You know how life’s great challenges seem to come in groups of a million three? Yeah, it’s been one of those days.
Here, let me start from the beginning . . .
One or possibly both of my cats have been missing the litter box. It could be due to their massive girth, (I swear I’m only feeding them a 1/2 cup per day!) or it might be because they’re cats which inherently means they’re jerks. It wouldn’t be that big of a deal if it was one of the two litter boxes in our unfinished basement. But no, it’s the litter box that sits on our beautifully refinished fir floors.
I finally decided that I would simply remove the litter box and keep all three in the basement. I sprayed the area with an enzymatic cleaner and instructed all family members to shut their bedroom doors as I knew we’d have some pissed off cats. Unfortunately, my husband left our bedroom door open, which we all know is the universal language for “come pee on my bed.”
Unhappy, (but still able to cope) I removed the linens, put them in the wash and attacked the stain with the aforementioned enzymatic spray. I then closed the door and slept on my son’s trundle bed.
And then guess what I did this morning? Yup, I left the bedroom door open for a couple of minutes. However, that’s all it took. I rushed through the spray cleaner routine again, and then ran out the door to drive my son back to school. (I’ll let you imagine my coping at this point. Let’s just say that I may have invented some clever new swear words.)
I get to the car and find . . . close to a half gallon of bird shit dripping down the driver side door and window. (Seriously, it looked like an ostrich might have built a nest in the tree!)
So wet, so gloppy and certainly not what my already frazzled nerves needed.
I decided I would splurge on a car wash on my way out of town as I need to stop for gas either way. Unfortunately the simple drive-through wash was seven bucks! And maybe I’m a time traveller from a less expensive era, but that’s simply too rich for my blood. Luckily, I spied the windshield washer scrub/squeegee thing and a lightbulb went off in my head.
I quickly grabbed the scrubber and got to work. It took a few minutes to clean off the bird crap, but in the end the car was back to its inoffensive exterior and I’d saved myself a decent chunk of cash.
Weirdly, it erased my bad mood. I felt somewhat in control of my life, as if I could actually face whatever the world had in store for me. And when I got back from the five-hour round trip journey to deposit my son back at his dorm, I was able to efficiently shampoo my mattress back to a level of general cleanliness.
Now, about those ostriches.
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
{ 56 comments… read them below or add one }
The birds are eating my mulberries and shit all over my car. As we say down here, I feel ya! We had rain and tornadoes so it was washed away…lol
Those are some vindictive cats, lol!
Some days you’re the windshield.
Some days you’re the bug.
I was told at age 10, after a mockingbird let loose on me under our mulberry tree (yes, Cindy, I grew up in the South!), that being crapped on by a bird is a sign of good luck. Clearly, positive reframing is everything. (Your own story about the scrubber is a more active and less superstition-based example, Katy. Kudos!)
lol
Ha ha! I have heard the same thing about it being good luck. A few years ago a friend made a beautiful coat for me. I was walking to work one day and noticed that people kept looking at me. Of course I proudly though, huh people must like my coat, only to discover once I got to work that a pigeon had pooped on me! That is what people were looking at!!
May one of the cats has a bladder infection. That will sometimes cause them to pee out of the box.
Cats are such jerks. What we put up with to enjoy their company!
We have a yellow-bellied sapsucker in courting mode, which means he looks for the loudest place to tap his beak repeatedly to woo a mate. He has discovered that the metal flashing on our chimney (right over my bedroom) has excellent acoustics, and does it ever! He likes to start about 4:30am.
Cynthia, the same thing happened to me! My bedroom also is right under the chimney. I almost fell out of the bed the first time it happened because I was so startled!
Cat pee is one of those smells that stops me dead in my tracks and sets my blood to a low boil almost immediately. I would have probably lost it long before the bird shit.
As someone who has dealt with these litter box issues of and on for NINETEEN YEARS (my cats are immortal) – I suggest confining the cats to the area where the litter boxes are for a couple days to a week. Typically if thats their only option available, they get back in the habit. Then move to free time only with supervision (when you are home and can make sure the doors are closed). Also tin foil on the beds will deter them from looking/feeling like a swell place to pee.
