Cat Urination Blues
There are many reasons why cats will urinate outside of the litter box. This post is not going to talk about the reasons so much as trying to address the importance of seeking help early in the process.
The likelihood of a cat inappropriately urinating is about 10% for each cat that you own. So that means if you have three cats there is a 30% chance, five cats 50% chance and 10 cats 100% chance that someone will not be using the litter box. The duration of the problem also has a lot to do with the chance of being able to fix the problem. If the problem has been going on one month or less there is a good chance that we can fix the inappropriate elimination. If the problem has been taking place for 3 months, it is possible to help. If the problem has been persisting for 6 months or more, it is almost impossible to resolve the problem 100%.
When you go see the veterinarian, your visit will include a complete history--so plan on answering a lot of questions--and a physical exam. This is so that the veterinarian has a better chance of determining the triggering event. To help decide if the problem is medical or behavioral your veterinarian may recommend a complete diagnostic work-up that can include blood work, urinalysis with a urine culture (to look for infection), x-rays, and possibly an ultrasound of the bladder. Once the work up is complete the veterinarian will be able to make a treatment plan for your cat. This is not something that will get better overnight. Our goal is always to stop the inappropriate behavior as soon as possible. In order to do that you may go home with a long list of things to do to start the process.
To help your cat your veterinarian may prescribe/recommend several different things for you to do at once. He/she will address any medical problems as well as give you tips on how to change the litter box, household issues, and behavior problems. One litter box tip to try and prevent inappropriate urination in a multi-cat household is to make sure that you have one litter box for every cat that you own plus an extra one and keep all of them very clean. Most importantly, if you are having a problem with your cat’s urination behavior see your vet right away! The longer you wait the less likely that the problem will be able to be resolved.
Photo of a litterbox loving cat from Laruen Paulsen's photostream.
--Dr. Wohlwend
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Dr. Wohlwend is a small animal veterinarian in Renton, WA and a regular contributor to Wag Reflex.
mrlogical on July 01, 2009 at 12:56 PM
"The likelihood of a cat inappropriately urinating is about 10% for each cat that you own. So that means if you have three cats there is a 30% chance, five cats 50% chance and 10 cats 100% chance that someone will not be using the litter box."
You may know about cats, but you're very wrong about how probability works. Under your logic, because 1 coin has a 50% chance of landing on heads if I flip it, if I have 2 coins there is a 100% chance that one will land on heads if I flip them both, and if I have 10 coins there will be a 500% chance that one will land on heads. Yet if you test this on your own I'm sure you will find that this is not the case.
Annonymous on July 01, 2009 at 01:03 PM
What does that statistic even mean? 10% of all cats? 10% of the cat's lifetime? 10% chance every time it pees? While I would like to agree with your advice, you seem to have a gross misunderstanding of statistics.
Anon on July 02, 2009 at 02:28 PM
I'm also disturbed by the author's non-understanding of probability. For example, around 50% of babies born are boys. But if you have two kids, that doesn't mean that you definitely have a boy! The real probabilities are: 1 cat 10% chance, 3 cats 27% chance, 5 cats 41% chance, and 10 cats 65% chance.
Anon on July 02, 2009 at 02:54 PM
Sorry, upon re-reading my previous comment, I realize that it sounds harsher than I intended. Apart from the goof-up on statistics, I found Dr. Wohlwend's post quite informative, although I personally haven't had this problem with my cat.
Spanno on July 02, 2009 at 03:37 PM
Maybe you haven't noticed the problem since it affects only 10% of the cat. :)
change management on October 23, 2009 at 06:03 AM
I think your reviews are extremely well done and your choice of language makes them even more interesting. An occasional bit of irony or an elegant twist in the phrase is a welcome relief.
joesen on December 14, 2010 at 09:35 PM
There are many reasons why cats will urinate outside of the litter box. This post is not going to talk about the reasons so much as trying to address the importance of seeking help early in the process.