With house-soiling problems, it is important first to rule out a physiological or medical cause.
Guldveterinären only provides preventive care and a helping hand at sad farewells.
Please contact a clinic that investigates underlying diseases.
Once a veterinarian has ruled out illness, experts in cat behaviour can be a great help. There are, however, a few things below that you can try first.
The most important questions to ask are:
1. Who? – can be hard to work out in a household with several cats
2. What? – what has happened? What has been tried before?
3. When? – when does the cat show the problem behaviour? When is it “good”?
4. Where? – where does the problem behaviour happen? Problems with the layout of the home?
5. How? – what do the behaviour and the cat look like when it happens?
6. Why? – can at best be answered after questions 1–5
Studies have shown that cats with house-soiling problems:
– more often have cat litter with odour control or fragrance
– more often have or have had urinary tract problems
– are worse at covering urine/faeces (this should be learnt from the mother cat from 4 weeks of age)
Cats without problems were generally cleaner and had their litter changed more often.
Cleaning routine:
– A warm solution of biological detergent (e.g. soft soap)
– Wipe afterwards with surgical spirit (note: no cleaning products may contain ammonia)
– Scatter dry food on the cleaned areas (cats do not want to urinate near food)
Treating house-soiling (not spraying):
- Switch to a fine-grained litter.
- Check where the litter tray is placed with regard to the layout of the home, safety etc. (e.g. some cats feel safe in covered trays, while others feel insecure because they cannot see whether someone or something is lurking outside).
- Clean the tray every day.
- Increase the number of trays.
- For cats that also go outdoors – mix 50% soil into the litter
- Clean according to the cleaning routine.
- In severe cases, restrict the cat’s space and gradually extend it to clean rooms.
- Scatter dry food on cleaned former marking spots.
- Never punish the cat!
Treating indoor spraying:
- Identify the causes; illness must be ruled out
- Remove cat flaps if possible.
- Chase away other cats outside.
- Clean sprayed areas according to the cleaning routine.
- Restrict the cat to one room and gradually extend to clean rooms.
- Scatter dry food on cleaned former marking spots.
- Never punish the cat!
- Note that the spraying may get worse at first before the cat responds to treatment.
Common problem situations and suggested solutions:
If the target area for urine marking (spraying) is near doors and windows,
then one factor may be that other cats can be seen outside, or sensed through their scent marks.
Try to keep cats outside out of sight and smell with fencing or other repellents. If necessary, block the indoor cat’s view so that it cannot see other cats outside, and make sure it does not spend too much time at the window.
If the marking starts when tension rises for some reason in a household with several cats,
then emotional arousal such as aggression and/or territorial behaviour can lower the threshold for urine marking.
Try to create a sense of unlimited resources. Offer plenty of food and water bowls, several clean litter trays, many different resting places and places where the cats can retreat. Increase the available space with vertical cat trees and other high resting places. Feel-good pheromones such as Feliway or Felifriend, used as diffusers plugged into a socket, can help. Try to habituate and desensitise cats that are hostile towards each other again. You may need to reduce the number of cats in the household, especially by rehoming the cats that are most sensitive to crowding.
If marking starts when a new cat joins the household,
then the marking cat’s personal limit for how close it is willing to be to other cats may have been exceeded.
Try to reduce tension in the group by introducing the new cat in a separate room of its own with a litter tray and everything else it needs. Feel-good pheromones such as Feliway or Felifriend, used as diffusers plugged into a socket, can help. Introduce the new cat to the other cat gradually and slowly by exchanging their scents. Even so, you may sometimes end up having to rehome the new cat.
If marking starts after a cat flap has been fitted, or after another cat has come in through the cat flap,
then the cat may feel that its core territory and resources are threatened.
Try to close the cat flap, or switch to one that only opens with the cat’s own microchip. Give the cat time to feel safe and secure again. Clean the surface thoroughly and put dry food on areas that have been marked.
If the cat marks new objects or new furniture, after furniture has been moved around or after a house move,
then the change of surroundings may have made the cat unsure and therefore more insecure.
