Peeing outside the litter box

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Wendy&Tiggy(GA)

Wendy&Tiggy(GA)

Member Since 2011
For the last few months Bailey has been peeing outside the litter box. Its not like he is going elsewhere. What he does is get into the box so all four paws are in but he stands so close to the edge that when he pees, it shoots out almost horizontally onto the floor in front of the box.

He won't go into covered boxes or ones that are too deep - doesn't like to step over a high edge as he is old and arthritic.

Any ideas? We have tried lining the floor with pee pads in front but that doesn't solve the problem - just makes it a little easier to clean.
 
filled with litter? We tried a big tray and he still would only go in as far as he had to then pee outside it. We could put a litter box in the middle of a tray but then we get a litter box surrounded by a moat of pee..
 
I actually use the bottom half of a plastic dog kennel with a cement mixing tray inside. I put some litter in the moat to absorb any overspray.
 
@Wendy&Tiggy Have you had a urinalysis ran on him? I ask because I have a female cat that started doing this same thing and come to find out she had bladder stones and crystals. Took her forever to get stop doing it once we got her all cleared up. She is 17 now and I no longer have to keep pee pads around her box. She still does squat all the way down since she has arthritis but it is far enough it does not go over. Also I now have a male that is doing this off and on, I took him in Tuesday and all though he does not have a UTI he had lots of sediment (or as the vet said "stuff") in his urine. We have put him on antibiotics just to be on the save side.

Just a suggestion, any time I have a cat that changes their peeing habits they get taken to the vet for a urinalysis.
 
@Nancey - wow, this is the first time i've heard of someone else with this issue. I always know when my Thai's gallbladder stones are acting up because she will pee outside the litter box!

She also has elevator butt and will start standing before she is finished peeing so it goes all over the place. I learned to put a plastic bag halfway over the box so when she climbs in to pee, her tail stays under the bag which prevents her from lifting up before she is finished. Has worked pretty well for us!
 
@Thaiger & Katie - :D LOL My kitty still has a little of the elevator butt going on, she will pee about halfway up the box off an on, but that is about it. I have not heard of or thought about putting a bag over the box, that is a GREAT idea. I have dealt with my kitty peeing over the edge and using pee pads for several years after her surgery. I am so grateful she finally past all that, but like you I know when she starts doing it I need to take her to the vet. We actually run urinalysis on her at all her checkups just to be sure nothing is creeping up on us, but ever since they have all been put on wet food she has been clean and her PH is great.

I just thought of something else I did that cut down on her peeing out of the at least one box. I bought a clear storage box that narrow but long, so when she walked in it she had to make a turn to get her butt in the box to keep her head from hitting the other side of the box. That was the only box she did not pee out of, however I could not change them all over as I had bigger cats that did not like that box all that well. I had one other big, tall, clear storage box that I cut the hole in the end, at least the only place she could pee out was the front on the pee pad. I learned early on if you use storage boxes with multiple cats they have to be clear boxes as that way they can see if someone is coming at them :)
 
Jane has always done this. I've tried every little box I could find, somehow her butt manages to hang off the side no matter what. There is a giant corner box that might help you. Or maybe the puppy pad holder under the box with the pads to prevent the floor from getting wet. For the longest time I just cleaned the floor like twice a day, then I found puppy pads, and I think that's the best we get. Cleaning is pretty easy now.

My ex roommate suggested a plastic tote bin with a hole cut out the top and litterbox inside, but jane would never go for something like that, even when young.
 
Wendy&Tiggy said:
For the last few months Bailey has been peeing outside the litter box. Its not like he is going elsewhere. What he does is get into the box so all four paws are in but he stands so close to the edge that when he pees, it shoots out almost horizontally onto the floor in front of the box.

He won't go into covered boxes or ones that are too deep - doesn't like to step over a high edge as he is old and arthritic.

Any ideas? We have tried lining the floor with pee pads in front but that doesn't solve the problem - just makes it a little easier to clean.
Click to expand...
 
Sorry, I don't have much of a suggestion, but can commiserate. Lulu does the same since I got some shallower litter boxes for her: all four paws in the box with bum hanging just outside the target area. Not fun with the diarrhea she's been having. I have paper towels all around, makes it easier to clean up, but that's about it. Sometimes, there's a mess down the side of the litter box, making for more frequent cleaning and disinfecting of the box itself. Sigh...
 
I had same issue with my big boy (16lbs) so did some online research, and a clear plastic storage bin works great! Its tall enough for the pee to stay in while still having enough space and to see who's coming. My boyfriend cut a hole in one side for entry, and sanded the rough spots. Clean and fill with litter. Worked great. I will try to post a pic but I am still figuring out how to get my pics on here.
Oh, by the way, I now use a different litter that is similar to the Worlds Best Litter. I use poultry feed, extra egg, crumble. Much cheaper and works good. Still clumps, although you have to wait a few to allow the urine to clump, so its not perfect but much cheaper. I go to my local farm animal feed store. 50 pounds here is $15, while the other cat litter is about $8 for 4-8lbs. I use my old cat litter buckets to pour the bag into.
Hope its going better with ur kids.
 
We have ended up using under bed storage totes. We just take the top off and fill with litter. The edge is only a couple inches high and it gives them room to move around in.
Tennessee had a serious case of elevator butt at one point, but now he is better. My civie, Quall, is the one with elevator butt these days- so we put pee pads all around the box, and even have one taped to the wall where he has gone before.
 
I know that my issues may not be the same as yours but with my 3 legged little fur-baby, I had issues with the litter box itself. And then after I figured that out, I had issues with the type of litter and the placement of the litter. I came to find out that she was extremely picky on what she used, what litter and where it was. Sometimes I think that she's more picky than I am, on certain matters.

If you'd like, check out my blog for all the things that we went through - http://canfemalecatsspray.com
 
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