My cat keeps going outside her litter box! And we don't know why?

Question

My cat cali for some reason will not use her litter box, she keeps going right outside of it. We've tried everything from getting them each their own litter box to trying to get the sent out of the carpet. We've even used nail polish remover to keep her away from that spot. Is their any way I can get her to stop? Could it be something territorial? Should we give her to a family with no other pets?

Answer 1

I see this question asked so many times.  There really are several reasons your cat could be going outside her litterbox.  You didn't say how old she is.  Is she a kitten or a fully grown adult cat?  If she's a kitten, is she spayed?  Contrary to belief, female cats can spray, but typically only do so when they're intact and haven't been spayed.  So, first things first---if she hasn't been spayed, get her spayed.  Secondly, if she is spayed, and she formerly used the litterbox okay without any problems, then something is obviously bothering her.  The #1 reason cats stop using the litterbox is because they have a UTI.  If you've ever had a UTI (if you're female), then you know how painful it can be.  When they use the litterbox, obviously it hurts.  Females can have the same symptoms people can----pain, burning, frequency, urgency. But if all of this happens every time she uses her litterbox, then it's normal for her to associate these symptoms with the litterbox.  It makes her not want to use it because of these uncomfortable, often painful symptoms.  Hence she's urinating just outside the litterbox.  It's almost like it's her way of saying, "I know I'm supposed to go in the box, but it hurts too much, so I'm going close to it, which still counts, right?"  My first recommendation would be to get her to the vet and have them check for a UTI.  She could also have stones (struvite or calcium oxalate), also painful. In fact, if she does have stones, that could be a medical emergency if one of them blocks her ureters.  So, please take her to the vet.  

If you do and she doesn't have a UTI or stones (you will need to get an ultrasound), then you need to consider other behavior problems.  She may not like the litter you're using.  Some cats have very sensitive paws/feet, and some litters are more rough and large, and hard and can be sensitive to little (or big) feet.  Try litters that are finer texture, such as Dr. Elsey's litters, World's Best Cat Litter, or any of the other brands that have fine texture.  Also, if the litter is highly perfumed, she may be protesting that.  Cats have very sensitve noses, and they in particular don't like perfumes.  And when perfumed litter mixes with urine and stool, the odor can be foul.  Remember, cats have noses that are something like 17x more sensitive than a human nose!  

She may also not like her litterbox.  It may be too small for her.  If she's a kitten, obviously that's not the issue, but if she's an adult cat, then you need to consider that.  Cats need to be able to stand up fully and turn around without touching the sides or top.  

Are you cleaning the litterbox regularly?  It can get pretty smelly in there if everything isn't scooped out and sifted with a scooper several times a day.  Some cats are more sensitive about that than others (remember their nose that's 17x more sensitive than ours).  Do you have other cats?  If so, do you have 1 litterbox for each cat + 1 (ie, if you have 2 cats, you should have 3 litterboxes) scattered around the house?  These are all reasons she may be urinating outside the litterbox.

Finally, the critical step here is to clean up the entire area where the urine is.  What we see is only the tip of the iceberg.  Typically, a half dollar size puddle of urine/stain will extend outward in all directions by 10-12".  So, just taking a paper towel and some water or whatever you may be using is not going to cut it.  Cats can smell that ammonia forever if you don't clean up the entire area, and when cats smell that, it tells them that if the smell is still there, it must be okay to urinate there.  If she's only urinating outside the litterbox, and your bathroom floor is hard (and not carpet) than you have less of a battle than if it were carpet that she were urinating on.  

An excellent odor eliminator/urine remover/stain remover is Zero Odor.  It is a molecular odor eliminator, which forms a permanent bond with odor molecules.  This is the only way you will get rid of a stain/odor--by permanently breaking the molecule chain that holds it together and allows it to be an odor.  You need to thoroughly saturate the area, and hope to god that it didn't sink below to the subflooring, because otherwise the cat will still be able to smell that ammonia.  However, if you live in a house, you can pull up the linoleum in the floor, or whatever it is, and apply some of the Zero Odor to clean up the part of the urine stain/odor you can't see.  By using a molecular odor eliminator, you will remove that stain, that odor forever.  Other products are just coverups, and as soon as the perfume wears off, the odor returns.  Molecular odor eliminators cost more, but if they permanently remove the stain and prevent a cat from returning to that area to urinate, then I think it would be worth it.

Hopefully this helps you with your situation.  Oh, one more thing......cats don't like anything pine or citrusy, so don't clean anything of theirs with Pine S

Answer 2

First see if there is any thing else stressing her out if there is, just fix that, if not, scold her when she goes outside of the litter box, praise her when she does, and keep it super-clean, also try putting her in thew box and using her paw to scratch the litter, all of this only works if she has already been litter trained.

Answer 3

The way is to put cat nip inside of the litter box weekly.(you can buy cat nip at petco.) After about a month, your cat will have enjoyed the cat nip so much in the litter box, and have to go to the bathroom so often while there, (because cat nip makes them need to go) that your cat will go to the litter box naturally. My cat, Bentley did the same thing until we did the same system as I am telling you about.  

Answer 4

Make sure its really clean.  Cats are picky and don't even like their own urine and f***s.  Sometimes I found with my own two cats their picky about the litter they got.  I tried an earth friendly litter and they absolutely refused to use it.  The other time I had a problem was when they got declawed.  Their feet hurt so they wouldn't go in the litter box.  I found they like privacy so I have a covered litter box and it seems to be doing fine.  I talked to a vet about it once and they said that if a cat is stressed out about something the first thing they do to retaliate is not to use their litter box.  Also if its a male cat they may be spraying to attract female cats.  They do this to reproduce.  If you don't breed your cats you may consider spade or neuter as an option to fix your problem.

Answer 5

Unfortunately once cats go in a specific place they will always prefer to go back there.

She may have a problem with the litter itself ie: if it's scented, try buying unscented.  She may even have allergies to it - I would consult a vet to see if there's a way around that.

If your cat is very picky, she may need a completely clean litter box to go in each time.

It can be a variety of different things, but you want to stop it before it becomes too much of a habit.

Answer 6

She obviously is very upset and is letting you know try locking her in a small room with her own box and getting some of that scent remover from the pet shop

if she continues to mess in the house you may need to try making her an outdoor cat

Answer 7

First, ask the vet. My cat is doing that now, and it's because we moved his litter box, and now he's mad.

There are plug-in devices that release a calming smell, that will lure her back to the box.

Also, go to the pet store and there are a few things you can buy.

Is the cat sharing a litter box? Buy a new one for her, just her own, and make sure the other cats aren't going.

Is the litter box covered? Some cats are shy going to the bathroom out in the open (mine is.)

Answer 8

one of my cats does the same thing. he goes in throws a bunch of litter out in front of the box gathers it then goes.??? also when he doesn't want his hard food he'll take a piece out put it in water bowl stir it then pick it up and eat it. i'm not joking.