My cat is peeing and pooping outside of his box, but in the same room, what can I do?

Question

I have a himilayian and he is about 1 year old and he just started to pee in the tub about a week and a half ago. I took hiim to the vet and he has a UTI so I have been giving him the meds for that but he just pooped in the shower. I am starting to get a little upset and I don't know what else to try. We keep his box in the bathroom for him and his brother and he is peeing in the bathroom only on the floor or in the tub. We clean the box often, every other day to everyday. He is on clavamox for 14 days I know it's only been like 5 days but it shouldn't have progressed to pooping outside the box. right? I haven't changed the litter either. Is there anyone out there who can help?

I have had the cats for the same amount of time, they are brothers from the same litter, they sleep together and eat together and have never fought.

Answer 1

For two cats, you should ideally have three cat boxes, all in different places around the house.
Going outside the box is one of the most common behavior issues in cats. Many many things can cause it.
Sometimes it is medical (you've covered this, and obviously the pooping outside the box leads one to think the uti is not the cause)
Sometimes something bad has happened to the cat in or around the box. If you have a self-cleaning litter box, that could be it. If the cat got scared out of the box by someone flushing the toilet or something, that could be it (you could try moving the box to a different quiet, secluded area).
Sometimes it's a litter change (even if you don't change brands, they may have changed the ingredients or the way it smells or something small like that).
Sometimes it's because of some other change in the cat's routine (if there's a new pet or person in the household, or if the kids have gone back to school or something and the cat is upset or possibly acting out).

Just thought of one other thing. Check his paws. Sometimes a little owie on the paw makes it painful to use the litter box, so make sure all his feets are in tip-top shape.
Reward both of your cats for using the litter box. Give them a treat after they have buried their urine or feces. If you catch them starting to go outside the box, or making digging motions somewhere else (they may paw around inside the tub before going there), pick them up and put them in the box. If you keep having problems, call your vet's office for more tips and advice.

Answer 2

Some cats need things close to pristine to poop and pee there. Any cat with a UTI usually thinks it's the litter box's fault that it hurts to pee, so they try other places, at least it's an easy clean up in the tub or on linoleum. Imagine if he used the carpet?

Try a second box, and scoop anytime you see the surface of the litter bunched up. We have five cats and only one box, and I'm scooping 4 times a day to keep the thing as clean as possible. It only takes a few seconds but it keeps the peace and the box isn't disregarded by the cats because it's too full.

Answer 3

There are a couple of reasons for this. One The behavior may arise from a neurotic abnormality, and there is unfortunately nothing you can do about it. Two There is something about the litter box that the cat doesn't like. Try changing it's location; try a different pan, different litter, different depths of litter, and different frequency of changing the litter. Three The cat is sexually stimulated. Both male and female spray urine in all sorts of places to attract a partner. If a cat is neutered all this stops. four The cat is upset by something. If it perceives its territory threatened by such things as a new piece of furniture or an unfamiliar person, the cat may try to defend it's territory by saturating with it's scent. Try to bolster the cat's ego by treating it affectionately. Clean the spots with soap containing sodium bicarbonate or with diluted vinegar and then cover them with plastic, or spray with lemon oil or lemon balm, the smell of which any cat detests. Scolding or shouting or rubbing the cat's nose in the urine, does absolutely no good and would only confuse your cat and upset it. Don't use any cleansers containing ammonia. Ammonia has a smell similar of urine, that encourages the cat to reinforce it's own scent in the scrubbed area by spraying it again. Hope this helps!

Answer 4

Try a dedicated litter box. Maybe it's a "personal" thing (who can figure out cats anyway). He's probably aware that the mess will be easiest to clean in the tub, what an uncharacteristically thoughtful kitty you have.

Answer 5

Try a new litter box...maybe with a new type of litter.

A UTI can be painful. Sometimes, our pets associate the pain with the litter box because it hurts when they urinate. They don't want to use the litter box because they think the litter box, itself, is what is causing the pain. They need to discover that using the litter box is not painful, and they'll start to use it again.

Answer 6

He could be having a problem "sharing" his litter box. I had a cat who started doing the same thing, we had to set up another litter box in another room. I now have a cat who likes to poop on the bathroom floor rugs, she's intimidated by my other cat (I've had them both for at least 8 years), and won't pass by him to get to the litter box.

Answer 7

Call the vet the meds may not be working.

Also sometimes it comes to the point that 2 cats wont share a litter box. YOu may have to get a second litter box or a larger one.

Answer 8

Cats don't like having their box in a high traffic or busy area. Maybe move the box to a closet or someplace more private.
It a good thing he is peeing in the shower. haveing to get cat pee out of the carpet is just about impossible.

Answer 9

try putting it in the liter box by scopping it up..however i think they know something is wrong with it and dont want to spread there own germs back.it prb the cats natural healing.

Answer 10

Either get used to it or get rid of the cat. You have obviously done something to offend the cat and that is it's way of telling you.

I sure this is not a popular answer among the feline gang, but denial is not a river in egypt!!!!!!!!!

P