# Forgets where the litter box is??



## jsully8 (May 18, 2009)

So, I've been reading the posts on urination problems but I still have a couple of questions. I honestly didn't realize it's not that uncommon of a problem, which made me feel better. Our girl, Vera, has had a problem since we brought her home. She's 8 months. We've had her checked frequently for UTI's and she's always been clean. Our household consists of another cat, Ortiz, who's 1 1/2 yrs old, and our dog Fenway, she's 1 yrs old. She gets along with both animals, she cuddles with both of them and plays with them; it's fine. But the problem is she likes to randomly pee on clothes, towels, blankets, basically anything that is laying on the floor. At first it seemed like she'd forget where the litter boxes were and just use the closest thing possible. We started spraying her with water, but that hasn't stopped her. If she's around me I can typically sense when she's about to do it, and if I get to her in time I can move her to the litter box and she'll go in there. We have all hardwood floors, and it's never been on the floor, the couch or anything else except for the listed above...oh and if I leave a laundry basket empty and upright she'll go in there too. I've been proactive in keeping stuff off the floor, but I'm just not sure what else to do. I scoop each day, I have 2 different litter boxes, one on both floors. 

I'm just not sure what esle to do. It doesn't bother me as much anymore, as I constantly try and keep things off the ground. We love her far too much to ever consider getting rid of her over this, it just makes me wonder why. I was reading about a certain litter, does it really help?? I try and avoid clay litter, as I'm the one who cleans it and it makes my asthma bad. But any tips or ideas would be apprecaited.


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## hoofmaiden (Sep 28, 2009)

Please take her to the vet ASAP for bloodwork and a urinalysis. Sounds like a urinary tract infection or crystals. When the vet "checked" before, what tests were run?

Does she eat dry food?


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

Hi, you say you've read the UTI topics so I'm sure you've come across the following. 
I'll highlight the important bits that appear to be directly related to the issues you are having with your sweet kitty.
First-and-foremost will be determining if this is a medical/physical vs behavioral problem. Unless your vet visits included at minimum a bloodtest and certainly a urinalysis by testing a clean sample, you cannot rule out a UTI as the initial cause.
Best of luck,
heidi
_ps, 1 more question ... is she spayed and/or does she exhibit estrus behaviors?_


I wrote this some time ago as a response for someone else but the information remains relevant and lately I seem to be getting a LOT of use out of it. First get a UTI exam/sample for diagnosis and proceed from there with pursuing any behavioral or environment issues, but the UTI * must * be ruled out FIRST. _If your cat(s) is/are male, just replace she/her with he/him._ 
I apologize if this sounds blunt, it isn’t meant to be, it is simply the most expedient way for me to share all of the information you need to be informed.
=^..^=

Inapropriate Urination / UTI
*The NUMBER ONE REASON CATS PEE INAPPROPRIATELY = Urinary Tract Inflamation. (UTI)* 
Diagnosis is with a vet checking a urine sample. There is no other way to diagnose this medical problem. Depending on diagnosis (_infection, inflamation, crystals_) treatment can include antibiotics, anti-inflamatories and/or a diet change to help get more moisture into their elimination systems.

Cats are naturally neat and tidy animals.
They *know* what a litterbox is for.
If a cat is *not* using their litterbox, they are trying to *tell you something* and you need to listen.

AFTER a veterinary visit and UTI has been eliminated as a problem, then you can move on to examining other areas:
Has the home been stressful for the cat? _...cats can develop UTIs due to stress..._
Does the cat like the litterbox? _...open-tray, hooded, deep enough litter, large enough box..._
Does the cat like the location of the litterbox? _...is it in a quiet area, low traffic and no sudden noises..._
Does the cat like the litter used? _...some cats prefer different litters..._
Does the cat approve of how clean the litterbox is kept for it? _...many cats will refuse to use 'dirty', and especially *smelly* litterboxes..._
Are the litterboxes arranged in such a manner as they cannot become a trap? ... _some multi cat households can have a problem with another cat either guarding the LBs or waiting to ambush a cat exiting a LB in an effort to play_

Cats WANT to use a litterbox to hide their waste. If they are not, it is because there is some sort of problem and avoiding the litterbox is The Only Way for the cat to tell you It Is Having A Problem. If you and your family are annoyed at this behavior, imagine how *frustrating* and *painful* this is for your cat, who is trying to tell you in every way she has available to her: She Is Having A Problem...UTI's are painful and the kitty tries to find places to pee where maybe it *won't* be painful, like soft piles of clothes, bedding and rugs. When the pain *still* isn't going away by peeing on soft things, they start to pee on 'smooth' things like floors, tables, sinks, tubs, stoves and countertops. IMO, when a cat reaches the point of peeing on your countertops AND/OR peeing *_right in front of you while looking you in the eyes_* ... please don't get upset, the kitty is simply trying to tell you she has something wrong with her.

After medical treatment, diet can play a large role in helping to keep UTI's at bay; more moisture, as in a wet food or RAW diet. Even a better quality dry food and not feeding "McKittyCrack" (_which is what I call grocery-store available catfoods_) can help the kitty stay healthy. There are plenty of topics in the Health/Nutrition Forums to help you find a good catfood and/or diet for your kitty during and after treatment.

Good luck, we really *want* you to be able to help your kitty. Please let us know how things go...the information you share could help other people in similar situations, too.
heidi =^..^=


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## jsully8 (May 18, 2009)

So I took Vera to a local vets today, I have to say I'm a bit on the annoyed side after the visit. Our vet that we take all our furbabies to wasn't available until later on next week, so I decided to take her to another vets. All he did was a physical exam. I told him exactly what was wrong, what she was doing, I told both him and the assistant. And you know what they both told me...."oh it's most likely cause she's in heat. That's what they do." That was their constant reasoning behind it, I even asked how I could go about getting a urine sample since we have multiple cats. Asked about blood work too, like you mentioned. But they kept insisting that it was just her being in heat. The more I think about it and read your posts the more angry I get. He said there was nothing wrong with her, she just needed to be spayed. The assistant even asked if I wanted to schedule a spay and while they had her they'd do blood test and take a urine sample just to make sure...I was floored.

How can it be because she's in heat, does that mean she's been in heat since 8 weeks old? I mean I know it can be from that, but she's had this habit long before she went into heat. It doesn't bother me or my husband, and aside from spraying her when we first noticed it we don't yell or get angry at her. We're proactive enough about not leaving anything on the ground that unless we forget she doesn't do it. But we're just going to have to wait until our usual vet is available. I just thought if we could get her into someone immediantly we'd be able to start ruling things out, you know. But thanks for the information and suggestions. I really appreciate it a lot.


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

No it doesn't make sense that this is heat related...but please get her spayed asap! 

One other thing to add to what's already been said...some cats just don't like litter. Some like soft stuff. You might try putting a towel in an empty litter box and see if she'll use that. Easier to deal with when the location is controlled. You could even just try a puppy pad in a box. Or maybe a puppy pad on top of a towel.


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## jsully8 (May 18, 2009)

I never thought of using a towel in the box instead. That's brilliant! We did switch litters recently, from clay to what seems like the stuff you put in a hamsters cage but finer. I haven't noticed her having any accidents lately so that might be doing the trick. Thanks!


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