HOW TO STOP CATS FROM PEEING OUTSIDE OF THE LITTER BOX?
WRITTEN BY XENA
I believe many of us who have CATS as PETS have at least once encountered a problem that I will talk about in this post. As you can see from the title the problem is how to stop cats from peeing outside the litter box. This behavior of your CAT can be caused by a number of different reasons. Here are some of the causes:
termination of territories and communication with other pets
cat's health condition
fear and stress
incorrect box size
cat's award to the sand, the sandbox, the place where the box is located, or all that together
the unpleasant and strong smell of cat toilet cleaner
dirty sand, but also unsuitable smell and texture of sand
sharing a sandbox with other cats
the smell of new furniture or carpet
insufficient cat activity (lack of play)
frustration due to a restrictive diet
I will now focus on each of the possible causes listed, to prevent your PET from peeing outside the litter box (sandbox).
When we talk about marking territories with urine, then it should be emphasized that both males and females do so, whether they are sterilized or not. This happens because the CAT feels threatened, all the more so if there are more CATS in the house or in the immediate vicinity of the house (outside the house). To avoid conflicts with other CATS, provide your PET with enough space and escape routes. If you own a large number of CATS, provide separate food containers, one by one, to avoid cat conflicts. In case your CAT is not spayed, be sure to take it for spaying, so you may (not in any case) avoid peeing around the apartment (outside the litter box). A CAT is peeing outside the litter box when communicating with other animals or owners, too to give them some information. Likewise, peeing outside the designated area may be an invitation to the partner to reproduce. Then you will solve the problem, also by sterilization.
The health condition of the CAT can also be one of the causes, due to which she will pee outside the cat's toilet. Inflammation of the urinary tract can cause difficult and painful peeing, which a CAT could associate with a litter box, so it will avoid a cat toilet in a wide arc. Muscle disease, arthritis, or neurological problems can keep a CAT from peeing in the litter box (sandbox). In the case of such disorders, the CAT should be taken to a veterinarian and treated. This will also solve the problem of peeing outside the litter box. CATS love routine and are quite sensitive. Therefore, even the smallest changes can cause them fear or stress, which is why they will pee everywhere in the apartment or house. They will do so exclusively in places where they feel most secure. To prevent such behavior, it is very important to identify the cause of stress. These can be: other CATS, DOGS, small children in the household, or even the owners themselves, if they are often beaten or raised their voices against them. If these are other animals that cause fear or stress in your PET, then start gradually introducing your CAT to these other animals, and be sure to teach children how to behave with PETS.
Inadequate size of the sandbox, or too high edges of the same, can also be the reason why your cat will pee elsewhere. You will solve the problem by purchasing an adequate sandbox. CATS can pee outside the cat toilet even when they have a certain aversion to sand, a litter box (sandbox), or the place where that box is located. In that case, the CAT should be gradually taught on the sand, and the litter box should be available 24 hours a day in a place where she feels safe. It should never be a place where someone will disturb her (housemates or other animals) because the CAT loves privacy when performing peeing. If CAT feels exposed or vulnerable, she will look for another place to do so. The cat toilet should not be near food and water vessels, and if you have multiple litter boxes, you should place them in different places around the house.
CATS are very neat animals, so they like to pee in clean sand, with the texture that suits them best. Therefore, I warmly recommend regular sand cleaning and replacing it with new fresh ones, especially if you have multiple CATS, who pee in the same cat toilet. The litter box should be cleaned regularly with mild detergents to remove the smell of urine. If you have multiple CATS, then each should have its own sandbox as they won’t use it if they think it’s too dirty. Also, scattering sand outside the box can encourage your PET to pee elsewhere, because KITTY, except for loving clean sand, also loves a clean environment to defecate. I mentioned that you should buy a sand texture that suits just your CAT because if you replace it with a different one, it will definitely look for another place to defecate. Sometimes due to a restrictive diet or lack of play, a CAT pees anywhere in the apartment or house, and we as its owners will interpret this as some kind of revenge. However, this is not true. Our PET does not take revenge on us but instructs us to pay more attention to it by playing with it so that it does not feel neglected. Some of the reasons why CATS perform pee in unforeseen places for this may be odors. Namely, CATS often mix their scent with people they love and therefore they know to pee in places where they smell those people because they feel safe. You will solve this by giving them a sense of security, cuddling and playing with her, and by purchasing a sufficient number of toys so that she is not bored when you are not at home. It should also be provided with a "safe corner", even if it was a simple cardboard box.
Finally, we can conclude that the real reason why your CAT defecates outside the cat toilet needs to be determined so that we can act and fix the problem. There is a wide range of products to help you with this - from sprays to eliminate the smell of urine and stains (Urine off uniform), to repellent sprays to refuse PETS to urinate indoors (Amici e Felici). In any case, do not punish your CAT if you notice that he is not using the cat toilet in an adequate way! This will only make the situation worse, because she will probably lose confidence in you, and you will put unnecessary stress on her. REMEMBER: A CAT does not do this on purpose, but instinctively and there is certainly a good reason for such behavior. Thank you for visiting our BLOG !! If you liked this text or if it was useful to you, share it further with your friends !! Don't forget to comment or ask any questions you will see fit. "We take care of our pets as for ourselves."
תגובות