Try to restrict the cat to a familiar room that, if possible, has not changed, and introduce it gradually to the new surroundings while the owner is present. After major changes in the home, you may need to keep the cat separated for a while until routines are back to normal. Keep the cat away from new things, and clean the places where it has marked thoroughly, so that its routine for this behaviour is broken.
If the marking is linked to the owner’s absence, before, during or after time away,
then marking may surround the cat with a familiar, reassuring scent. Once the problem has started, it can develop into general marking or marking linked to a preference for certain surfaces.
Try to desensitise the cat by leaving it for short periods that slowly get longer. Board the cat elsewhere while the owner is away. If it stays at home, keep it in a limited area and away from places where it has marked before.
If the cat poos in the owner’s bed,
then the cat may have developed a preference for that particular surface. It has been suggested that separation anxiety may be involved in some circumstances.
Try to find out whether the cat has shown a preference for other soft materials. If it only happens when the owner is away, the separation anxiety should be treated. Thoroughly clean the places where the cat has gone. Change the material of the duvet or bedspread.
If the cat sprays on the owner or on objects after being told off or denied something it wants,
then the cat may have become frustrated by the change in its social contact with the owner, or it has learnt that this is how it gets attention back.
Try to avoid punishment unless you know it will be done exactly right (water spray, loud noise). Give the cat plenty of positive reinforcement when it gets things right.
If the cat hesitates to use the litter tray because it has had painful or frightening experiences there,
then the tray has become associated with discomfort.
Try to change the position and type of tray, and make sure the cat cannot be disturbed once it is using the tray. Shut the cat in a limited area with a tray and other essentials, with no tempting alternative toilet spots. When the cat uses the tray routinely again, it can gradually be moved back to its original place.
If the cat uses the tray but squats over the edge,
then it may be due to individual variation or to pain during certain movements.
Try to get a larger litter tray, one with higher sides or a covered tray. Any pain should be treated medically.
If the cat shows an aversion to the litter,
then it may be because the type of litter has been changed and the cat finds it unpleasant to walk on, dislikes the smell or finds it dusty. So, to wee or poo, it has to look for better alternatives.
Try to keep the cat out of the places where you do not want it to go, and offer it a choice of several trays with different types of litter. Remove the types the cat does not use and keep the one(s) it prefers. When the cat uses these routinely, introduce them in the original surroundings.
If the cat develops a preference for a substrate or type of surface other than litter,
then the problem may have started spontaneously when the cat came into contact with the preferred surface or substrate, and then continued because of the familiar smell that is there once the cat has used it.
Try to keep the cat away from the preferred surface. Provide one litter tray with ordinary litter and one containing what the cat seems to prefer, e.g. a piece of carpet. Gradually add litter to the tray with the carpet and cut away pieces of the carpet until there is only litter in the tray. Gradually move the tray back to its original place.
If the cat stops using the tray after it has been moved to a new place,
then the cat probably had a strong preference for the place where the tray was first.
Try to put the tray back in its original place and wait until the cat uses it normally again. Then start gradually moving the tray towards where you want it, while covering the spots where the tray stood before with a deterrent material.
If the cat wees or poos outside the tray when something has upset it emotionally,
then the behaviour may be protest marking, involuntary defecation due to fear, or the cat avoiding the tray because it is in too exposed a position.
Try to work out what is bothering the cat and, if possible, desensitise it to that stimulus. When you cannot keep an eye on the cat, you can shut it in a calm, safe room with a tray and other essentials.
If the cat uses both the tray and other places after a period of illness,
then a habit of using alternative toilets may have formed after “accidents” during the illness.
Try to retrain the cat to use the tray, as above. Break the habit. Be especially careful to keep the tray clean. Find out which litter the cat prefers.
If health problems seem to be the reason why the cat goes just outside the tray,
then chronic illness such as arthritis/osteoarthritis or senility may make it painful or difficult to climb into the tray.
Try to make it easier for the cat by having very low edges or none at all. You can pour litter straight onto a sturdy, non-slip tray or plastic sheet.
If the cat prefers to use the washbasin or bath as a toilet,
then it may have a preference for the place or the surface.
Try to put the litter tray in the bath and gradually move it away once the cat uses it routinely, or always keep about ten centimetres of water in the basin or bath.
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