1) Make sure something isn't seriously wrong with
your cat. If you cat has suddenly started behaving in this way it might
be worth taking him/her for a checkups with the vet. Cats are very good
at hiding little illnesses and urinary tract infections can produce
unpleasant reactions for that cat. The most common is that he/she will
equate going to the litter box with a pain sensation. Thus the cat may
be peeing elsewhere to try and alleviate this pain.
2) Have there
been any changes to the household? Cats, like people hate sudden
changes in their environment. if these changes are severe enough, cat
peeing problems can develop. If a new cat has entered the household,
your cat might feel threatened and ill at ease when using the litter
box and thus might seek refuge in another part of the house to do her
business. To solve this, give the cat a room in the house (or even a
section of a room) that the other cat is not permitted to enter. By
building up trust in this section of the house she will feel more
confident in using the litter tray.
3) Your cat's preferences
might've changed. As a young kitten the cutesy litter box you bought
for her might have been sufficient, but as she has grown her tastes and
needs have changed. If the litter box has a lid try removing it. It is
often the case that by peeing elsewhere your cat is trying to tell you
that something is wrong with her environment and it is up to you to
find out what.
4) Try and stay one step ahead. Cat peeing need
not be the bain of your life. When you cat pees somewhere unusual try
moving the litter box to where she had her last movement. Cats are
contentious, and will often return to the scene of an accident. If the
cat then subsequently finds that the mess is gone and instead her
familiar litter try is in its place than she may start using the litter
try instead.
5) Train your cat to use a human toilet. If you have
plenty of time on your hands this method could be the answer to your
cat peeing problems forever. The easiest way to train your cat to use a
human toilet is to use 'incremental training'. This involves slowly
changing your cats behaviour towards the actions you desire. This
process can be done over a month or two. The most important thing to
remember when doing this is to take the process very slowly and
entirely at your cats pace. Firstly you need to start by slowly moving
the litter box closer and closer to your toilet. You need to move it
slowly over the course of a week or two to help your cat get used to
using the litter box next to the toilet. This process is painfully
slow, and may well take a lot longer than a few weeks, but it is well
worth sticking to. Once your cat has been using the litter box next to
the toilet for a couple of weeks, slowly start to raise the litter box
up, a little each week until the height is the same as the toilet seat.
This process is fraught with difficulties, not least how to convince
your cat to climb ever higher for its litter box. My solution is to be
creative. Try and carefully construct a ramp that you cat can climb up
or some stacks of books. The last thing you want is for your cat to
associate going to the loo with having to jump ever higher. This can
exacerbate cat peeing problems! If all goes well you can move the
litter box on top of the toilet and then insert a litter box that sits
into the rim of the toilet. (this will put your toilet out of action
for a few days so please only do this if you have more than one
toilet!!). Once your cat gets used to this, carefully remove it and
hopefully, if all has gone well, your cat will now be independent!
John
Sanderson is a proud cat lover. He is keen to share his experiences of
cat training and will shortly be releasing a blog of further cat
training secrets.
In the meantime, if you enjoyed these tips and
would like more detailed in depth tips to cater for all your cat
training needs please visit http://www.SecretsOfCats.info