Ugh on the cats.
Go Katy on the bird poop situation. Here in the Mid-Atlantic region cars that sit out are coated in pollen and even budding/flowering tree debris this time of year. It’s beautiful but a mess. We have a garage which is a tremendous help (small house but a 2-car garage) but I often get bird poop on windows when parked away from home. It is not pretty.
We discovered a nest of skunks under our deck, conveniently located in the fenced in back backyard where our dogs roam free. We discovered the nest AFTER our boxer was sprayed in the face and ran around the house like a mad man rubbing his face on every surface possible. I’m sitting at work smelling like skunk right now.
Mrs. Daisy: Although we’ve never had a nest of skunks under the deck, the second of our two dogs (and the last dog, for this and other reasons) just couldn’t seem to get it through her head that this particular type of black and white “kitty” was a no-no. She got sprayed four times, once while I wasn’t home. DH panicked, and the dog got away from him and ran in the open front door and all over the house, rubbing her sprayed neck on everything as you describe. The house didn’t small “normal” again for the rest of the summer.
Have you figured out why your cats are peeing in places other than the litter box?
Cats can be difficult (mine is!) but he only goes outside the litter box if I’m not cleaning it frequently enough for him (which could still be pretty clean but some are really picky.
Could a urine infection be a potential cause?
Hi Katy
The kitty that is peeing outside the litterbox needs to have a vet check, he may have a urine infection. He needs to be checked anyway are there is something that is changing his behaviour. Cats are extremely good at hiding medical/physical problems.
Totally feel you on the cats are jerks topic! Have you considered buying the hooded litterboxes? May be an expense that’s worth it to you. I had to purchase one for a previous cat because I would literally watch her get over to the side of the litter box and actually contort her body so that she would stand in the litterbox, but poop outside of it. It would have almost been incredible if I hadn’t been so angry!
Cats are uniquely difficult individuals – have also suffered great indignities at their hands. Currently our kids are grown so have litter box in little used den/store-room which seems to work unless cat has determined that we have transgressed, and not lived up to cat standards.
However, dog has decided to occasionally mark the spot up there too! Reasoning: if the cat doesn’t have to go out on a rainy day, then he should be accorded similar privileges. This morning my husband was trying to determine how many pills to administer to Colby Hound. He came upstairs to check with me. When he returned his breakfast had significantly diminished – his plate had contained two eggs and toast. The dog had left him one egg but no toast – (so he wouldn’t notice??) and was sitting innocently under the table.
They went off to work with a promise to stop by the bakery for a chocolate donut with absolutely no additional dog treats.
We pay for their affection, but you just can’t put a price on love.
Ok, I’m a cat behaviorist, and firstly, the cats are NOT being vindictive. People love to anthropomorphize negative cats behaviors to some sort of anger/retaliation/etc. If this is a sudden change in behavior, take the one(s) who are not using the litter box to the vet ASAP. Sudden changes like that, especially in older cats is often a symptom of a medical issue. Secondly, if you don’t have at least two litter boxes per level of house, no wonder the cats are finding alternative pee locations. Cats often have preferred litter boxes and can be territorial over them. Also–if all three litter boxes are in one general area, that basically counts as one litter box to a cat. Finally, the enzymatic cleaners are often not all that great. Take a black light to those areas, and if anything fluoresces, you still have pee. Just because you can’t smell the pee doesn’t mean your cat cannot still smell it and continue to soil that area.
I’m glad that a behaviorist chimed in – cats are not inherently vindictive.
I haven’t been able to afford to have a behaviorist come check out my cat yet (already took her to the vet), but she consistently pees outside the litterbox. Thankfully, it’s always in the same spot, so I found a fairly frugal and environmentally friendly solution for in the meantime: washable pee pads! The kind that are made for humans were $20 for a pack of 4 on Amazon and very sturdy and absorbent!
