We got a new cat (6 months old) in February. She seems to be doing great after a period of adjustment to our home. She uses her litter box regularly. She also has peed in the tub, though, and on a welcome mat. Does anyone have ideas of how to get her to only use her litter box?
Thank you so much for your recommendations! We will make a trip to Pet Smart over the weekend, and get her checked out by the vet. I'm going to buy Irish Spring today!
You must make sure it is clean and doesn't smell or they will not go in the litter box. My cat would do that and when he did I knew the litter box was not clean. There is some cat box freshener by arm and hammer that is real good. It is like carpet fresh for the litter box. Also make sure the cat can get to the litter box at all times. If something is in the way and they can't get in then they will go where ever they can.
There are cleaners to take up the smell where you don't want her to return, and also deterrent sprays. Try cleaning out the litter box every day if you aren't. Some cats are really picky. Keep an eye on her to try to catch her getting ready to pee, and quickly put her in the box. If nothing works, she may have a UTI. It hurts when they pee, and they associate that with the box, so they pee in other places. Good luck.
I agree with the below posts, make sure she doesn't have UTI or crystals with your vet. Hopefully they are just young kitty accidents.
Make sure when she goes some where else to clean it with a pet cleaner that will really get it out. I love Nature's miracle,I buy it by the gallon and use it for all kinds of things. It is an enzyme cleaner, since even if you can't see or smell it she may be able to still smell it. You may also want to try two litterboxes in different areas if you just have one. I have one shy cat, that instead of walking past another cat or person to get to a litter box, she would just go somewhere else, since by the time she was headed there she really had to go. She has outgrown that now, but also has some other bladder issues and is on special food and meds.
You can find special cat litter called Cat Attract at PetsMart. I'm not sure what's in it, but it works! I had a cat that was peeing outside of the box, and after using it for a month or so, no more accidents! Then you can switch back to the regular, cheaper litter. If you find your cat consistantly going in the same spot/spots, you can also try putting an unwrapped bar of origional Irish Spring soap in those areas. The scent of it discourages them from peeing there. A little weird, I know, but it works! :-)
Good luck!
I've had a lot of kittens and what the vet said is that kittens are "lazy" and if they have to go they won't always go all the way to the litter box. The solution is to have a litter box on each floor, and two if the floor is big. As your kitten grows she'll outgrow that.
Kitten Attract litter is also a great idea! I would do both!
use spray there are two great ones. one is called "no" it stops her from going near things she will pee on and the other is called "dum cat" it remove the smell so she won't continually pee there. Also change your litter some cats are picky about what litter they use, espically if they are declawed.
Sometimes the cat is looking for attention. Do you have other animals, children or moved? Also, our cat started having problems and turned out he had a UTI.
