Bathroom dismay

by Cher
(Mantua, Ohio)

My second cat which is named GG has been urinating outside of the litter box, I have two litter boxes in different areas of my home. My first cat Izzie sometimes poops outside the box but only in the upstairs loft where my other litter box is. GG is urinating on my throw rugs in the bathroom which there is a litter box in there and has urinated on my carpet upstairs in the loft. I had litter boxes with the lids but took the lids off because I thought GG was afraid of them. She is also a large cat so I am thinking maybe a larger litter box would help. So right now I have one cat that urinates on my carpet and one that poops on my carpet and I am lost I could use some advice .

Thank you

Answer by Kate
there are only two reasons why a cat may do this, one they are ill (urinary infection https://www.our-happy-cat.com/cat-urinary-problems.html) or it is behavioral in some way. Ie the cat is upset or stressed about some thing which makes them feel as if they have to scent their home to either tell other cats "hey this is my territory" of to make thmeselves feel happier ie it makes the home smell more like them.

If you think it is behavioral then you have to do two things, firstly you have to throughly clean the itmes and area where the cats have urinated (a black light is sometimes helpful here as even the slightest hint ot urine smell will attract the cat back to that area) secondly you have to try and think what may be causing the problem ie is i.e has something changed around the home or is there a problem between the cats. Please my page about these issues here https://www.our-happy-cat.com/cat-urine.html

Pooping around the hope is similar to urinating around the home in respect that it is used as a signal to other cats that this is there territory, although this is often only used in extreme cases. It is called Middening. I also have a we b page about this and at the bottom of this page there is some intructions in how to try and retrain a cat to use its tray again in a smaller environment which helps them feel more secure. here is the page https://www.our-happy-cat.com/cat-poo.html

I hope you find my pages helpful as there is never a quick or one answer to this sort of problem, but with a little patience and care it can be over come.

best wishes Kate

---