Here’s a link, for anyone who’s interested:
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01JAAVHUC/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1
Does that area have carpet? If so, it’s nearly impossible to get cat pee fully out of carpet and pad, so I usually suggest replacing it or taking out carpeting all together. Have you tried a litter box in that location? That’s another option. My guess is that the urine is still there, so she keeps smelling it and re-soiling the area. But it seems like you’ve found a solution–do whatever works when it comes to cats 🙂
The place where she pees is literally right next to the litter box, and against the wall, actually. We’ve used some 3M adhesive hooks and some binder clips to “mount” the washable, water proof pee pad in the wall area where she pees.
And then there’s another washable waterproof pad underneath that one, to extend out a little farther underneath. And then there’s another one underneath the litter box itself, as she doesn’t squat at all when she pees, and often even when she goes INTO the litter box, the pee itself actually gets outside of the litter box. So there are a total of three washable pee pads in this area, all together.
Often, she pees in the outside-box, against-the-wall spot, when the litter box has been used (perhaps she’s just really fussy and really wants a 100% CLEAN litter box, all the time?), but there are also times where the litter box has JUST been cleaned and she still does it. And to answer your other question, this is all taking place on a linoleum floor, in the bathroom.
We added additional litter boxes throughout the house in “socially significant” areas, but she still seems to be only interested in the bathroom. She also will sometimes jump into the bath tub and just pee in the bath tub (if it’s not wet). I’m completely fine with her doing this, as we have a removable shower head, and it’s very easy to clean up.
I have determined that she may not like stepping on our particular litter (wood pellets for a pellet stove) – which is not surprising, as it’s not as comfortable for the paws. But, I’ve noticed that when I reduce the amount of wood pellets in the box, such that she can step on the smooth, plastic surface of the box itself, she seems more consistent about peeing inside the litter box.
So maybe the theme here, is that she’d rather not step on any litter at all – the theme seems to be smooth, hard surfaces: 1) linoleum floor, 2) bath tub surface, 3) smooth plastic interior of litterbox.
Oh, and – we had also tried moving the litter box around to get it into the spot where she was peeing outside of it – but that didn’t stop the behavior, either. I still regularly found cat pee on the linoleum, plus – the litter box in that exact spot was blocking our access to the human toilet. 🙂
She doesn’t seem to mind the washable pee pads being in that spot next to our toilet, and I don’t mind washing them. As long as I’m not scrubbing cat pee off the linoleum, I’m happy. I actually think that the washable pee pads are even a little less wasteful than kitty litter.
I think you hit the nail on the head with the pellet issue. Most cats prefer clumping litters. Also, you can make a high sided litter box from a plastic tub. All you do is just cut a doorway in it. I know a lot of people who do this since a lot of cats don’t squat low enough to get it in traditional litter pans. You can try putting one litter box with traditional cat litter next to the one with the pellets and see if there is a preference. Also, it’s often good to have two litter boxes side by side as many cats prefer to urinate in one and defecate in another. Best of luck with this issue 🙂
THANK YOU!
I get irritated to no end reading “my cat is a jerk” when really what is meant is “they are doing something that bothers me and I don’t care to really explore what is at hand, but rather will give them human traits like spoiled kids.”
I know I sound bitchy when I put it that way, but I see it all too often (in many places) and it’s just upsetting to me.
I have 8 cats and have had many more over the last 25 years, and there’s one thing that I have learned, when this sort of thing happens, it’s not the cat being a jerk. There’s some issue at hand.
Consider if you had three bathrooms– would you want all of them downstairs where you had to travel to that place? Especially if you have had a box upstairs? Doesn’t that seem unfair? Suddenly your toilet is gone and moved farther away for reasons you don’t understand? Might you not express your self in a way that could be understood?
As to going outside the box– get a bigger box. Some cats need larger boxes. Some need covered boxes.
I have 8 cats, 8 boxes, varying sizes, different rooms, different amounts of litter in some, some are covered, some are not. I’ve taken them into my home and care for them and one thing I have learned is– when they make a mess or pee on something (or poo) it’s not just to be hateful. There’s some underlying reason. I had a cat who peed on my bed for months until I figured out that one of the other cats was growling at him any time he came in the room–it stressed him out and caused bladder irritation. He was telling me he was in pain the only way he could, by peeing on my bed.
I encourage you to move a box upstairs so the cats don’t have to travel all over the house to go pee. Just get a bigger box.
