There is not a week that goes by that someone does not call me with, “Help! My cat is peeing and pooping out side the litter box!”  These cats do their excretions on piles of clothing, the kitchen counter, stovetops, the toaster, the bathroom sink, walls, in shoes, on paintings, and even on computer keyboards.  Just to name a few places.

This can be going on for days or for years and believe it or not after a few adjustments on the human’s part and / or a communication with me the behavior stops.  I have heard almost every reason for why a cat pees and poops outside the litterbox.

From a physical problem like a urinary track or kidney infection to

“I want my person to watch TV with me more (Dancing with the stars to be exact)”,

“I just want my person to say hello to me when they come home.” “I am worried about my persons health they need to go to the doctor and he is not listening to me.”

“I hate my persons new spouse please tell her to get rid of him.”

Because of this problem I have seen humans dump cats in a strange neighborhood, put them to sleep, find them a new home, make them outdoor only cats or send them to a rescue organization.

Here are the top eleven quick fixes for this problem. Please give your cat a few weeks to change their behavior. If you do these things there is a high probability that your cat may stop.

1. Take your cat to the vet to rule out urinary tract infection and kidney problems.  These cats pee where they sleep, on cold surfaces like tile or in the tub, rugs and on clothing.  Feed your cat high-quality food so they do not get these problems.

2. Take the top off the litter box.  Tops lock in the smell of cat pee and disturb your cat’s senses.  Have the litter box in a well-ventilated location.

3. Use “World’s Best Cat Litter”.  It is dust free.  Many cats have a hard time breathing in the dust that is created by clay litter.

4. Clean the litter box often.  Cats are neat freaks and hate to walk on their own poop and pee.

5. Put out multiple boxes.  Have a litter box for each cat.  They don’t like to share or they use one for urine and one for poop.  If you have a large house or two stories put boxes in several locations.  Especially for the very young and the very old.

6. Experiment with the depth of the litter.  Older cats with hip and knee problems like to have less litter so that their joints don’t have to work so hard when they squat.

7. Experiment with the size of the litterbox.  Some older cats have a hard time stepping into a litterbox where the sides are tall.  Creating a ramp or another step into the box helps.

8. Make sure litterbox is not touching a wall.  Some cats like to stand on the side so they need space around the box.

9. Have at least a 15 min period during the day, at the same time everyday, that you give your cat your undivided attention.  (Pet, brush, play, talk to, give treats, look at, listen to).

10.   If you cat is only peeing when a certain person is coming over, get rid of that person.  From my experience concerning this issue, cats are usually 98% of the time a good judge of character.

11.  Most important:  Explain to your cat, “When you pee & poop outside the litterbox it makes me upset.  Please pee and poop in the litterbox.  I am trying to figure out what is wrong.  Can you give me another sign to show me what is wrong?”  Then watch your cat closely.  Watch how they walk.  Are they sore around their hip area (kidneys)?  Do they strain to pee? Watch with no judgments and you may figure out just how to correct the problem.  Often cats use this behavior to communicate that they want to tell you something.