Why does my cat Pee in the bathtub?

Question

I have a 14 pound female part mainecoon cat. She is very sweet and most of the time she uses her litter box. I have another cat and they each have there own boxes. Every once in a while she will go and pee in the bathtub and sometimes she even does it when we are in the bathroom. Please if you understand cats then can you help me...?

Answer 1

I don't know. I do, howver, wonder if you could teach your cat to go in the toilet. That might be a possibility for you since your cats is already conditioned to go to the john.
(I do actually say this in all seriousness.)

Answer 2

Hi there!!

I actually have a persian/maine coon mix and she was doing something similar. She is large as well (16 lbs) and she was going outside of the box too. She would go on the rug outside of the litter box or in the corner of the living room on the carpet. She was pooping rather than urinating, though. I actually went to the vet over this situation and found out some tips to help prevent it from happening.

Maine Coon cats are normally on the larger side, and have longer hair. They prefer to have a box that does not close them in, that is big and has lower sides. My vet's suggestion was to buy a large tupperware storage container from wal mart (the type that people put holiday decorations or toys in) and use that for the box. It gives them a larger open space instead of the traditional hooded litter box that can be confining to a larger feline.

They suggested to only put about 2 inches of litter on the bottom of the box, so the cat doesn't have a "sinking" feeling when it steps into deep litter and it's paws sink in. They also said that the scoopable litter on the market usually contains baking soda, and many cats don't like it because of the "hissing" noise the litter makes when they urinate in it. It's an unusual noise and makes them feel threatened and uncomfortable. A brand that is good for picky cats is called swheat scoop (swheat pronounced sweet). It is made out of wheat and is all natural. It's a little more on the expensive side, but works really well.

Make sure the box is in a secluded and quiet place. Most people put litter boxes in laundry rooms which can be extremely loud and scary to a cat when the washer or dryer is on. A quieter place is more condusive to better litter box habits.

Make sure there are no air fresheners (plug in etc.) or heavily scented items are near the box as well. Cats have a very strong sense of smell and if the scent of an air freshener is over powering, it can be a big turn off to a cat using the box.

One more thing----make sure the box is scooped very well EVERY DAY. Some cats hate dirty litter boxes, even if there is only 1 or 2 bowel movements or urinations in it. A cleaner box means a happier cat!

If the problem continues, you might want to take your cat to the vet. Sometimes there are deeper problems than just being picky over a litter box, but most likely your kitty is just being finicky and wanting a change. Hope these tips help!! :)

Answer 3

Cats are pretty smart, but sometimes they figure things out a little differently than we wish they would. This may be one of those times.

Kitty has an instinct to bury her waste, and it's not much of a stretch for her to figure that peeing in a place where it will go away - down the drain - is just as good as burying it.

She also knows that humans use the bathroom as, well, as a bathroom. A place in the bathroom where she can pee and have it go away probably seems perfect to her! And it saves her the trouble of going down to the basement or wherever the litterbox is and then covering up after herself.

I think it's significant that she only pees in the tub, because only her pee will go down the drain. It wouldn't work the other way.

I think you have a very clever kitty!

You've probably read about cats who learn to use the toilet and sometimes even flush after they use it. I think what your kitty is doing is very similar.

I'm sure it's annoying for you, but you should be proud of your kitty for being so smart!

My Rusty was known to use storm drains as latrines when he was outside; it saved him the trouble of digging and burying. He once had major surgery for vaccine-associated cancer and he couldn't handle the stairs (or at least I wouldn't let him try) so I set up a new litterbox upstairs for him. He checked it out, sniffed, and apparently decided it smelled too fresh to be a litterbox. So he jumped in the bathtub and peed down the drain.

My suggestion is that you just revel in your kitty's cleverness and rinse out the tub after she pees in it.

Answer 4

I bet the cat litter box has been kept in the tub before. I also bet for some reason the cat did not want to use the box because maybe the other cat was using it, or because it was nasty and needed to be cleaned.

Sometimes they may pee just to be ornery and to try to show you that they are boss. If they don't like someone they might pee in their shoe.

Answer 5

there are lots of reasons cats pee somewhere besides their box. is she stressed out? have there been any changes? is the other cat harrassing her? is her box dirty?

or perhaps she sees you guys going in the bathroom and thinks it is the thing to do. have you tried teaching her to use the toilet? some cats really like that.

in any case, be totally thankful that she has chosen the bathtub as her spot. cats can ruin your house if they choose to pee on the carpet or furniture. give her a good scratch and tell her she's a good girl.

Answer 6

try this put the cat litter box in the bathtub see if she will use it there,if not try keeping water it the tub for about two weeks. i dont think she'll like to pee in water. after she jumps in i think she'll jump back out. also how would you know maybe the other cats are useing her box, and she just can't get pass the others odor. you can always wash the tub out that's not as bad as it could be trust me.

Answer 7

My friend's cat used to do that when he had a urinary tract infection. The reason was because it is cool in the tub and his pee was burning him. Another reason could be that your cat's litterbox is dirty. You should clean it out once a day if it is scoopable litter, and once a week if it is regular litter. If cleaning the litterbox does not seem to fix it, take your cat to the vet.

Answer 8

Just be glad it isn't done on the carpet!

Some cats do it in the tub too. I have only seen my cat go in the tub once, and that was when I was cleaning out the litter box.

Answer 9

If it is when you are giving her a bath it is because she is scared of the water, most cats hate water, it is in their nature to hate water. If it is because she thinks it is the litter box or the toilet, then maybe you may want to check the smell of the tub. If it smells like litter, I suggest using Arm & Hammer Pet Stain Remover, Zero Odor, Oust, Febreeze, or Urine Gone.

Answer 10

in case you could not close the bathing room door, have you ever a room the place you could positioned the cat and her muddle container and close the door? unfold newspapers on the floor in case she is urinating someplace else to assist you already know she the two has a urinary tract an infection or some subject with the muddle. Has she been declawed? if so, could i desire to recommend you employ the clumping clay muddle this is extra common on her feet than the type that sounds like little rocks? attempt the isolation from the bathing room for each week to 10 days in case you have got here upon it to be a remember of charm to the bathtub quite than a scientific subject. Cats clearly gravitate in the direction of the basthroom. Mine stick to me in while they are able to, and my youthful queen Purrl likes to play in the bathtub and peep out to ascertain on me. from time to time I toss in a ping pong ball for relaxing when I can handle the clatter. on your roach subject....years in the past I lived in San Francisco house development with mega roaches and a canines whom grew to become into allergic to fleas. have been given a flea bomb from the vet for a pair of greenbacks and it have been given rid of the roaches besides because of fact the fleas. Ask a neighbor or buddy to computer screen the cat of their homestead, set off off the bomb and bypass to a action picture. Open all inner doorways and close all homestead windows. it is a short-term restoration in case you reside in an house with careless friends, smells humorous for some days, yet no roaches for some month.