Thank you for expressing a viewpoint that shows empathy to the cats. They are sentient creatures with emotions, and I think they deserve empathy – especially if we are going to choose to take care of them. They usually don’t get to choose their caretakers. 🙂
It’s really the only thing I’ve ever been bothered by when reading this blog– the consistent claim that the cat is a jerk for behaving in ways that express some sort of problem.
I love my cats and have two that are…well, challenging. One had UTIs so bad he had to have his penis removed (he would have died otherwise) and another had months of parasites before we adopted him so that he now has IBS. There are always pee and poo issues here and I have often just sat and cried at how hard it is to understand what they need me to do for them so they don’t engage in behavior that leads to peeing and pooing outside the boxes. But, they aren’t doing it to me on purpose….and I just can’t figure how someone can go “Well, I’ve got litterboxes on one story of my house and the cats don’t travel down (or up) to it so they must be lazy assholes!” Well, if you had one toilet in a three story house and your toddler peed in the floor would you think he really had to go or he was an asshole?
Anyway, I don’t mean to be really cranky about this, but it makes me upset that people have pets and don’t seem to bother about what’s best for them but rather what’s best for the decor.
Thank you for posting this. I have 6 cats and they only go outside the box if there’s a medical issue. Or we miss morning scooping. We’re the jerks in that case!
When our older cat started going outside of the litter box, I tried different kinds of litter and found that Dr. Elsey’s Cat Attract made a world of difference. It’s pricy (but each box/bag usually has a coupon for $1 off the next purchase). However, it actually works.
I had a cat years ago that liked peeing on my bed. She would pee on my bed the minute I left the house — I had to keep my bedroom door closed, and if I forgot and doubled back, it was usually too late. No medical issues, but she trained us to keep the door closed until we lost her.
One time when we were out of town our cat got itself locked into our bedroom and had gone all over the bed multiple times. This is why we have multiple mattress pads on there now. One right under the sheets and then one under the mattress pad. I don’t want to risk the mattress ever getting ruined from another situation like this!
We had one cat pee on beds, sofa, laundry, bath mats, etc. Yhe only thing that worked (after UTI was ruled out by the vet) was Dr. Elsey’s Cat attract cat litter. It is pricey but I found good deals on ebay. Now I just buy the Cat attract litter additive and use it on regular litter. No more out of litterbox pees at all.
I love your blog but I never comment. Funny how I read this for ‘simple living’ advice but my first comment is about a cat!
I have had many cats over the years and their misuse of the litter box has never been for medical reasons per se-usually they were just making a point about their displeasure with something. However, I started finding a puddle of pee UNDER the litter box which was impossible. I finally figured out that my elderly cat was unable to squat so when he peed standing up, the stream aimed perfectly at the meeting of the box and its lid which ran under the lip and onto the floor underneath! Even on a high-walled box! Disposable puppy pads were my salvation! My sweetie has since passed but I still use the pads under my box to protect my floor just in case my remaining fur baby starts to have problems, too.
I have an elderly cat with the same issue. He just can’t squat in the the litter like he used to and misses the box almost every time. I hate to use disposable puppy pads, but the old bath mats/rugs I was using smelled so horrible after several uses/washes that we couldn’t tolerate it anymore. I had to throw them out and go with the disposable pads. He also decided for the first time ever to pee on my Christmas tree skirt this year. He has since peed on the same spot on several occasions and I decided to put a 2nd litter box there (one on each level now). I’m afraid when he’s gone I’m going to have to replace the carpet in that entire room, despite all of the enzymatic sprays I’ve used to get rid of the smell. Who knows how long he was doing it before I discovered it! He’s had his senior cat vet check and all is in order so I know it’s not medical….probably just age in my case (we believe he’s 16 yrs old-adopted as an adult so don’t know true age).
Oh that seriously SUCKS! :-/
You have my sympathy, Katy!
Geez, I’m glad our cat is outdoors.
ME, too! I put my cat outside a few months ago and we are both are so much happier. The vet check turned up nothing and no matter how clean I kept the box, she still peed on things like carpet, bed, furniture,etc. I got some comments about how I shouldn’t have put her outside but I just had to. I can’t have my kids smelling like cat urine. She would pee even on fresh laundry!
