The symptom of frequent urination (pollakiuria) in cats almost always indicates health problems, some of which can be easily corrected and treated, but there are others that lead to the death of the animal. If you notice that your cat is peeing frequently , and the norm is to urinate up to three times a day, then you need to urgently pick up the phone and seek advice from a veterinarian. It is worth knowing what reasons are hidden behind the cat’s frequent trips to the toilet and providing timely help to the animal.
Why does the cat pee anywhere?
If we are talking about a kitten, then most likely he is not yet accustomed to the tray. If an adult cat gets into the habit of shitting on the bed or carpet, you need to look for the reasons for such changes in behavior not only in the lack of education.
Reasons for going to the toilet in the wrong place may include:
- age-related changes;
- health problems;
- stressful situations;
- sexual instincts;
- complaints about the tray;
- dissatisfaction with the filler;
- lack of cleanliness in the tray;
- lack of attention from the owners;
- rejection of the place where the pot is installed;
- conflicts with other pets living in the house;
- radical change of environment (renovation, moving or purchasing new furniture).
On a note. If a cat starts peeing anywhere, there is no need to try to explain its behavior from the point of view of human logic. Sometimes this is the only way a pet can express his protest and show that something is bothering him.
The cat pees often: treatment
In this case, it is not necessary to treat the symptom itself, but to look for the original source of the problem and deal directly with its elimination.
What will help your pet get rid of frequent urination should be decided by your tandem with the treating veterinarian; without a doctor you will not make the correct diagnosis and will lose valuable time.
- If you contact a veterinarian with this problem, he may prescribe the following tests and examinations:
- Blood tests.
- Urine tests.
- Ultrasound.
- X-ray.
- For blood glucose levels.
- For the presence of acetone.
If a cat is diagnosed with cystitis, the doctor will prescribe a course of antibiotics, bladder lavage, antispasmodics, and a diuretic.
If a cat is diagnosed with urolithiasis, then it is necessary to ensure the free flow of urine, for which a catheter is inserted under general anesthesia. Surgery to remove bladder stones and intensive symptomatic treatment are often required. Under no circumstances should you try to treat this disease yourself, as only specialists will save your furry pet from death!
If your pet has diabetes, doctors will determine what type it is and prescribe appropriate treatment. You may need to inject your cat with insulin. If you have type 2 diabetes, which is insulin-independent, a special diet, weight loss for obesity, and medications to improve pancreatic function will help.
If the cat is simply marking its territory, then this condition does not require special treatment, since it is not pathological. You may choose to have the animal neutered, after which the behavior usually goes away.
If the cause of frequent urination is stress, try to eliminate its cause. However, to make sure that the animal is truly healthy, take it to the vet.
How to stop a cat from pooping in the wrong place
If a cat stops going to the litter box, it needs to be weaned off littering anywhere as soon as possible. Otherwise, soon the whole house will be saturated with the pungent smell of animal excrement. And in order to quickly achieve the desired result, methods of influencing your pet must be chosen taking into account the reasons for its behavior.
Change tray or filler
If your cat starts pooping everywhere, it may be that she has complaints about the configuration or dimensions of the litter box. In this case, the pot will have to be replaced with another model. Many owners forget that kittens grow quickly and no longer fit into the old tray. In this case, the cat begins to pee in the wrong place, and the problem can only be solved by selecting a pot of the appropriate size.
Also, when buying a toilet for your pet, you need to pay attention to the height of the sides of the model you like.
Boxes with too high walls are not suitable for kittens and older cats, and large adult cats need deeper trays. Important! When purchasing a tray, you should pay attention to the quality of the materials from which it is made. So that the cat does not shit in the wrong place and regularly goes to the potty, it must be made from expensive raw materials. Products made from low-quality plastic have a pungent odor that repels animals.
To stop a cat from shitting in the wrong place, she needs to choose a suitable litter. If, instead of the usual clumping option, wood or mineral granules were poured into the tray, the animal may refuse to use the tray. In this case, you can stop him from crapping in the corners by simply returning the original filler.
On a note. If a kitten appears in the house, whose preferences are not yet known, you need to try different filler options, including regular sand and torn paper. Sometimes it happens that your pet prefers to use an empty potty with a net.
Eliminate stress
If a cat begins to shit in the wrong place due to stress, you need to be patient and not punish it. It is important that the pet feels safe with its owner.
To improve your emotional state, you can allow your cat to sleep closer to you. It may happen that after adaptation, the pet begins to go to the litter box on its own. But the owner can speed up this process by treating the corner in which the shit is pooped with repellents.
Visit a veterinarian
If a litter box-trained cat begins to shit in the wrong place, you need to check if he has any health problems. Perhaps the pet is sick and in this way is trying to communicate that it needs help. Many pathologies of the urinary system and digestive tract are accompanied by a frequent urge to defecate and severe pain.
In this case, it is impossible to wean a cat from shitting in the wrong place using educational methods. The animal needs to be shown to a veterinarian, who will correctly diagnose the disease and select therapy.
Castrate your pet
Even if a cat is toilet trained, during the breeding season he begins to urinate in the wrong place, leaving his marks everywhere. As a result, a sharp, characteristic odor appears in the apartment, which is difficult to get rid of.
If a cat starts peeing anywhere, obeying natural instincts, it is useless to scold and punish it. In this case, the problem can only be solved through sterilization. True, this option is acceptable only if the animal does not have breeding value and does not participate in breeding.
