It doesn’t matter whether it’s shoes, clothes, or the carpet: If your cat pees on things lying on the floor, there is usually a specific reason behind it. Here you can read what the reasons for your cat’s uncleanliness can be and which emergency tips will help you with this problem immediately.
Emergency Tips & Causes: What to do if your cat pees on things on the floor
First of all, if your cat suddenly stops going into the litter box and starts peeing everywhere, you shouldn’t be mad at her, even if it’s difficult. Because your kitty isn’t unclean to annoy you, but because something isn’t right. These measures can quickly help you to solve your cat’s problem:
Go to the vet ASAP!
When your cat pees in the apartment, illness is the most common cause!
You can do this:
- Make a vet appointment and have your kitty checked over completely!
- Ask for a blood test and urine test to be done.
If your cat has pain when peeing due to an illness, it can unfortunately quickly lead to a momentous misrelationship: It then blames the litter box for its pain, avoids it, and prefers to look for other places to pee in the apartment.
However, it is also possible that your cat cannot control its urge to urinate due to an illness and simply does not make it to the litter box in time.
The most common physical causes of uncleanliness are:
- kidney problems
- cystitis
- urinary crystals and stones
- Incontinence (due to illness, dementia, or old age)
Hopefully, if your cat is given the appropriate medication for her problems, she will feel better quickly and no longer has pain when urinating. As a result, she will usually get used to her litter box again after a while and will forget the wrong connection “litter box = pain” after a while.
Get new litter box(es)
If your cat is physically healthy, she may just not like her current litter box.
You can do this:
You should find the right litter box for your kitty. You can read how to do that here: Buying guide: Which litter box is right for my cat?
There can be several reasons why your cat prefers to pee on things on the floor rather than using her litter box:
The location is inappropriate. A litter box should be in a quiet, sheltered spot so your cat won’t be disturbed while she’s doing her business. Also, it should never be in the same room as the food and water bowl. You should also make sure that the litter box is easily accessible and that your cat can easily get in at any time.
The toilet model is inappropriate. If your cat has always had the same litter box, it’s possible that this litter box just doesn’t suit her anymore. Maybe it has become too small for her or she no longer likes the high edge. In these cases, only one thing helps: You need one or preferably several new litter boxes. It can be helpful if you offer your kitty two different litter boxes in different places in the apartment. So she has more choices.
Something has changed. Did you use another cleaning agent to clean the toilet? Or put a new plant next to the litter box? Some cats are already very sensitive to such small changes and then no longer want to use their toilet. So make sure that the environment around the litter box does not change as much as possible and do not use any strongly perfumed cleaning agents for cleaning.
Keep the litter box clean
Cats are very clean and don’t want to do their business in a dirty place. So it’s possible that your kitty doesn’t find her litter box clean enough and prefers to pee on things that are on the floor.
You can do this:
- Clean the litter box at least once a day.
- It’s even better if you clean the loo right after each use
You should also wash out the toilet once a week and completely replace the litter.
Maybe your cat just doesn’t like the litter in her litter box and prefers to pee somewhere else. In that case, you can try different materials, from pellets to shavings to scented litter.
Avoid uncertainty and fear
Cats like fixed routines and are therefore very susceptible to stress. So it could be that your cat is peeing everywhere because she is scared of something or she is very stressed.
You can do this:
- Give your kitty a lot of love and attention.
- Spoil her with lots of treats and cuddles.
You can also use special fragrance diffusers with pheromones. These are the cat’s own odor messengers, which increase its well-being and sense of security.
In particularly stressful times (moving, new family member, renovation, etc.) you can also give your cat Bach flowers, which are herbal tranquilizers. Talk to your vet first though.
Always introduce socialization to new cats, dogs, other pets, or new family members slowly and carefully.
There are many situations that can unsettle your cat and cause stress.
New surroundings. Have you moved or bought new furniture? This can completely overwhelm your cat, requiring it time to adjust.
A new family member or pet. Have you had a child or has a dog or a second cat moved in with you? This can cause your cat to become very stressed or even jealous of the competitor.
Different daily routine. Do you have changed working hours and do you leave the house at different times? Or do you feed your cat at other times? That can be enough to make your kitty pee on things lying around when you’re not there in protest.
conflicts with peers. If you have multiple cats, there may be disagreements between kitties and one cat may be in constant competition for resources such as scratching posts, toys, or food. Or being teased by another cat. Here you should watch your cats very closely and ensure that there is enough food and lying places for everyone.
Clean up
If your cat is still peeing in the apartment, you should definitely clean it up very meticulously.
You can do this:
- Keep your apartment clean and, if possible, clear away any items that are lying around on the floor.
- Thoroughly clean or discard any items that have been peed on.
As an emergency measure, make sure all items in your home are out of harm’s way so your cat isn’t even tempted to continue peeing on them.
In addition, thorough cleaning of the affected items is necessary. Because cats like to pee in the same place over and over again if you can still smell their urine.
You can use various cleaning agents or home remedies for cleaning:
First of all, it is important that you really find all the urine stains. Small stains in particular often smell rather weak, so that we humans can no longer perceive the smell, but your cat can smell it very well.
You can use a black light lamp to find all the spots.
Then wash all affected items as hot as possible in the washing machine.
Use vinegar or an enzyme cleaner to wash. This removes the smell of urine.
If you can’t wash something, better throw it away. Cat urine can be very penetrating, so you probably won’t be able to remove it without washing.