Vickie and Jennifer: You’ve probably already heard from other folks about the hazard outdoor cats pose to birds, so I’ll won’t dwell on that issue. But do think about the hazard that roaming dogs, foxes, and coyotes may pose to the cats. We’ve got all three in our area.
I have never seen my cat leave my yard since we put her out. She basically stays near the front door. There are so many dogs/cats roaming in our neighborhood that the dogs are practically seem de-sensitized to the desire to hurt a cat. It’s kinda like they are friends. I do live on a peninsula so she is surrounded by water which keeps lots of animals out of the immediate area, kinda like a fence. I really tried to keep her indoors. When I knew I couldn’t do it any longer my kids were so upset at thought of getting rid of her. I watch her often and she doesn’t seem interested in birds even when they walk right beside her. Of course, I know most cats generally do kill birds so I will keep this in mind.
A. Marie – We live on 30 acres and she’s a barn cat. She was probably 6 months old when she showed up outside. I think she’s a little over a year old now. (We regularly get animals dumped out in our rural community).
I’ve no clue how old she was when she was dropped off, but she managed to keep herself alive. She’s a great hunter. I’ve seen her with voles and mice. I took her to the vet last year, after she claimed us, and got her spade and all her vaccinations. I keep flea/tick meds on her and feed her 2x a day, but I don’t over feed her. She’s very smart. She stays in the loafing shed at night, or under our house. She has all her claws – so she can climb trees in an instant and defend herself if needed.
I’m highly allergic to cat hair and she’s happy outside. She doesn’t roam far. Over the years we’ve had 5 cats and they’ve all lived to be well over 10 years old. The oldest one lived to 20 – they were all outdoor cats.
We may lose a bird occasionally, but not often. We live in the middle of the woods, so the birds are pretty vigilant and have plenty of trees and bushes to fly to, if the cat’s on the prowl.
Thanks for the laugh. S**T Happens!
Seriously, my 19-year old, diabetic kitty with failing eyesight had trouble as he got older. He would make it to the bathroom where his box was kept, but not always into the box itself. I bought a drop cloth at the hardware store, put doggie piddle pads on top of drop cloth, and then the litter box on top of that. It was not very NCA, but times like these call for such measures.
He was able to live out his years in comfort and I got to keep my sanity.
Another voice for having the vet check out the offender. I’ve been through ALL the litter box issues with my cat. He was finally diagnosed as being diabetic.
I have 2 male cats that never have any problems with the litter box.
I have 1 little female cat that always has problems. She is a very anxious creature
and is easily upset by anything. She was the worst when I was gone for a week
and nobody realized she was peeing on the couch, even though they were sitting
on that couch everyday. She loves the Thunder Shirt and it seems to help and my vet told me about some plug-ins that release non-toxic calming pheromomes but I haven’t tried
them yet. Maybe your cat(s) haven’t adjusted to the college dynamics of your household.
I use a product called Feliway for car travel. My cat would get sick, pee and poop, all in a 3 mile drive! Now he is calm and quiet and not a single accident. I use the wipes version. I simply use one wipe and go over the inside of his carrier and blanket. It’s been a lifesaver. He is now a senior on medications and I didn’t want to leave him behind with neighbors so I brought him to our vacation property with us last month (2 hour drive) and he did great! I highly recommend it.
My cat used to pee in my bed and I could not figure out why, then I realized she had kidney disease. Your cat isn’t a “jerk” she is probably sick, take her to the vet.
Can’t she be both? 😉
I think she certainly can be both. I’m reading about how these behaviours are ‘normal/acceptable/health issues/a cry for help’, and it makes me realise just how much of a dog person I am. Good luck with getting your household back to your acceptable ‘normal’!
SOMETIMES A CERTAIN BRAND OF LITTER IRRITATES THEM & THEY WON’T GO IN THE BOX- IHAD ONE CAT THAT HAD HIS SPECIAL BOX W/ SHREDDED PAPER FOR PEE PEE & HE LIKED TO DO HIS #2 PERFECTLY IN THE CENTER OF NEWSPAPER LAID NEXT TO THE TOILET BOWL- HE ALSO LIKED TO PEE OVER DRAINS IN SINKS & EVEN THE TUB & TAUGHT 2 OTHER CATS THE SAME TRICK. THEN WHEN I MOVED TO TN HE TAUGHT MY BF’S CAT THE SAME TRICK. SOME WANT THEIR OWN TOILET BOWL!
