Cat not weeing where supposed to - at wits end!

[kandm]

As a family we decided to rescue two birman cats, we have always had birmans. One of them, a female, just will not wee in the litter tray. She will poo in it, just will not wee in it. We've tried having two litter trays which then resulted in our other male cat pooing in one and weeing in the other, however female cat wouldn't wee in the other. We've tried putting down a third litter tray alternating between having litter in it and puppy pads in it. She was better with this, however she would still wee outside it. Shame of it is, she will go to the litter tray, she just wont we in it. We have also tried all different litters, and none of them seem to make a difference.

Any other suggestions? She is just wetting the floor atm (having to put down plastic matting etc to avoid getting it on the floor) and we're at wits end!

All help/advice appreciated!

Many thanks,

Kiri

 

[AmyMay]

Let her out?

 

[Meowy Catkin]

My sister has a kitten that's not totally reliable with his toileting yet, so I did some research for her. From what I read, I wonder if your cat has some pain when urinating? It does seem that cats who are reluctant to wee in the litter tray, but happily stale in it can associate weeing in the tray and pain. It's worth getting this possibility ruled out by your Vet.

 

[kandm]

We have tried that over the summer and she didn't ever really venture out unless we put her outside ourselves - she had always been a house cat previous to us.

 

[kandm]

We had the vet out recently, she did have cystitis however has now had full course of antibiotics, however that could still be lingering in her memory. We are having the vet out this week again - for another reason, so will consult him with that .

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

As a family we decided to rescue two birman cats, we have always had birmans. One of them, a female, just will not wee in the litter tray. She will poo in it, just will not wee in it. We've tried having two litter trays which then resulted in our other male cat pooing in one and weeing in the other, however female cat wouldn't wee in the other. We've tried putting down a third litter tray alternating between having litter in it and puppy pads in it. She was better with this, however she would still wee outside it. Shame of it is, she will go to the litter tray, she just wont we in it. We have also tried all different litters, and none of them seem to make a difference.

Any other suggestions? She is just wetting the floor atm (having to put down plastic matting etc to avoid getting it on the floor) and we're at wits end!

All help/advice appreciated!

Many thanks,

Kiri

I

• is the toilet an enclosed one?? some cats prefer doing in out of sight
• Bringing home a new cat, changing litter brands, moving the litter box to a new location and changing your routine that causes your cat stress are all possible reasons for a cat to begin to avoid his or her litter box.
• Cats do not like to eat where they eliminate. Consider the possibility of placing the cat's food bowl where they have gone outside of the litter box to alleviate the problem.
• For older cats make sure your cat litter box has low sides and is low to the ground. Older cats can have difficulty climbing in and out of litter boxes which have doors high off the ground
• Never make sudden changes to your cat's litter box or area that it is located. For example, change litter brands by mixing it with your old brand gradually. If you need to move your cat's litter box, keep one in the old area and put one in the new location until he or she uses the new one regularly.
• Do not use a brand of litter that has a strong smell if your cat is urinating on your carpet. Many cats are offended by strong smells and prefer cat litter that is unscented.
• Never use ammonia or vinegar to clean carpet that your cat has urinated on. The smell is similar to cat urine, which can cause pet cats to urinate again in the same area.
• Never put your cat's litter box in an area that gets a lot of traffic and noise. Cat's prefer to use a litter box that is in a quiet, private area.

 

[kandm]

I

• is the toilet an enclosed one?? some cats prefer doing in out of sight
• Bringing home a new cat, changing litter brands, moving the litter box to a new location and changing your routine that causes your cat stress are all possible reasons for a cat to begin to avoid his or her litter box.
• Cats do not like to eat where they eliminate. Consider the possibility of placing the cat's food bowl where they have gone outside of the litter box to alleviate the problem.
• For older cats make sure your cat litter box has low sides and is low to the ground. Older cats can have difficulty climbing in and out of litter boxes which have doors high off the ground
• Never make sudden changes to your cat's litter box or area that it is located. For example, change litter brands by mixing it with your old brand gradually. If you need to move your cat's litter box, keep one in the old area and put one in the new location until he or she uses the new one regularly.
• Do not use a brand of litter that has a strong smell if your cat is urinating on your carpet. Many cats are offended by strong smells and prefer cat litter that is unscented.
• Never use ammonia or vinegar to clean carpet that your cat has urinated on. The smell is similar to cat urine, which can cause pet cats to urinate again in the same area.
• Never put your cat's litter box in an area that gets a lot of traffic and noise. Cat's prefer to use a litter box that is in a quiet, private area.

That was some really useful advice. Re enclosed litter tray, we have both an open and closed one that she can use .

 

[FinnishLapphund]

Have you tried to cover the area where she pees with aluminium foil? It makes the urine splash up on them a little, and since most cats likes to keep themselves clean, they usually quickly learn that they don't like to pee on aluminium foil. Many, many years ago, in my old house, I once (as I recall it) began covering the floor in our bathroom with a strip of aluminium foil right inside our bathroom door, kept it in place with tape. Then the cat started peeing a little bit further in, so I taped down a second strip of foil, next to the first, she moved her pee spot a little further in, I taped a third strip of foil...

In the end, the floor in the bathroom was covered in aluminium foil, all the way over to where the litter boxes stood. Some of the first strips needed to be replaced with new strips, since it is not really designed for the wear and tear of x number of people and cats to walk over it xx times per day, before the problem was solved, but she finally decided to go back to peeing in the litter box again.
In her case it wasn't a medical problem, she was unhappy with that she had been looked after by a cat sitter for two, three weeks (cat sitter = my father, so I doubt that he did something bad to her that could have caused the behaviour), when we came home, she began peeing outside the litter box. So since we couldn't exactly un do our time being away from her, we had to find a way that made her decide to begin to use the litter box again. We tried a few different suggestions without success, before I found the advise about that they don't like to pee on aluminium foil in one my books.


I also want to add that I've had other cats, and e.g. I've had one cat that would come in, only to go to the litter box, and then go out again. For many years we thought that cat never did her toilet business outdoors, but one day my mother saw her peeing in the garden, so apparently she could do it outdoors, she just preferred using the litter box.

 

[kandm]

That's really interesting! Will definitely be trying that ASAP! Thank you .

 

[suestowford]

I had a cat who got a fright once when she was weeing in the litter tray. After that she was always very wary of using it.
We put the tray inside a big cardboard box (so that it was almost enclosed but not entirely) and that seemed to help a bit.

 

[twiggy2]

did she get the all clear from the last bought of cystitis?
sometimes a longer course of antibiotics are needed or a specific antibiotic is needed

 

[YasandCrystal]

It's funny I have a pre-owned Birman indoor cat and she too is a pain re the litter tray. She often will wee outside the litter tray and went through a spate where she wouldn't poo in one. She's the sweetest quietest of cats. I couldn't let her outside she would never cope.
I tried all manner of things from 2 litter trays to those Feliway diffusers. I am told toilet habits are very hard to break.

 

[MagicMelon]

Our Bengals weren't great at peeing in their open litter tray when we first got them, they'd pee right beside it but not in it all the time. I ended up getting a big storage box from homebase (the plastic kind with lid) and cut a hole in the side of it for access. Seemed to sort it as they had to actually get inside it and I think they liked the privacy. Never had an 'accident' since.

 

[SusieT]

vet.

 

[Fransurrey]

I'd revisit the vet, especially as you say she visits the litter but doesn't wee. My cat had kidney problems, which meant that urinating was uncomfortable for him. Could be in your case that the cystitis is back or never went away. Did you discuss diet with the vet, too? Might be worth a rethink if she is prone.