This is the logical step that some people take when they get a cat. They think, "If that stupid cat urinates on the bed one more time," You're thinking, maybe if I rub his nose in it and shove him into the litter box he'll get it and when it doesn't work, euthanasia is one of the first things people with little knowledge about cats think of to fix the problem of peeing around the house. Even I had some of these thoughts in the very beginning. I'm glad I never acted on it.
The situation in our house was really bad. The male cat had been neutered and the female had been fixed as well. They were indoor outdoor cats and for the first year we had no problems. Then he stopped using the litter box and going in different places around the house. We took him to the vet to see if she could help with no luck. The pee smell got so bad we couldn't invite anyone to our house and finally I reached the breaking point. There's a raving lunatic in the house. I'm sitting on the floor watching TV and my wife is on the phone talking to one of her friends. When suddenly out of nowhere our male cat walks up to me and gives me a nice healthy spray, from neck to waist, a virtual cat shower. That's never happened before, is this a joke? I'm not his territory, what's going on? That's when the lunatic showed up. Jumping up, yelling and chasing him around the house. My wife thought I'd gone mad. Fortunately he got away by hiding under the bed, because thoughts of kitty murder were in my head. Once I calmed down and got cleaned up. My wife and I sat down and talked about what happened. We decided on really trying to figure out what was going on.
Here are some ideas that might help you with your cat.
Consulting your vet should always be the first thing you do and this is to determine whether your cat has a urinary tract infection or a behavioral issue. If it is a urinary problem, it could be resolved fairly quickly with some antibiotics, ask if they need a urine sample for testing. If it is a urinary tract infection, some antibiotics should fix the problem of not peeing in the litter box. One other thing to keep in mind is that some cats do have chronic urinary infections. Keep an eye on them and a change in diet may be required especially if you have them eating dry food most of the time. Canned food with high moisture content will help considerably, your veterinarian should be able to give a dietary needs list.
What do I consider if it is not an infection but a behavioral problem?
This is where some real homework is needed to determining what the problem could be. Some of the questions the come to mind are:
· Is it a litter box issue? Is it too big and your small cat has trouble getting in it or maybe they want privacy and it's an open top box, or it could be the opposite and the want to see what's around them. Is the box too small for your larger cat and they barely fit inside?
· Do you clean the box enough? Most cats prefer to have the litter cleaned daily. Some cats want it cleaned right after they go. One of our cats would refuse to use the box if it wasn't clean and go find something else to pee on, like the couch or the clean clothes in a laundry basket.
· Is there a sufficient number of litter boxes in your house? Even if you have one cat, you need at least two litter boxes. As a rule of thumb, have one more than the number of cats you have and you may want more for choices.
· Where are the litter boxes located? Placing them in a location that makes it difficult to enter will not help. Cats can be lazy.
· Is your cat stressed out by other animals? Did another mean tomcat move into the area and decided to claim your backyard as its new territory? That will really stress out your cats.
· Did you recently move to a new location? Cats, like people, can get very stressed when moving. Especially if they went from indoor/outdoor cats to full-time indoor apartment cats.
· Was a baby added to the family? With the shift in attention to the baby a cat can become angry and stop using the box. They have temper tantrums too.
These are some of the things to consider; many more questions will need to be asked and answered.
What not to do when your cat urinates out of the litter box.
Your cat will not understand when you try to punish them and it could just make the problem worse. Yelling or spanking will only scare them and make them afraid of you. If it is a behavioral problem it will only serve to amplify the issue, and rubbing the cat's nose into the wet spot will not work either, they just won't understand. If you catch them peeing, don't drag them to and stuff them into the box. When you punish them after the fact they will start to see the box as a type of punishment and will actually start to avoid the litter box. One little trick when trying to figure out why they are peeing around the house is to use a water pistol. Use only while the cat is in the act of peeing and it will startle them.
The things you will need to help resolve inappropriate urination problems.
Having patience and understanding will be a major factor in resolving cat problems. Understand that cats can't come up to our level of reasoning and we must with loving care try to understand them at their level. Time is another critical factor. Some cat problems can be taken care of in a matter of days, and be as simple as changing the type of litter you use. Others can take weeks or months to figure out and be tougher to fix, like giving your cat antidepressants because of the new tomcat in the neighborhood.
Some people make the choice to euthanize because they have no idea about what to do, nor do they take the time to learn what to do about it. Figuring out why a cat will not use the litter box is not easy. It will take work and study to resolve the problem. It's your cat, a part of your family. Why shouldn't you try to find out what the problem is? If you choose to kill them when a problem arises, why did you get one in the first place? Killing them is not the right choice.
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