Cat peeing outside the box?

Cats are normally fastidious about cleanliness and where they eliminate. However if your cat has had peeing 'accidents' that occur outside the box, here is how to identify and solve the problem.

Before concluding that it is a behavioural problem, observe if your cat is showing any symptoms of a urinary tract disorder, which is the most common feline health problem that leads to peeing outside the box . Feline urinary tract disorders can be either a urinary tract infection or the more serious feline lower urinary tract disorder (FLUTD) which was previously known as FUS. If your cat is, apart from peeing outside the litter box, also:

• Visiting the litter box more frequently than usual
• Straining to pee - squatting for long periods without much elimination
• Having 'leaks' - pee spots in its common resting areas such as the cat bed
• Having a fever

Then your cat's urination outside the litter box is not a behavioural problem but a health issue. Seek veterinary attention. Your vet will likely prescribe antibiotics, and anti-inflammatories, if the problem is UTI. In more serious cases a catheter has to be inserted to allow the urine to pass through. In serious cases of FLUTD, surgery is required. Male adult cats, even neutered ones, are more susceptible to urinary tract disorders because of their narrower 'plumbing'. Home remedies for urinary tract disorders include cranberry extract supplements, vitamin C supplements (to acidify urine), Danzen (available OTC from pharmacies), pet-specific supplements such as Azmira Kidni-Biotic. You will also need to ensure your cat is drinking enough water - supplement its diet with wet food, syringe it with water, or best of all, get a cat water fountain.

If one of your cats has UTI or FLUTD, and you have other cats in the household, then you may find that your other cats are also peeing outside the box, particularly at spots where your sick cat has marked. You will need to identify which one of your cats is ill, if at all, with a urinary tract problem, and give it veterinary attention first before you can solve the problem of your other cats marking on the same areas outside of the litter box.

Once you have ruled out the possibilities of urinary tract disorders, then you can move on to behavioural problems - identifying the reason behind the peeing outside the box, and solving it. There are a number of reasons why a cat will pee outside the box despite not having a urinary tract disorder.

• The litter box is dirty.
• Your cat does not want to share a box with other cats.
• Change of type of cat litter.
• Change of position of litter box.
• Your kitten has become an adult and has outgrown the size of the litter box.
• Stress due to household changes - anything from sudden schedule changes, new family members (pets or otherwise), your own level of stress - something which cats can always discern.
• Over-zealous cleaning of the house or removal of your cat's own furniture, thus removing its territorial scent - take note during spring cleaning times.
• Failing to neuter your male cat - male cats spray urine everywhere when not neutered. Even neutering too late (past 6 months) may result in the cat's habit of spraying to remain unchanged because it is already used to it. 
• Your cat is getting along in years and less able to control its own eliminations. 

 Steps to solve the behavioural problem:

• The first immediate step is using Feliway. For every spot that your cat has urine-marked on, after cleaning the area by deodorising it, spray it with the Feliway spray. If you have a multi-cat household, get the Feliway diffuser as well. 
• Clean the litter box and refill with new litter more often. 
• Set up another litter box, if possible, where your cat has marked. Where litter boxes are concerned, more is better than less. Choose a variety of boxes to see which one your cat prefers most.
• Set up another litter box in a more quiet and private area. 
• If you have a senior cat, apart from more litter boxes for it, consider a box that is lower and easier for your senior cat to enter and exit.
• If you have changed the kind of cat litter - even a subtle change in brand - revert back to the same litter your cat has been using before the change. If there really is a need for change, convert your cat to the new litter slowly by substituting the new litter incrementally.
• Try other kinds of cat litter to see if your cat has a preference.
• Reduce overall stress of your cat - lavender essential oil in a diffuser, products like Rescue Remedy, Pet Calm, Pet Ease, or music.

