If your feline bestie is urinating outside of the litter box, you’ll first want to contact your VCA care team to rule out medical causes of inappropriate urination. Assuming your kitten is found to be healthy, the veterinarian may deem the problem behavioral.
Changes in the home can cause anxiety and stress in cats, which can lead to inappropriate urination. Examples of stressful events that can trigger your young cat to have urinary issues include:
- Moving to a new home
- A new pet in the home
- A new child, partner or roommate in the home
- New litter in the litter box
- A dirty litter box
- Changes to their feeding routine
- Rearranging furniture
- Maintenance work being done in the home
To troubleshoot inappropriate urination due to behavioral causes, follow these steps:
- Make sure you have a regular cleaning routine for your young cat’s litter box. You should scoop the litter box at least once daily and replace the litter monthly. Some cats will want their box deep-cleaned at least once weekly.
- Ensure the litter box is in a safe location where the cat isn’t ambushed by children or other animals when they eliminate. Are there loud noises in the area that could scare your cat, such as a toilet flushing or a loud beeping noise from a laundry machine?
- Confirm that you have enough litter boxes. You should have as many litter boxes as you have cats plus one. Place a litter box on each level of your home if possible.
- Try a litter box preference test. This involves putting multiple types of boxes next to each other to see which your cat prefers. You can similarly perform this test with different types or depths of litter to figure out what your cat prefers.
- Restrict access to areas they keep soiling. For example, if your cat keeps soiling in one area, such as your bedsheets, restrict their access to this area while you correct the behavior.
- Add pheromone diffusers around the litter box. Pheromone diffusers may help your cat feel calm or safe when near the litter box.
- Make sure the litter box isn’t too close to your cat’s eating and drinking areas. Cats are usually quite clean and don’t want to eliminate by their bowls.
- Ensure your young cat has plenty of enrichment and activities to keep them mentally stimulated.
If nothing you’ve tried has worked, contact your VCA care team to discuss behavioral medications or a referral to a behavior specialist.
Familiarize yourself with inappropriate elimination disorders in cats.
