As many of us know, there is a scientific reason for
cat urine issues. Most cats urinate outside of their litter boxes due
to several factors. These factors may include the environment, stress,
health problems and cat urinary tract infections. And of course, their
meticulous feline ways contribute to the issue as well.
According
to a study completed by the Department of Clinical Sciences, Cummings
School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University in Massachusetts,
eradicating odor from the litter box has a positive effect on cat
litter box behavior.
The study used a product called Zero Odor
spray. The process involved litter boxes sprayed with Zero Odor and
those which were just cleaned. The Zero Odor spray evaporates the cat
urine smell. The study concluded that cats whose litter boxes were
sprayed with Zero Odor spray used their litter boxes for urinating,
while the others seemed to go in other places.
So once again, as
some of us know, keeping the litter box free of odor versus just
keeping it clean will attract your cat to urinating in their appointed
place.
There are still more underlying factors of improper feline
urine behavior. Cats with urine issues should be taken to the vet to
see first if the cat is experiencing some type of medical problem. If
it's determined that there is a medical problem, proper treatment
should take care of the issue, but if not then it could be a problem
with marking or toileting.
Marking behavior is associated with
being territorial. Cats involved in marking behavior are generally
treated by suggesting neutering and dropping the instances of conflict
and stress in their normal atmosphere.
Toileting, another issue
involving choosing an area where the cat thinks it should urinate (not
necessarily the litter box). In order to help eliminate a toileting
problem, the litter box needs to be made more appealing to the cat,
while limiting the availability of other "out of the box" areas.
According
to the aforementioned studies, cat urine issues are scientific in
nature. A cat's behavior is based on the cat's psychological as well as
physiological state. In other words cats have moody behavior and
perform (in this case urinate) according to how they feel at that
moment.
In conclusion, no matter how hard you try to combat cat
urine issues, it will be merely impossible to totally eliminate them
because you can't always control the environment around us.