There are other less common reasons why cats will pee outside the box. Your cat may have an injury that restricts its ability to enter and exit the litter box, such as a leg injury, or arthritis. If you have dogs that are not neutered (thus pee to mark territory) your cat may be inclined to pee over where your dog has marked. A sudden trauma that sparks fear in your cat may cause it to have a one-off 'accident' outside the box - our Scooter peed outside the box when we wanted to bring him out for a walk on a leash (he got scared of the loud urban noises) and when we had to syringe him medication (he hates it). Or if you have a newly adopted cat, it might have been trained previously to pee on the toilet floor and is now disinclined to using a box. But by far, the reasons listed above are the most common and you should be able to safely eradicate the problem of 'accidents' outside the box.

And remember, don't scold your cat too harshly if it happens, because illness or behavioural, your cat is doing this because of some level of stress and is likely already unhappy over its own 'accident' outside the box.

kitten socialisation with @HouseofCheshire

Andy and I often don't have the time to cuddle and stroke the foster cats enough, so visits from our volunteers and donors do make a big difference, even if is just for kitty-cuddles!

We saw Cassie come out of her shell even more than before, actively gambolling with Panda on our sofa, and realised that Dusky is purring lap-cat! Patty spent most of her time snoozing amongst our couch cushions, especially our furry Ikea cushion. Here are some pics of the kittens today free-roaming the house, enjoy!

Music Cats Love CD

Support our fund-raising efforts and purchase an ambient cat-music CD for your beloved kitties!

Music Cats Love - While You Are Gone is composed by Bradley Joseph, and it contains tracks that feature calming piano pieces proven to calm cats down, and natural environmental sounds like the chirping of birds. It also has soothing narrative pieces that 'speak' to your cat - research has proven that the sound of a recorded human voice over the radio can soothe a cat while you are not at home.

We are making this CD available for our readers to purchase as part of our fund-raising efforts. Each CD is SGD $20. Free standard postage within Singapore via Singpost, comes in a bubble-wrapped envelope.

To purchase the Music Cats Love CD, email us at elaine@lovekuchingproject.org with your name and delivery address. Payment is via bank transfer to our POSB savings account 188-52652-7. Please allow 1 working week for turnaround and delivery.

Adopt - Cassie

Cassie has come a long way. From being the skinny, needy little kitten she was when we found her -

Rescued from Bendemeer Road construction site

- to becoming a more emotionally confident girl that is no longer under-nourished and underweight. After she arrived at our foster home, we set to putting her on good nutrition and supplements. We de-wormed her and she then suffered a bout of serious diarrhoea. She was put on Bactrim antibiotics twice a day for five days and loperadamide medication, and is now pooing normally.

She also suffered from separation anxiety, being away from her mom and having gone through the deaths of all her siblings on the streets. She started to get wary of humans and missing her mom, acting out by hissing at us. But we saw that deep down she was a cat that wanted to be loved. We started to cuddle her and she found that she enjoyed every moment. Now she is a much calmer cat and definitely en route to becoming a lap-cat.

She enjoys cuddles and being a lap cat

She is really pretty, with pink nose leather, lovely tricolouring and a short bob-tail; her eyes are olive green.

When she first arrived, still very skinny

She is like Dusky in nature - reserved, loves watching the world go by, but she is more eloquent in showing her emotions than Dusky who meows very quietly and rarely. Cassie however is not a hyperactive kitten, usually prefers lounging and cuddling to climbing and running.

Sometimes just looking into her eyes makes us feel that deep down she was just a lonely, misunderstood girl who is looking for cuddles and affirmation -

Dreamy-eyed, lounging Cassie

Her favourite food is Solid Gold Indigo Moon kibbles - she really loves it, and she drinks adequate water to go along with it, sometimes also tucking into the free flow of canned food we place in the kittens' pen, which is added with probiotics to help her previously sensitive digestive system.

She enjoys lounging around, or cuddling up to other kittens, especially Panda. 

Cassie with Panda snuggled into her

To arrange a visit for adoption, please see right side bar for contact details and adoption information.

Adopt - Dusky

Dusky is ready for adoption! She has turned out to be a really sweet, sometimes shy girl, who gets along well with everyone, enjoying lap cuddles, and loves her food - Natural Balance and Solid Gold Indigo Moon. She is getting used to being an indoor cat, enjoys relaxing and watching the world go by. She is the sort of cat that would make a great companion while you read a book.