To pay more attention
If a cat begins to pee anywhere, as a result of a lack of attention from the owner, he expresses dissatisfaction with the current situation. If your pet protests, you can try to “negotiate” with him. You need to try to pay more attention to the cat and play with him more often.
7 Reasons Why Cats Pee or Poop on the Bed
It is impossible to answer unequivocally why an adult cat or a small kitten shits on the bed. It all depends on the age of the animal and how long ago it appeared in the house. From his psychological and physical state. The main reason why a cat pees or poops on the bed is the wrong litter box. The behavior of the pet as a whole depends on this item.
If the tray is too high, narrow, or short, then it is simply inconvenient for the animal to defecate in it. This is how nature works: cats carefully bury their feces or urine so that the smell does not attract enemies. If the tray is not convenient enough for this: it turns over, staggers, makes noise, claws cling to the bars at the bottom, then the cat will avoid it.
Another place where a pet can “hide” its feces is the bed. A soft blanket, a sheet that can be easily raked with paws and does not rustle, attracts a cat more than scraping in a corner on a wooden floor or linoleum.
Superstitious people say that if a cat pees on the bed, it promises big profits. In fact, such a sign is nothing more than a stupid invention.
If a cat poops on the bed, the owner should first provide it with a comfortable litter box. It should have medium-high sides and a stable bottom, preferably without a grate. The filler should be chosen natural, without strong odors and soft. Then the animal will not even think about crap where its owner sleeps.
Other reasons include:
- Severe stress in the animal. Anything can cause a disturbance in the psycho-emotional state of a cat. Most often this is the first heat cycle, a house move, a planned trip to the veterinarian, a change in his usual diet, or the arrival of a child in the house. Pets have a hard time enduring such situations and can periodically shit in the place where they feel protected. Coping with stress in an animal is extremely difficult. The owner of the pet will have to make a lot of efforts to calm him down and make him understand that he is not in any danger.
- Desire for revenge. Despite the fact that cats are cute and gentle creatures, they are vindictive and mischievous. If the owner spanked the animal with a slipper because it tore off a piece of wallpaper or broke a glass, then it is likely that he will receive a not very pleasant response from the pet.
- Diseases of the urinary system . Cats are famous for the fact that they can easily withstand temperature changes; their bodies are resistant to viruses and infections. However, pathologies of the organs responsible for urine output are not uncommon for them. The most common of them are acute, chronic diffuse nephritis, pyelonephritis, urocystitis, spasms in the bladder and nephrosis. All of the listed pathologies are accompanied by the fact that the cat poops or pees on the bed, because due to pain it cannot get up and walk to the litter box.
- Inexperience. After birth, kittens are cared for by their mother for a long time. Her responsibilities include hiding the place where the babies are from enemies. She not only licks them to remove odors, but also eats the cubs' feces. Grown-up kittens, when they get to a new home, suffer from the fact that they were separated from their mother, and do not yet understand where they need to relieve themselves. Therefore, they often pee while on the bed, chair or sofa. If the owner does not show the animal in time that it needs to go to the litter box, then it will never stop shitting on the upholstered furniture.
- Jealousy or loneliness. Cats only appear independent on the surface. In fact, they are completely dependent on the person. If a new animal appears in the house, the pet begins to be jealous of it and tries in every possible way to attract attention, even if not using entirely the right methods. The same goes for loneliness. If the owner of a cat doesn’t play with her much or pet her, then she may pee on his bed.
- Old age. In old age, it becomes more difficult for animals to move. They suffer from pain and develop chronic diseases. Cats prefer to lie in one place and often go to the toilet under themselves. It is extremely difficult to solve this problem; the owner will have to organize a separate corner for the pet, covering it with a diaper, or cover the bed (sofa, chair) with oilcloth.
How to treat a place where a cat shits so that it doesn't shit anymore
You can stop your cat from shitting anywhere using folk remedies and commercial repellent sprays.
Folk remedies
Simple but time-tested methods will help you discourage your cat from pooping in the wrong place:
- If a cat poops in a flower pot, you can use toothpicks to stop him from doing it again. They are densely stuck into the ground so that the pet has nowhere to step. This method will help to permanently stop your cat from shitting in the wrong place, but it is quite traumatic. It is much more humane to protect flowerpots using double-sided tape or homemade covers cut from cardboard or other materials.
- If your cat poops on the carpet or bed, you can use water to make her stop defecating in the wrong place. Noticing that the pet is about to go to the toilet, it is sprayed with a spray bottle. Usually, 2-3 such lessons are enough to stop a cat from shitting in the wrong place.
- Every time you try to pee, you can clap your hands loudly anywhere. A sharp sound will scare away the animal and help quickly accustom it to order.
- It’s easy to stop a kitten from crapping in the wrong place by placing foil in the corners it likes. The baby is unlikely to like the rustling material and will stop defecating anywhere.
- You can stop your cat from shitting in the corner by placing garlic, citrus peels, burnt paper, hot pepper or mustard in this place.
- You can remove cat smell from interior items and wardrobe by washing them with hydrogen peroxide, alcohol or iodine. Expert advice. A bite and bleach are not suitable for stopping a cat from shitting anywhere. These substances are not only dangerous to the health of pets, but also increase the smell of their urine. If the corner in which the cat gets into the habit of pooping is washed with a solution of bleach or vinegar, then it will attract it even more.