Animal Welfare Professionals

We have a cat in our care who has been returned numerous times for peeing outside the box.  We have tried placing her in different types of households to see if it was stress based.  Her last home was with a single woman in an apartment - very quiet.  She still urinated outside the box.  

This cat is an 8 year old spayed female who can be slightly timid.  She is very sweet.  Our vet did a write up on interstitial cystitis, stress, and environmental enrichment when we adopted her out the last time.

Does anyone have any ideas on placement for a kitty like this?  

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Hi Sherri,

Have you done a urinalysis on her?  Is she urinating small amounts and frequently (which could potentially be interestitial cystitis) or is she urinating normal amounts, but out of the box?  

The first step is being as confident as you can in what you are dealing with in terms of a diagnosis. 

Sheila

Sheila D'Arpino, DVM, DACVB

Maddie's Fund

Yes, we have done several UA's on her over time.  She urinates normal amounts.  She will use her box in her enclosure, of course.   

Hi Sherri,

Based on what you are describing, it doesn't sound like she has interstitial cystitis, and that this is a behavior issue. Although one more question...does she have mobility problems or arthritis? Next steps would be to do things like a litter box trial... where you get her into foster and keep her in a room where she is offered several different types of litter (e.g, clumping, nonclumping, other type).  After that is done, i'd try a covered vs an uncovered box to see if she has a preference for one vs the other.  Once you know her preferences, i'd confine her to one room with that litter and box combo, and see how she does. If after a week she is still using the box, i'd increase her access to the home.  If she is super fearful, i'd be sure to have multiple boxes around the home to make sure she doesn't have to travel a long distance to get to a box.  I'd also consider things like a lavender oil diffuser or feliway. There is a lot you can do to help this kitty, so don't give up, and stay in touch

Sheila 

And one thing I would add: try offering an empty box or a box with a puppy pad as part of that trial. If you know where in relation to the litter box she tends to eliminate, you might be able to discern whether it's something about the litter box itself, or a particular texture she prefers. If she tends to urinate right outside the litter box, that tells you that there is something about the box itself that is likely aversive to her. Also, I've found that longhaired cats can be more particular about substrate and often like the Dr. Elsey's longhaired litter, or a puppy pad to eliminate on.

@Sherri  any update on this cat??

Hi Sherry,

I know working cat programs can be controversial, so this may not be a welcome suggestion, but we have placed a few kitties like this in outdoor homes with good results. Obviously since she's 8 years old her history and personality would have to be taken into consideration to see whether or not it would be a viable solution for her specifically, but if you've eliminated a medical cause and tried different home environments/litter/boxes etc., it may not be a fixable issue. We had a cat (admittedly younger) who wouldn't use a box no matter what we did, and had a family apply for a working cat because the wife and daughter love cats but the husband is allergic, so they can't have indoor cats. Harley was a perfect solution for everyone, since they got a sweet cat to love on and Harley (now Bonnie Princess Flower thanks to the five-year-old's unique imagination!) was placed in a loving family instead of living out the rest of her life in our no-kill sanctuary. I know it's not the right solution for every cat, but thought I would share our experience in case it was helpful. 

Hi all - echoing what EBlade just shared, we recently placed a hard to adopt kitty (behavioral issues that went from super sweet and lovable to attack cat in 0.5 seconds where he was biting people) in a similar barn cat program.  This was our first placement into a barn cat program and it was not an easy decision.  However, we did our homework, including going to the location and helping the owner create a safe space and we worked with the family for months making sure it was the right fit for them and for our kitty.  The alternative was this kitty would be locked up in my office for probably the rest of his life (hard to adopt a kitty that bites) and we knew that was not fair for him.   Check into some of the programs in your area, you might just find a good place for her.