Inappropriate Elimination by Cats

One of the most common cat behavioural problems reported to veterinarians is inappropriate elimination by the family feline. Some people have no patience with the issue and want the animal euthanized immediately, when often a little common sense would resolve the issue.

The first thing we usually look at when a cat is caught peeing where it shouldn’t, is where the cat is committing his crime. Is it random? Are they going just wherever they happen to be, or are they targeting certain things, such as the bed of specific people or chairs/couches?

I always recommend that a cat be checked for urinary problems. Neutered males in particular are prone to stones and struvite crystals forming in the bladder. A low ash, low magnesium food goes a long way to aid in your cat’s urinary health.

But if they are leaving random puddles here and there, especially with a tinge or spot of blood, chances are there is a physical cause.

If your vet has checked a urine sample or done other tests and determined the cat is healthy, you next have to consider a behavioural problem. Most objectionable behaviour has a trigger. Too often, we think of pets as people, adaptable as we are ourselves, and consequently when there is a new arrival to a family, a departure or a move, the cat is expected to take it in stride.

Cats are a little more sensitive than we might think. They are aware of stress in the atmosphere of a household, and they are prone to “nervous” reactions to such things as their favourite human leaving them alone too long, or going away for a period of time. This can result in marking behaviour on the human’s things, the primary targets being the bed or furniture where that person sits.

People sometimes think it is a conscious act of defiance on the part of the cat. This is projecting human reactions onto an animal that just doesn’t think like a human. It is literally marking its territory, hoping that whatever upset it- a move, vacation, or whatever, will go away or resolve itself.

Whether you can pinpoint the cause of your cat’s stress or not, there are some measures to try. First, confine the cat to a room with a cleanable floor, and its litterbox. After a few days, allow it supervised visits to the rest of the house. If you find the marking being done in the daytime when you are gone, confining them only during that time, may be the answer.

Once you have let them out, you can discourage them from returning to the scene of the crime. First, it should be cleaned with a good commercial product that will destroy the scent of what they did.

Some find that cats do not like the feel or sound of walking on tin foil. This is handy for “spot” locations such as behind a chair or other small areas of coverage. There are also “hormonal” based products such as Feliway, which when sprayed on the target area are reported to discourage repeat attacks, but they enjoy varying amounts of success.

For a bed or couch that has been a regular target, you can pour a bottle of lemon concentrate into a bucket, add only enough water to barely immerse an old sheet, and let it soak for several hours. Then hang to dry. Cats don’t normally tolerate the lemon scent. Some owners have found that simply throwing a blanket in the dryer with several lemon scented fabric softener sheets will work.

If you are truly worried about the furniture, put a plastic mattress sheet over the bed, then the scented one on top. For the couch, a very inexpensive plastic tablecloth purchased at a bargain store will do, for under your lemon sheet.

Many times this type of behaviour could have been avoided if the owner had considered that a move or other major upheaval might upset the cat. While we all love our pets, any major life changes generally occupy a lot of our time. Taking some of it to give a little extra attention to the kitty, gives you a break in your daily chores, and gives them great satisfaction and re-assurance.

Occasionally, marking or spraying behaviour calls for drug therapy. Hopefully the cat has been spayed or neutered since they were quite young. This is one way to prevent the hormonal behaviour of spraying by males, and some females in heat. However, it’s not unheard of for a neutered male to start spraying later in life after some life-altering incident.

Books on behaviour that I often refer to, are those by Dr. Nicholas Dodman of Tufts University. He has found the drug Buspar, a human anti-depressant, to be effective in treating spraying. Most times the cat can be weaned off the drug, and the behaviour does not return.

It comes down to a question of how much people care for their pet. Yes, it is expensive to replace furniture and continually wash bedding. But when a cat is trying to tell us something, and goes to those lengths to say it, just a little attention to the problem can solve it without drastic measures.

Medical and care advice on this article is for your knowledge and information only. It is not a substitute for a veterinary appointment or an actual diagnosis for your pet. If you feel your pet has a health or behavior problem please consult your veterinarian immediately for specific advice tailored to your individual pet.

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