My Kitty Peed on the Floor

SmallLady

Title says it all really, I caught my cat peeing on the floor last night, and I know she's done it once before as well (right next to a wooden laundry drying rack that I had to throw out last night).

anyways, how do i keep her from doing it again??

Kitten pics in spoiler

Mmmm... Cocks...

When cats do this kinda thing isn't it usually some sort of infection?
Call up your local vet. I'm quite sure we've had two cats do this - and both were cured with some simple antibiotics or some such (I dunno though, was young my mom obviously took care of it) but the vet was the case and they were fine real quick.

Metalbourne

Make sure the litter box is clean. Cats hate having to walk over their own poop.

Dr. Frenchenstein

dont cats (i know dogs do) get accustomed to the scent of their own pee? Like, now that the smell is there, that's where she'll be peeing? get some sort of scent eliminator/cleaner from somewhere, and that should at least not encourage her.

Jason00

When was the other time she did it? Cats normally will pee outside of their boxes if they are sick. We just took our cat to the vet because he peed on the ground 3 or 4 times in a two day span, and it turned out that he had the beginnings of a urinary blockage.

MagicPrime

Cat's have very sensitive urinary tracts and if there problems the amonia from their litterbox will cause them a lot of pain when they try to go in there.

Make sure the litterbox is clean and take them to the vet if you can.

Also, stress can make them do this.

SmallLady

Mmmm last time she peed there it was about a month ago. I'll change her litter tonight, I don't think it's bad (i scoup it once a day, change it every month)

I"ll also call the vet tonight too.

Thanks

Enc

You should probably get into the habit of changing it weekly. Kittens pee a lot. The smell lingers, and some cats can be very fastidious about their litter. You might also consider getting a larger box. I have a large, circular cat box (about two feet and change in diameter) that has proven to be a lot more useful for my cat.

In general, a cat will only pee outside of the sand if they are sick (Reinal Failure or some sort of infection, neither should be likely with an indoor kitten), if the box is very dirty, or if there is something about the sand you are using now that is irritating them.

EggyToast

I assume your cat is fixed?

JaysonFour

Change kitteh litter every week- usually twice a week with a kitten. Cat pee is usually impossible to scoop totally out.

vonPoonBurGer

In addition to the other advice in this thread, clean the area where the cat has urinated with Nature's Miracle or a comparable enzyme cleaner. Even if you've cleaned it really well and can no longer smell any cat urine there, chances are the cat can still smell it, and if they can smell the traces then they're likely to assume that that's an "OK" spot for conducting that sort of business. An enzyme cleaner is the only thing that will sufficiently break down the compounds so it isn't scent-marked as a kitty outhouse.

SmallLady

Yes, she's fixed

and I use this special crystalized litter that absorbs urine and you just scoop out the poop & flush it. and the litter lasts for one month for one cat.

Even when I change it the litter is always dry, just that about half of the crystals have changed colour.

also, I used vinegar to clean up her mess as the vet says that it neutralizes the urine.

SmallLady

also, Bella is over a year old now. not much of a kitten, and she's been using this litter her whole life (which started in a vets office)

SkyCaptain

One other thing... don't use any ammonia based cleaners on urine. It just agitates the smell and does nothing to make it go away.

Mah kitties:

The LandoStander

I've found that my cat will pee if he's particularly stressed as well, it's usually on the bed when he does this.

I've never used any sort of crystal litter since my cat is rather particular and seems only to ever accept Fresh Step or that Arm and Hammer stuff. Tried Feline Pine and other things and he just peed elsewhere so if this is just an isolated thing it might be best to stay the course with the litter you're using now and just replace it a little more frequently to see what happens with that.

An odd thing but it worked for my cat who liked to pee by the shoe rack we have by the door was tin foil. Some cats apparently dislike being on it with the crinkly-ness and such, so if its just this one spot that has your cat's focus and you don't mind having a spot of tin foil on the floor give that a try for a little while, my cat eventually just lost interest in the shoe rack and we removed the tin foil from around it.

Taya

Cats will also pee to cover an unfamiliar scent.

I would take her to the vet though.

EggyToast

If your cat is fixed and has an occasional accident, I've found that in many instances it's simply the cat and the litter having a "disagreement." The ONLY time I've had an accident with one of my cats was when we tried out some of those "dissolving pine bits" litters, where you scoop out the poop and the pee dissolves the pine things. We even did it right, mixing in about 40% of the new stuff with the old, so it could be an easy transition. Nope. He held it for a full day and finally couldn't hold it anymore, and then peed. We were upset when it happened (because he did it on the bed, in the morning, when we were IN the bed), but when we realized that he had been holding it that whole time, we felt pretty bad (and forgave him, after washing the sheets).

Both of my cats are diggers, so they pretty much demand "normal" litter. And while one of them is pretty cool with most litter types, regardless of smell or odor, the other is more finicky, and demands that it clumps and looks and feels like a normal clay litter. It's what he likes, so it's what we stick with.

Maybe your cat would prefer clumping litter, because she can smell the old pee? Or she expects it to be consistent and it changes over the course of the month? Taking her to the vet is of course a perfectly safe idea, but if she's acting normal otherwise, and hasn't had a repeat accident, she might just not really like her litter. Maybe try some cheap clumping litter for a while and see if she prefers it?