I just had my cat fixed and he is peeing all over the house, what do I do?

Question

My cat is a little under 4 months old and we took him to the vet and had him fixed and declawed. He was perfectly fine using the litter box before his surgery but now he switches from the litter box to random places in the house - mainly the bathmats in the bathroom. We put another litter box in the bathroom hoping he will use that one. I don't know what else to do. (It's only been one day since we put the litter box in the bathroom, so I don't know if that will work yet or not.) We suspected he started peeing elsewhere because he didn't like th special kind of cat litter recommended by the vet after his surgery (so his wounds don't get infected) so we gave him his other litter back and it seemed to help for a couple of days... and then this morning I went in the bathroom and he had done it again. Does anyone have any advice?

Answer 1

If you cat is peeing on surfaces where he's not suppose to, it could be a very wide range of reasons.  He may not like the litter, he may be hurting, or most common, he may have a urinary tract or bladder infection that is causing him pain and discomfort during urination.  It's best to have the little one checked out by your vet for a confirmation.  He made need to go on antibiotics.  Especially if you may see a tinge of red in the urine meaning he may have blood in it.  If he doesn't stop soon or if he seems to have a fever (102 and above) have him checked out by a reputable vet.  Good Luck

Answer 2

The declawing is probably the reason for the problem, although don't rule out a urinary tract infection. You can easily have that checked. UTIs can be very painful, so please do this soon.

You got superb advice from another respondent about how to work with your cat in the litter box post-declawing. Yes, using fine litter is critical.

Now the reasons I wrote: there is a wonderful product called Cat Paper that has saved my sanity. It comes in sheets or rolls, and is absorbent on one side and waterproof on the other. You can lay it in areas where your cat pees to protect your floors and carpets. See website below.

The other product you'll want to have on hand to neutralize all trace of the urine in floors and carpets is Nature's Miracle. It contains enzymes that neutralize the urine. If you don't get rid of the scent, your cat may continue to pee nearby. You can buy it from many pet stores and online suppliers - I provided one link, below.

It amazes me that American vets perform this operation so blithely; they rarely explain to cat owners that it's an amputation that can be very painful and have long-term health implications for a cat. Only in America is this operation performed.

Answer 3

You may have to throw out the bath mat and bleach the area because he smells his scent there and thinks it's okay to go.  

Answer 4

The reason he's urinating everywhere but your litterbox is because you had him declawed!  That is a cruel, painful surgery for a kitten as it's amputating all 10 digits on the kitten's feet.  It's no different than if you were to have all 10 of your fingers or toes amputated at the first knuckle!  Frequently after a declawing, a cat will experience quite a bit of pain, and the litter exacerbates the pain.  It is very painful for a cat/kitten that's been freshly declawed to walk on litter, and it's not unusual for a kitten to show aversion to his litterbox after a declawing.  The antidote is to essentially start litterbox training all over again.  Most times, the kitten will start using the litterbox once his feet are healed and the pain is diminished, but until then, I would start from scratch all over again.  After he eats, take him to his litterbox and scratch in it yourself to show him what to do.  Then gently put him in the litterbox and let him smell around.  Typically after kittens eat (and cats), they have to use the bathroom after, so that's why I say do this after he eats.  Please give him pain medicine pretty liberally, as I can't begin to stress how painful this surgery is for a kitten/cat!  Also, please find a fine grain litter rather than the large crystals or clay, as those are more tender to kitten feet, but especially feet that have been amputated.  Precious Cat has a finely ground litter that is much softer on those feet and you may want to consider permanently using this type of litter, as your cat's feet will always be much more sensitive, and tend to worsen again as he approaches senior yrs (because declawed cats frequently have tendonitis, sore muscles, arthritis, and any host of musculoskeletal conditions).