We’ve never dealt with inappropriate peeing but I do know they’ll return to a spot just because it smells like pee so that cleaner is a good idea. As for why…that’s typically because a cat is sick (pooping outside the box is behavior-related, like they’re upset). They usually do it when they associate the box with pain like urinary crystals or a uti. Either way if it’s not resolved soon a trip to the vet (never frugal! Ugh) might be a good idea.
I don’t know if I should laugh or cry. Cat pee! I have a 15 yr old girl that pee’s next to the box! Nothing wrong with her physically, just being an ass! I finally took my rubber mat out of my suv, and she can see on that. Though, i will be using lots of paper towels keep it cleaned up. I’m not a cat person. I tell her (zelda) that she’s my one and only cat, and if I peed everywhere, I’d hope no one would put me down
Sorry, I read half your comment before I realised you were still talking about your kitty. The pictures in my head… hilarious…
Pet food manufacturers have been changing their mixes on dry food, increasing % of carbs to proteins. Since cats need a certain # grams of their diet to be protein, they will eat until they get that amount, whether a little or a lot of total food. Check out amount of protein/serving on their food. You may have to change brand. Gail
Agreed! I’m pretty much over car washes. In fact, I detailed our car myself yesterday. 🙂 I also have a jerkface cat, and I’ve faced similar litter box issues. I finally got him a litter box with a top that fastens. It’s been pretty good. 🙂
We’re dog people and I’m allergic to cats but the one I have frequent contact with at a friend’s gets in a snit just like humans do and as such, she punishes the humans. I’ve actually seen the facial expression change if a human moves her from a chair (they keep one covered if I’m coming over and of course that’s where she wants to be) and she retaliates. I guess her thought process is that bodily functions and edging breakable items off tables are her only power.
So, yes, cats can simply be jerks without behavior or medical issues. Katy seems pretty involved in her animals lives and given her chosen profession, I’m guessing she’s aware of when/if it’s time to go to the vet.
Katy,
I agree with using a higher sided litter box but we have switched to silica gel crystal cat litter. Store brand is $9 for 8 pounds. I realize that must seem expensive. However, we have 4 indoor cats and we use 1 bag per month. The silica absorbs all of the urine and dries out the fecal material overnight. I scoop the litter 2 to 4 times a week and there is NO SMELL!!!! and all I am removing is the fecal material. Once a month I empty the litter and start over.
After 6 years working in a veterinary clinic I can tell you that cats will often not use a litter box or go just beside it if they feel it is not clean enough to use, (In the worst of cases they will throw up their food to avoid the “dirty” litter box).
If you haven’t had them checked I would suggest that you have the cats checked for a urinary tract infection. They can develop for what appears to be no reason (although obesity can be a trigger). Often due to this we see cats start to urinate where they never have in the past. If that is the case once the infection is cleared up they go back to using the litter box like normal.
Good Luck.
Regarding the mattress, I suggest that the next time you purchase a new mattress for your bed you invest in one of the higher end mattress protectors. Mine cost about $100, not a small price certainly, but worth every penny!!! My dog and others have had accidents on my bed, and all I have to do is remove the bedding for washing. The mattress is always unharmed… And it is guaranteed to work. I purchased it at Macy’s with the mattress and foundation, they stand by their products. I remembered what my old mattress looked like when it was put to the curb when we moved from NJ a few years ago, it was downright embarrassing, what with all of the urine stains from my dogs from puppy years through their old age problems. I knew that I had to make that purchase! LOL
Have you tried a bigger litter box? Most boxes explicitly sold fat cats are small for larger builds (I imagine it must feel like always having to go in a port-a-John.) I used to recommend getting a cheap plastic storage tub and cutting a hole in the side. It allows you to get a bigger box with high sides. Its not pretty but it’s better than piss I’m the bed.
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