Cat suddenly peeing out of its box

[Newby]

A while back, we had a house sitter that did nothing. That included cleaning our cat's litter box.

Now, he thinks it's ok to pee outside of his box. It seems to be confined to a few areas (certain types of rug we have in bedrooms, where the laundry goes) but he will take any chance he gets.

What is weird is that if he can't find any of those (shut doors, no laundry) he'll use his box. And he uses his box a lot. But the piss in the rug is annoying and apparently my stepmom/dad want to put him down if he doesn't stop.

Anybody know what would be causing this, and any solution (besides putting him down) that will help fix his problem? There are those sprays that are supposed to help... anybody tried those?

[CrAz3D]

A while back, we had a house sitter that did nothing. That included cleaning our cat's litter box.

Now, he thinks it's ok to pee outside of his box. It seems to be confined to a few areas (certain types of rug we have in bedrooms, where the laundry goes) but he will take any chance he gets.

What is weird is that if he can't find any of those (shut doors, no laundry) he'll use his box. And he uses his box a lot. But the piss in the rug is annoying and apparently my stepmom/dad want to put him down if he doesn't stop.

Anybody know what would be causing this, and any solution (besides putting him down) that will help fix his problem? There are those sprays that are supposed to help... anybody tried those?

The bold part is stupid as fuck.  I'll assume that they hate the cat anyway, though?


Uhm, it's just a matter of retraining him.  Maybe scolding when you catch him in the act.  Also, close off access to those places where like likes to go, maybe he'll relearnt that he is to pee in his box

[Towelie]

Just make sure everyone closes the doors and your stepmom or whoever doesn't leave laundry out. after a while he will learn.

[Newby]

The bold part is stupid as fuck.  I'll assume that they hate the cat anyway, though?

Well, let's put it this way: the instant they put the cat down is the instant I'm buying a plane ticket home and never coming back to visit. Why go to a home with people who are heartless and don't give a damn about the animal?

My dad loves the cat. Too bad my stepmom is heartless and cruel. If we threatened to put down her dog (who pisses in the house too, whenever it tries fucking with the cat it ends up getting hurt to the point where it pisses itself; it also pisses whenever it's happy to see someone, like a little piddle) she'd cry and say "NOOOOO!"

The best part is: they haven't even tried to help the cat. They just complain when he pisses and threaten to send him away.

I keep my door shut. Nobody else does. They don't seem to care. Since they aren't going to help, I'm taking this into my own hands. Short of shutting the door and moving laundry, what else can I do?

[CrAz3D]

Google RE-potty training for cats.

[rabbit]

I keep my door shut. Nobody else does. They don't seem to care. Since they aren't going to help, I'm taking this into my own hands. Short of shutting the door and moving laundry, what else can I do?

You could put down your step mom.  Anyway, what we do for my cats is keep a spray bottle full of water around, and if they do something bad (jump on the counters/tables, claw the furniture, etc...) just spray them once and shout NO.  After a while all you have to do is shout NO and they associate it with getting sprayed, and they will stop.  Eventually they'll just stop trying

[Rule]

If it pees on the carpet, and you see it do it, maybe put it in confinement somewhere? (Box, etc).  I don't know that much about cats though.  If they care so little, maybe they should try and give it to someone who will look after it properly.

[Armin]

I'd say rub it's nose in it, and then lock it up in it's litter box. That way it shouldn't be confused about what it did at all. Maybe even softly flick it's nose and yell at it.

[Towelie]

I'd say rub it's nose in it, and then lock it up in it's litter box. That way it shouldn't be confused about what it did at all. Maybe even softly flick it's nose and yell at it.

I would just pick the cat up and punt it towards the box

[Newby]

If it pees on the carpet, and you see it do it, maybe put it in confinement somewhere? (Box, etc).  I don't know that much about cats though.  If they care so little, maybe they should try and give it to someone who will look after it properly.

If the cat is still alive when I'm on my own in an apartment or better (not a dorm ), I'm going to ask/buy it from them. Hopefully it's still alive by then: I don't want them to kill him.

I also picked up a bottle of Feliway. It was recommended by more than a handful of webpages I saw on Google. I'll try that out too.

[iago]

If we threatened to put down her dog (who pisses in the house too, whenever it tries fucking with the cat it ends up getting hurt to the point where it pisses itself; it also pisses whenever it's happy to see someone, like a little piddle) she'd cry and say "NOOOOO!"

That may be part of the problem, too. Unlike dogs (), cats are smart. When they see a dog widdle on the floor, they might think, "hey, if he can do this so can I!"

[Towelie]

If we threatened to put down her dog (who pisses in the house too, whenever it tries fucking with the cat it ends up getting hurt to the point where it pisses itself; it also pisses whenever it's happy to see someone, like a little piddle) she'd cry and say "NOOOOO!"

That may be part of the problem, too. Unlike dogs (), cats are smart. When they see a dog widdle on the floor, they might think, "hey, if he can do this so can I!"

Rofl. My dog is smart! Well, he knows what pleases us and doesn't and choses to please us. He also knows many words too! What does my cat do? sleep all day and get mad at you for petting her.

[CrAz3D]

Dogs learn, they dont have a natural knowledge of everything, but by God they can learn everything.

Cats are independent and worthless.  They don't learn, they're annoying, they aren't good company, and they jump on your car and scratch the paint (I was so mad when I got my truck and found stupid cat marks on it).

[chuck]

Make sure the cat can always get at the litter box. Also, don't move it around or change the box itself often. That just confuses the cat.

Might also be something wrong with the cat too. Take it to the vet for a checkup. Or, maybe its getting a new source of food/water? That can mess up their systems badly.

And for yours and the cats sake, keep the litter box clean. My cat does pee out of its box when the box is too full.

[Newby]

Make sure the cat can always get at the litter box. Also, don't move it around or change the box itself often. That just confuses the cat.

Might also be something wrong with the cat too. Take it to the vet for a checkup. Or, maybe its getting a new source of food/water? That can mess up their systems badly.

And for yours and the cats sake, keep the litter box clean. My cat does pee out of its box when the box is too full.

We have a litter box that automatically cleans itself. i.e. the cat pees, five or so minutes later it does a rotation and sifts out the bad and leaves only the good.

It was expensive as hell, but well worth it, as you only have to empty where the poop/piss goes every couple of days or so.

Although I'm thinking that since the cat remember the box being a hell hole, it may have scarred him and he may not ever want to use the box again. It's not exactly something cheap to replace, either...