Has anyone successfully stopped a cat that began peeing outside the box?

Oct 9, 2008
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My cat started last wednesday...and no matter what Ive tried (additional box/different litter/washing the sheets/changing the sheets/spending more time/playing more often.) hes done it every single day. No where else, just right on the guest bed. Otherwise, he seems happy, very snuggly and playful with his brother.

I am taking him to the vet this afternoon to see if its medical. If its not, has anyone successfully broken their cat of this behavior? I keep hearing how hard, if not impossible it is to get them to stop once they start.
 
For the past year+, that has been the "cat room"...they hang out in there often, their litter boxes are in there and we put them to bed in there at night so they dont run around the house.
Im afraid if I closed off that room, he'd pee somewhere else that isnt so easy to clean up. The guest bed is unmade with only a plastic matress cover and fitted sheet currently, so although its a PIA, it isnt ruining anything. Im afraid that he will begin to pee on the hardwood floors and ruin them or our couch or other object harder to clean.
Do you think that if I moved the position of the bed in the room that would help? Maybe switch it to a different wall? I wonder if that would change it up enough for him not to recognize peeing on that.
 
i'm thinking he still must be smelling the odor somewhere, good thing you had a mattress cover on it. i had to throw out a mattress one time because my cat would not stop peeing on it. after i got rid of the mattress i didn't have any problems.
but why my cat started peeing on it i have no idea, i had no problems before that either. but it was just after i had moved to a new apartment, it was my old bed and i had gotten a new one. so that might have been a reason cause she was upset? i dunno.
 
Hmm! I was just reading about this the other day, Ill type out what the article says:


You should have at least as many litter boxes as you have cats. That way none of them will ever be prevented from using the litter box because its already occupied.
If your cat begins to 'eliminate' in areas other than the litterbox, your first call should always be your vet, many medical conditions can cause a change in a cats litter box habits. If your vet determines your cat is healthy the cause my be behavioural. Most litterbox behavior problems can be resolved by using behavior modification techniques. Punishment is not the answer.

Some common reason why cats dont use the litter box are: an aversion to the box, a preference for a particular surface not provided by the box, a preference for a particular location where the box is not, or a combination of all three.

your cat may have decided that the litter box is an unpleasant place to 'eliminate' if
the box is not clean enough for her
she has experienced painful urination in the box due to a medical problem
she has been startled by a noise while using the box
she has been ambushed while in the box either by another cat, child, dog or you.

What you can do!

Keep the litter box extremely clean
Add a new box in a different location than the old one and use a different type of litter in the new box.
make sure the litter box isn't near an appliance that makes noise

If she consistently eliminates on a particular texture. For example, soft textured surfaces, such as carpet, bedding or clothing, try using a high quality, scoopable litter and put a soft rug under the litter box.


whew! Hope that helped a little!
 
Maybe replacing the plastic mattress cover completely and tossing out the sheet will help. Cats have a very strong sense of smell and the old urine could be an attracting element.
I have used a spray product called Simple Solutions cat spray odor and stain remover. It is refillable and sold at Petco and other outlets. It smells a bit like cherries and you spray and let it air -dry: works like a charm. When my cat peed outside her box it was a litter change solution. But then it could be medical. Good luck. It is very frustrating.
 
Oops, I forgot to add that the usual scoopable litter i was using for years had a change in formula which set my tabby off to peeing outside the box. After trying 4 different litters i went back to the old messy clay type. Of course that was the solution to the problem!
 
Heres what I have done:

Added an additional litter box with a different variety of litter
Switched rubber mattress pads
Switched sheets (to ones that have never been on that bed before)


After I take the cat to the vet today to check for medical problems I plan to:

Remove the top to one of the litterboxes (they are both covered...strangely enough, the cat will poo in it, just not pee)
Put the cat in the bathroom with only his litter box at night so that he relearns to use the potty
Use the Feliway calming spray

I thought that maybe it was the soft bed, but yesterday between changing the sheets, he peed right on the plasticy/rubber mattress cover. Not to say that I hope he is sick, but I believe it will be much easier to fix if I know that its medical. Its just so hard to pinpoint why exactly he's doing it. I have an appt today at 430. Ill keep you ladies updated.
 
good luck! If it's not medical then I think the bathroom night lock-up is a good idea. Since he is a male it could be feline cystitis. You will know in a few hours.
 
well, took the little guy to the vet. the vet said that my kitty's (sebastian) bladder felt empty and that was good b/c that indicates that he isnt having trouble getting it out. As a precaution, he gave sebastian and antibiotic and some other kind of medicine to "easy the uncomfort" until the antibiotic fully starts to work. I really hope it will...fingers crossed ladies!
 
I have no advice to offer...I just wanted to say that I think you are a fantastic kitty parent since you are trying to figure what is causing your cat to do this, instead of getting upset with him and getting rid of him for it.
 
One thing I've found helpful in a multi-cat household (two cats) are the disposable litter pans. You can buy them in a grocery store for about $2.50 each and they come with a bit of litter on the bottom. I have a fussy female who hates sharing her bathroom with a messy boy (and hey, who doesn't? :smile: ). If I swap out the whole litter pan every week and give her a new pan with no tomcat smell she is most appreciative and doesn't pee and poop throughout the rest of the house. I also keep the pan near to her basket, just steps away in the next room so inconvenience is no excuse.