Urinating outside the box

[dandysmom]

This item appeared in Dr. Fox's weekly column in the Washington Post today. It's an unusual solution, but thought it was interesting enough to post.

Dear Dr. Fox:
I hope the solution I found for cats urinating outside the litter box will help others.
One day, I put the empty litter box on the floor after cleaning it. Before I could fill it, my cat urinated in it. I now keep two litter boxes, one with litter and one empty.
It solved my problem. The only drawback is that the house doesn't smell the best, but as soon as I flush the urine down the toilet, the house no longer smells.
M.O.

Monroe, Conn.

Considering the seriousness and prevalence of house-soiling cats, any novel solutions are welcome and worth a try. I would put newspaper around the empty box to help blot damp paws. Cats might be encouraged to urinate in a new, clean empty box by dabbing a paper towel soaked in their urine around the interior.
Some cats have an aversion to all kinds of cat litter, and older cats can miss the box when they can't arch their backs because of hip or spinal arthritis. One advantage to your cat urinating in an empty box is that it will be easier to notice any blood or cloudiness that could be indicative of cystitis, a serious and too-often-missed problem.

[angieh]

Thanks for posting that Eileen - I do hope this helps some Catsey members who have experienced this sort of problem with their cats.

(I am still awaiting my copy of Dr Fox's book on cat behaviour to arrive from Amazon!)

[dandysmom]

The only problem with this scenario is that the cat would have to pee fast and jump out, or else get wet feet!!

[Elaine]

Not a bad idea, I wonder if it would work for pooping too, off to empty a litter box, clean it and leave it, lets see what happens over the weekend while I'm at the birds.

[angieh]

Originally Posted by dandysmom

The only problem with this scenario is that the cat would have to pee fast and jump out, or else get wet feet!!

Guess that's why Dr Fox suggests surrounding the tray with newspaper Eileen!

[dandysmom]

Yes, I got that bit, but I was wondering if the first time the cat peed in the box and got wet feet if he'd ever do it again. Or learn to hop out VERY fast!

Elaine, hope your experiment works!