# I need help - inappropriate urinating issues



## Taxcat (Nov 30, 2007)

This is going to be long. I have posted about my issues before, but there has not been much of a response. 

Here is my issue: I had 3 cats in my hose until recently. One cat passed away about a month ago. I have 4 litter boxes in my house that have been in the same spots for years. I had been using the same cat litter for about 10 or more years. My 13 yr old female cat started last year with peeing over the side of the box while she was standing in the box. I tried changing litter brands and getting larger boxes with higher sides which was not necessarily well received, then my cat was diagnosed hyperthyroid and received radioactive iodine treatment. The hope was that once her Thyroid was under control, her anxiety and issues with the boxes might resolve. However. since this all started, it has gotten progressively worse. We have been to the vet many times and she definately does not have any type of infection going on. She appears to not like the different litter boxes I was trying or the different cat litters I was trying because she then started to not use the boxes at all but instead peeing on the vynil carpet runner I have under and around the boxes on most days. She still poops in the boxes and on occasion has actually gotten in a box to pee in it. She has only on the rare occasion decided to covered her business in the litter boxes for quite some time. I purchased a very large hooded box and set it out without litter to see what she thought of the box. She has decided that she likes to pee in it without litter. The minute I put litter (cat attract) in the boxes she would only walk in and pee out the opening. Unfortunately since I have not been able to find the magic litter/litter box combo for her, I feel I have now trained her to pee on the plastic and not in a box again. This weekend I decided to replace some of the boxes with the old style box we used for years with the old brand of litter and she still went on the plastic. This has become so frustrating for me. Another down side to her peeing on the plastic is that to provide appropriate floor coverage with the carpet runner, I have to layer it. She has an uncanny nack for peeing where the layers overlap or peeing right at the edge and then the pee gets underneath the layers and even gets onto my old hard wood floors. Is there a way I can re-train my cat to use a box instead of the plastic? What can I do? I need serious help.

Thanks,

Elizabeth


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## Mom of 4 (Jul 29, 2006)

Some have had success with confining their cat to a small room, with litter box and food and water, until their cat has resumed using the litterbox consistently. 

Good luck.


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## mimitabby (Apr 20, 2010)

she could just be senile, doesn't care anymore, something like that.


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## Janis (Aug 26, 2010)

our 13-yr old cat began to have similar issues, avoiding litter box. we had had house guests (son & family) just before it began (Slate had been theirs at one time, but hadbeen afraid of crawling grandson, which is why I took him. Anyway, he had always been good at using litterbox, but when they left this time, he began to urinate 1. on the living room wall/carpet. 2. on the throw rug in the guest bath 3. on the throw rug in the master bath. Every day I would get up to go to work, and have to check & clean/wash all areas before I left. I began to dislike Slate. He was afraid of me because I would fuss & "hiss" around every morning. Finally I woke up & decided that this was no life for me, and no life for him. I began to understand a friend's answer to having a cat put down that had been pooping on her oriental rug every day, which led another cat to urinate on it in retaliation. When I told her I was sorry for her loss, she said, " I really was so mad at him by the time I had him put down, I wasn't too upset by it" That's where I was when we took Slate to the vet for his final visit, whether I am alone (except for above mentioned friend) or not I don't know. We had some great times with Slate, and earlier in his life he was a great cat on his own terms, but whether he finally went "bonkers" or what I don't know. I only know we couldn't live with it. We have actually jokingly told our other cats when the misbehave that they would be going to "Slate Heaven". I'll probably be stoned out of the forum for this confession. But you sound like you are at the point where you are at your wit's end, and thought I would fess up in case it is a good solution for a crazed cat with a worn out, no options left owner. If you don't find a solution, think about this.


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## Susan (Mar 29, 2010)

It’s possible, if not likely, that the hyperthyroidism initially caused your cat to urinate outside the litter box. However, even though her thyroid condition is under control, she has now been conditioned to urinate on the plastic. So, you’re right, she likely has been trained to pee on the plastic – not by you, but by her circumstances over the past year. 

The only thing I can suggest to re-train her to use the litter box again is to first isolate her to a small room (perhaps a bathroom where any accidents are easily cleaned) with a litter box and other essentials, as was suggested by _Mom of 4_. I also suggest you use two litter boxes, one with litter (in which she will apparently poop). In the other box, put a small piece of the plastic sheet, on which she’s used to peeing (presumably you can cut off a piece of the plastic). After she’s used the litter box with the plastic (and it appears that she might well do so, since you said she was happy to pee in a box with no litter), and after you’ve cleaned the box, then add a very small amount of litter to the plastic – not nearly enough to cover the bottom, but perhaps just a scoop. That amount of litter won’t do anything from your perspective (in fact it will likely make it more difficult for you to clean the next time around), but you need to slowly get her used to the idea of having litter in the area where she pees. 

Assuming she again uses the box with the plastic sheet and the small scoopful of litter, then add a bit more litter (two scoops the next time). As long as she continues to use the box with a bit more litter in it, then each time, continue to add just a bit more litter until she once again becomes accustomed to having litter in the box she uses to pee, following which you can remove the plastic sheet and, if all goes well, allow her out of the confined area. I can’t guarantee this approach will work, but I can’t think of a better approach – although perhaps other members here will be able to. On the plus side, you will know relatively quickly whether or not the approach is working (i.e., whether she’s still willing to use the box once you put a small amount of litter in it, and whether she continues to be willing to use the box as and when you slowly increase the amount of litter each time). As for which litter, I suggest using either whatever litter she’s happy to use when she poops or whichever litter you found to be of the softest texture amongst those you’ve tried. Regardless of whether you try this approach or something else, I wish you the best of luck in finding a way to re-train her to use the litter box.


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## Alpaca (Dec 21, 2009)

I agree with Susan. Her method seems to be the best way. Good luck on your issue.


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