# peeing on the inside wall of the litter box instead of downward into the litter



## carrieann0413 (Dec 11, 2012)

I have 2 cat, both almost 4 years old. We have had them since they were about 10 months. We have never had any litter box issues before. All of a sudden I am finding what I think is urine sprayed on the inside wall of the litter box. We have always had a covered litter box. It is always on the back wall or left side wall of the litter box. At first I thought maybe I was keeping it to full with litter and so they were standing/squatting to high up and it was getting on the side instead of all going downward. So I started filling it a little less. It still happened. Then I tried keeping the top off so it is opened and maybe she can get in a better position. Is still happened again. I replaced that box with a cheap open top litter box while I thoroughly cleaned the other one. It has been several days and I have not put the original box back in that room and it happened again except this box has lower sides so it went all over the box as well as my wall that I keep the litter box next to. Anyone have any ideas as to why this is happening? I will be putting the covered box back in to at least keep my wall clean. The two cats both use this box, how do I know if it's trouble urinating or is she is spraying? TIA


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## Mochas Mommy (Dec 9, 2013)

If your girl is not fixed, she is most likely spraying the side. One of my queens does this. Not sure if you are able to see, but does her tail shake when she is peeing on the side of the box? That is spraying. 

If she is fixed and this is new behaviour, you may want the vet to check her out.


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## carrieann0413 (Dec 11, 2012)

She is fixed. Would a fixed female cat spray? I have not caught her in the act and I am not even sure which cat is doing it.


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## akane (Jul 4, 2011)

If she didn't do it previously I would first see the vet for a possible health issue like a urinary tract infection. Behavior wise you might want to look for any causes of stress but otherwise I'm not sure there's a cure to "elevator butt" peeing (google it). Most just seem to make it easy to manage by using an open top but deep container so pee goes on the container and the container is easier to clean than with a top.


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## LakotaWolf (Aug 10, 2012)

My 17-year-old has developed "elevator butt" since she was diagnosed CRF in 2012. She is also arthritic, so she doesn't like to squat down as far any more - it probably pains her a bit to do so.

Your girl is a bit young for kidney issues or arthritis, so a vet checkup with a full urinalysis is probably in order - since this is a new behavior.

I have heard that covered litterboxes CAN cause issues for cats, since they don't really like being enclosed with the smell of their own waste and they also can feel unsafe in a small area with only one exit, and they cannot see their surroundings. However, it sounds like you've been using the covered box for a while, so it seems odd your cat would suddenly develop this behavior as a response to a covered box.

If your kitty comes back with a clean bill of health, you may have to try something like using a Rubbermaid storage container as a litterbox, with the side cut out - Google "using rubbermaid as litter box" and you'll see what I mean :}


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## Marcia (Dec 26, 2010)

I have a litter box with *12 inch sides on 3 sides*. TWELVE INCHES! That's a very high sided litter box and my Polly lifts her butt OVER it! I found pee down the wall on a couple occasions so I now tape puppy pee pads on the wall and under the box.


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