pet stores. Even if you wash the clothes the cat can still smell pheremones on them and will urinate on them again because of the smell.

Finally, although I am fairly sure this is a problem of not havign a clean enough litter box, there is anlways the chance of a medical problem. Following is a response I giev most often to inappropriate urination casesm as most are due to a bladder infection or crystals.

Inappropriate urination is one of the most common problems I address, and
in almost every case the owner is unawre that most inappropriate
elimination is due to a medical problem! Assuming your cat is neutered,
because un-nuetered males often urinate around the home to mark territory,
the cause is almost certainly a bladder infection or crystals in the
urine.

There are several reasons cats may urinate outside the litter box.
1. The most common reason is a medical condition such as a bladder
infection or urinary tract crystals
2. Territorial marking
3. Stress, fear and other behavioral issues
4. Dislike of the type of litter, the box location, or scared of the box
5. Pain from declawing

In about 90% of cases when cats are peeing outside the box, it is due to a
medical problem such as a bladder infection or urinary tract crystals. The
first thing your should do is take the cat to the vet and ask them to run
a urinalysis to check for these problems. They may will find that he has a
bladder infection and prescribe a course of antibiotics. Make sure you
give her all the pills if they are prescribed - if you stop early the
infection can come back even worse! Also if left untreated a bladder
infection can spread to the kidneys and make her very ill and cause
permanent damage to the kidneys. Male cats are especially prone to urinary
tract crystals and blockages, which can often be treated with diet is
caught early. These conditions are very painful and your cat may be trying
to tell you he hurts.

The vet may also recommend a special food. If s/he doesn't give a
prescription diet then I recommend Wellness, Nutro Max Cat or Royal
Canin Adult formula for your cat. These foods are more expensive per bag
than cheaper ones but your cat doesn't need to eat as much of it since
it's high quality meat with less filler (that means less ends up in the
litter box as waste too!). These foods are shown to produce an acidic
urine which reduces the incidence or recurrence of bladder infections.

Even if the urinalysis does not detect problems, your vet may prescribe
antibiotics to try. Sometimes a bladder infection can be low-grade and
difficult to detect.

While your cat is recovering from the urinary problem, make sure you clean
all the soiled areas thoroughly with Nature's Miracle - an enzyme cleaner
available at many pet stores which breaks down cat urine at the molecular
level so cats can't smell it (and neither can you!). That's important
because if she smells urine there at all she will go there again. You need
to soak carpet or furniture with Nature's Miracle and leave it to dry. If
you are not sure where all the smells are coming from, try using a black
light (available at many pet stores for this reason) with the light out
scan the area with the black light and contaminated spots will glow.

After it's dry, spray the areas with a product called "Feliway", it is a
spray you apply to walls, floor and furniture to prevent territorial urine
urination. It also helps to calm stressed cats because it mimics the cheek
pheremones that cats give off when they rub their cheeks on something or
someone. It makes them feel like "everything is OK" and that is a place
they should mark with their cheeks not  urine.  It's available as a spray
and as a plug-in diffuser in most pet stores and online at
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?siteid=1&pCatId=106
1
You can buy Feliway from the vet but they will charg more usually and it
does not require a prescription.

If the vet says there is nothing wrong your cat medically and the
antibiotics don't help, please write me again and I'll help you through
the behavioral problems. The Feliway should help stop the urinating if it
is territorial, but you have to remove the smell of the residual urine
first
with the Nature's Miracle.

Your cat may also dislike the type of litter you are using. Stay away from
scented litter or pellet-textured litter like Feline Pine. Many cats are
repelled by the smell and strange texture. Instead stick to plain clay
litter or a clumping litter.

Never ever punish a cat in any way for going outside the box - cats do not
respond to negative reinforcement, and yor punishment will only cause
stress which leads to more litterbox problems. If you see him have an
accident, ignore him, clean up the mess immediately and pretend it didn't
happen.

Finally, if you ever observe the following symptoms in your cats now or
ever, suspect a urinary tract problem and see the vet right away (these
problems can be easily fixed if caught early but very painful and
life-threatening if left):
- straining in the litter box or making noises that sound like he's in
pain
- going to the litter box frequently but not passing very much when there
- blood in the urine
- licking frequently the genital area
- a cat who normally uses the litter box and is not new to the house
starts going outside the box

Good luck!

Tina