She is a ticked tabby with a short tail, and is now 9 weeks of age. Litter-trained and de-wormed and on Revolution (donated this month by our corporate sponsor The Water Dish).

To arrange a visit for adoption, contact us (see right side bar for contact details and adoption information).

Moby was adopted last night!

By Kylicia from Yishun. She lives on her own and her family used to have 2 cats when she was growing up. Before she arrived to visit, upon our instruction she meshed the window grilles of the place she is currently living at in Yishun, and discussed the adoption at length with her room-mate. They agreed, and shared this with us, that when either of them moves out Kylicia will be taking the cat with her. Kylicia's family is also aware of her adoption of a cat, so if she does move back to stay with her family, they already know they will be having a kitty member of the family along too!

After having a long chat with Kylicia, we realised that Moby was also beginning to fall in love with Kylicia, submitting himself to cuddles from her and seriously taking his place on her lap. He went home with her last night. We will miss him! And are happy for Kylicia and Moby!

Patty, rescued 5 week old kitten

Last night we had a newcomer to our foster home. Patty was found by Patricia and Tyler near their workplace, her paw caught in between some metal bars, stuck and meowing for help. They extricated Patty's paw, and thereafter tried to find her mother or siblings, but none were to be found, not even in the vicinity. They bought some food to feed Patty and then brought her over to us.

Patty is 5 weeks old and healthy, no fleas (she just got a flea shampoo shower in the pictures above), and she will be dewormed today. She isn't very greedy, but looks well-fed on mother's milk. She is turning out to be a vocal and playful kitten, and is in love with Panda's toy as they now share a pen. She will be available for adoption really soon!

bill for Bendemeer construction site TNRM round 2

The total bill including trapping, transport and boarding

The veterinary bill of the 11 cats' sterilisation

socialisation and progress of Cassie, Dusky and Moby

These three kitties are healthy and are now going through socialisation - a longer process for older kittens (they are 8-12 weeks old).

Cassie has low self-esteem and separation anxiety issues. She still hisses at us, but actually really enjoys cuddles and attention. She needs to gain more confidence to become a good house pet when adopted. So we spend time carrying her, talking to her and showing her that we will be around to feed her. She also enjoys spending time with Panda. Panda has learnt a lot from her, like how to drink water on his own and eat dry kibbles, which Cassie has come to enjoy on its own. Cassie is really a lap-cat at heart. She has come quite far health wise. She was found so skinny, but is now nice and chubby. She had bad diarrhoea after deworming,  completed a short course of Bactrim antibiotics and is currently pooing nicely. Now she just needs more human contact to cross into the last lap to be fully ready for adoption.

Dusky is turning out to be a greedy cat! She enjoys the canned food we put out for them, usually eating alongside Panda. She is also shy, like Cassie, but hisses less. Nonetheless it means she needs more cuddles too, like Cassie. She is quite a quiet cat, and sweet-natured.

Moby had some adult cat socialisation time today. He got to know Scooter, who is our unofficial 'small kitten' I/C - he loves kittens that he can play with and teach the tricks of being a playful cat. Here are some pictures of Moby hanging out with Scooter on our cat condo -

Moby is the most confident among the three older foster kittens we have now, and will soon be ready to free-roam around the house. He loves sleeping a lot, and isn't very greedy even though he is nice and chubby.

All three of them are being put on Revolution Pink donated by our sponsor The Water Dish tomorrow. Once all three are well-socialised and their health confirmed to be stable, they will be more than ready for adoption!

Adopt: Lin's kittens

Lin wrote to us about a mother cat she rescued as a stray, who gave birth in her home. The mother cat's two sons are now looking for new homes to go to. They are about 7-8 months of age, and are very friendly and tame. Both are white with black - one has a black spot on his head in the shape of a heart and has a long black tail. Both have been sterilised. The mother cat has since been sterilised and will continue to live with Lin in her home.

To visit and adopt these kittens or to find out more, contact Lin directly at little_kittys99@yahoo.com.sg or 97845434.