So my friend has adopted this sweet kitty and she is litter box trained, but seems to like peeing in the bed and on the bathrrom rug and even in her kitty bed, but also uses the box.... why is this happening? Could it be the litter??
thank you all for your tips. the kitty is about 8 weeks old and was found with her litter mates outside. Another friend of mine brought them back to Dallas and got adopted by another friend. I will tell him today about the vet and Uti. thanks again!
If it is a female kitty, then having her spade should fix it. We have a female that used to do to that (was only my son's bed and my hubby's side of the bed) and a friend that is a vet said it very bluntly "she is being a husy"... Since we got her fixed, she has never done it again.
Good Luck!
K.
Cats are generally easy to train, so if this one is making such mistakes she needs to be checked out by a vet. Urinary tract infections are not uncommon and they can be serious. They don't just go away, and can be quite painful for Kitty.
Side note: Most cats like a cat box and a good wait staff to clean it. If they're healthy, they'll use the box. If the box doesn't meet kitty's cleanliness standard, Kitty may show displeasure by using something else as a bathroom. It depends on the cat, though. Some cats are more fastidious than others.
Your friend needs to take her to the vet (as soon as possible), and she can ask about the cat litter while she's there. Older cats sometimes develop preferences for cat litter, but many cats are pretty flexible.
P.S. Your friend needs to meet a product called Nature's Miracle, sold at pet stores. It takes the stain and the odor out of places where cats have wrongly answered the call of nature. Getting the odor out is very important.
As a veterinarian, of course I am going to recommend getting her seen by a vet. Cats that urinate outside the box can have urinary tract infections, or crystals in their urine, or other reasons why they are uncomfortable and feel the need to whiz in other places. I have also seen unspayed female cats start to urinate inappropriately as a way of marking territory (it's not just a male cat thing!) and getting them spayed fixed the problem (no pun intended!). I also vouch for keeping the litter box as clean as possible - and sometimes you have to find a set-up that the kitty really likes (type of litter, location of box, covered or not covered, etc.). I have used a product called Cat Attract that is a collection of all-natural herbs that you add to the litter that my cats seemed to really liked. But first thing is get kitty checked by a vet - and possibly have her spayed if she is old enough and it has not been done yet.
get to the vet as other have said. be aware though, if a kitten is taken away from its mother too young, the litterbox can sometimes be an issue.
now aside from the possible reasons why she is doing this, you have to get rid of everything she has peed on. cats use the smell and then think since they have peed there in the past, they should do it again. and normal washing does not get rid of the smell. cat urine is not the same as dog or human pee, its much stronger.
we had a kitten once that peed all over wall to wall carpet. we took it up immediately, and just put down braided area rugs. like 2 years later, the cat went back to this room and peed on the area rugs. years later you could still smell urine in hot weather on the linoleum floor!!!
You may want to have her checked out by a vet for a UTI or urinary cystis. Was she caged before coming to the new home? Some are litter boxed trained in a very small area, but have a hard time adjusting at first to a home if they have been waiting for adoption for a long time. If everything checks out okay with the vet, confining her to a smaller area at first may help, especially around meal time. If the litter is not what she is used to that or the type of litter box can put some cats off. We have two litter boxes and I tried a different type of litter, but was vetoed by the cats when they started only using one box 90% of the time. Are there any other pets in the household? Also make sure any where she goes gets cleaned up really well with a pet enzyme cleaner or she will still be able to smell it.
Sounds like my cat. Both of my cats had bladder infections a few years ago and were peeing everywhere. After the bladder infections were cleared up one cat was back to just the box. My other cat, however, continued to pee on beds, bath mats, carpeting and still use the litter box, also.
The first thing is you have got to do is get ALL of the smell gone. That may mean throwing out the kitty bed, unless it is completely washable. Buy one of the odor neutralizers just for cats, because cat urine is far more pungent than dogs, as you know! If you're very lucky and can completely rid the area of the urine smell the cat might only use where she smells urine, i.e., the litter box.
If you're unlucky, like me, it becomes habit. I only have carpet in my closets, so I keep all closets closed and bedroom doors stay closed unless I'm in the room to keep an eye on things.
My cat has gotten better, but her motto is "I'll be good -- until I forget!"
L. F., "mom" to two cats and a VERY understanding husband!
She needs to be seen by a vet right away! Peeing in places where her humans spend a lot of time is a definite sign of a bladder infection. There is no other way for her to "explain" this to you. My cat was suddenly peeing in my bathtub and on my bathroom rug this summer, right when I was in the room. Took her to the vet and sure enough -- raging bladder infection. (she used the box too, but would pee in front of me when she got the chance.)
Once the problem is fixed, she will need to be kept away from the areas where she peed. My cat didn't return to the rug or the bathtub, but I think that's rare. They can always smell that, and tend to return. I'd keep those doors closed from now on.
I agree with others take the kitten to the vet to rule out any health issues. I am not sure where you are in Dallas but I would highly recomend
Parker Animal & Bird ClinicParker Animal & Bird Clinics
2129 W Parker Rd # A
Plano, TX 75023-7735
###-###-####
They are very reasonabley priced and very trustworthy. The office is very busy but they do take walk ins. So Best to go in the morning.
Once you find out if the kitten has a problem or not I would get Dr. Elsey's Attact kitty litter. works great. Once all medical problems are taken care of you want to get rid of the bad habit and this should work.
http://hubpages.com/hub/Dr-Elseys-Kitten-Attract-Kitty-Li...
I have had cats most of my adult life, I have only had one cat that went where it was not supposed to ( just urinating, not voiding bowels) and he had a UTI, as soon as he was through a round of antibiotics it was under control and never happened again. Get the kitten to a vet. Also cat urine is extremely acidic and they have more sensitive noses than we do, if they can smell where it was they will go there again.
