Why has my cat quit using her litter box and started using my carpet and furniture as her dumping station?

Question

My female cat is now about 8 or 9 years old. Her litter box has been in the basement since the day I brought her home. The only time she has ever done her business somewhere other than her litter box was in the middle of my sons bed after he got rough with her while they were playing AND when my other son left his cat at my house for a couple months until he got settled in a new apartment. (My sons cat tormented my cat) So the other cat has been gone for about 4 months and we've had no problems until now. Nothing out of the norm is going on right now so there's no reason for her to be rebelling. I'm getting ready to put in new carpet but certainly having second thoughts right now...I mean she just urinated all over my new couch yesterday.....TWICE!!! Need some good advice......HELP!!!

Answer 1

MY older cat had the same problem. Out of the blue she decided the litterbox wasn't where she wanted to poo. After researching and taking her to the vet, it was decided she has/had a behavioral problem. So I changed her diet, moved her litterbox to a more private, easily accesible area and changed her litter to "CAT ATTRACT LITTER." I swear on that litter! You can buy it at your local PetsMart or Pet Supplies Plus store.

Goodluck!!

Answer 2

I'm a vet tech, and I see this all the time in the clinic I work at. If she has never had any problems before the most likely culprit is a urinary tract infection, although with age other factors such as kidney problems can show up as well. This is how the scenario goes with a UTI. Your cat goes to use the litter box, but when trying to go she will realize it hurts, so she will look for a more comfortable, soft place to go thinking that it won't hurt if she goes there. So she'll move to a couch, bed, carpet, laundry on the floor, etc, any soft spot she can find thinking that she will eventually find somewhere to go that it won't hurt. I'd almost put money on it that this is your cat's problem. Like I said, I see it ALL the time. The best solution would be to call up your vet. They may have a kit that you can purchase and take home to collect the urine in. Where I work it is called a No Sorb kit...basically a disposable litter box with plastic pellets in that don't absorb anything but give the cat something to scratch in. It also includes a syringe for sucking up the urine and a tube to put it in that the client brings back to us to do an analysis on. If that isn't an option at your vet, they may recommend leaving your cat there for them to try to express urine, or in a last resort they will do a cystocentesis which is extracting urine from the bladder with a needle. Regardless of the method, the urine needs to be tested and if an infection is present, antibiotics need to be started. A good one that does well in getting rid of urinary tract infections is Clavamox. I hope this helps. Good luck!

Answer 3

Cats tend to have surface and location preferences for where, and on what, they like to eliminate. Most cats prefer a loose, sandy substance, which is why they will use a litter box. It's only when their preferences include the laundry basket, the bed or the Persian rug, that normal elimination behavior becomes a problem. With careful analysis of your cat's environment, specific factors that have contributed to the litter box problem can usually be identified and changed, so that your cat will again use the litter box for elimination.

Some common reasons why cats don't 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 there is no box, or a combination of all three. You'll need to do some detective work to determine the reason your cat is house soiling. Sometimes, the reason the litter box problem initially started may not be the same reason it's continuing. For example, your cat may have stopped using the litter box because of a urinary tract infection, and has now developed a surface preference for carpet and a location preference for the bedroom closet. You would need to address all three of these factors in order to resolve the problem.

Cats don't stop using their litter boxes because they're mad or upset and are trying to get revenge for something that "offended" or "angered" them. Because humans act for these reasons, it's easy for us to assume that our pets do as well. Animals don't act out of spite or revenge, so it won't help to give your cat special privileges in the hope that she'll start using the litter box again.

Here is another helpful site.

Answer 4

sounds like kitty has a urinary tract infection. Take it to the vet.

If that's not it she may not like her litter anymore so maybe try changing brands.

Does she have problems with the stairs? If she is older perhaps she's having arthritis problems and can't do the stairs anymore.

She could also be re-establishing her territory. There is a pheromone you can buy at the pet store to make your house more calming to the cat. Spray it where she is urinating to make her less likely to do it again.

Hope this helps!

Answer 5

My cat also urinated out of the box when she was tormented by another cat. But typically they dont urinate outside the litterbox unless they have a medical problem. Definitely take her to the vets for them to check her out.

Answer 6

make sure the litter box is always clean, cats wont use it if it's not. if it is then have your vet check for a urinary infection. lots of the time that is the problem, and with meds she will stop.

Answer 7

Cat Attract Litter all the way...

Answer 8

Take her to the vet. She could be sick.

Answer 9

bladder infection maybe