How to Stop Your Cat From Peeing Outside the Litter Box

We have been a cat household for just about as long as Tom and I have been married. We got our first cat family member when we moved to New Jersey back in 2005 and have had cats in our house ever since. We have tackled just about every cat issue that I can think of among all of the cats we have had, but the one that is the most stressful as a cat owner is when you have a cat peeing outside litter box!

Now I wish I had a magic wand to stop a cat peeing outside the litter box, but I don’t. There are a few steps that have to be done before you can address the issue of a cat peeing outside the litter box.

Cat Peeing Outside Litter Box

There are many reasons that a cat could suddenly stop using the litter box. The biggest thing I have learned over the years is that as their “cat mom”, I need to figure out the “why” before I can address getting them to use the litter box again.

Why Is My Cat Peeing Everywhere?

Are you asking yourself the question, “Why is my cat peeing everywhere?” if so then it is time to investigate. Your first step is to figure out why, and it can be a multitude of things to look for.

How to get your cat to stop peeing outside the litter box

The first thing you need to do is take your cat to the vet to make sure there are no health issues that are causing your cat to pee outside of the litter box. Things like bladder infections, crystals and other medical issues can be the cause of a cat peeing outside of the litter box.

1. Make sure nothing has changed in their “normal” litter box area.

• Have you changed the cat litter to a new brand? If so go back to the old brand, your cat may not like the new one you are using.
• Did you get a new litter box? If it is different than your old one, then go back to the old style litter box.
• Did you move the litter box? Put it back where it was, where you cat was comfortable using the litter box.

2. Make more Litter box areas. – You should always have 1 litter box per cat in your house and then 1 extra.

• Is your cat older? Then you might need to have a litter box on every level of the house, as they can no longer make it fast enough to one on another level of the house.
• Did you get a new cat? If so you need to get more litter boxes so there is one for each cat.

3. Stress. Your cat may be stressed, it is important to know the signs of cat stress and how to have a happy cat.

• Is your cat stressed? Peeing outside of the litter box may be a sign of stress. Other signs are scratching furniture, or hiding from you or visitors in the house. This change in behavior could be caused by fear or anxiety.
• Are there new changes in the environment? If so then you need to reassure your cat that they are still safe and secure by giving them attention. If you have added a new cat to your home, be sure to check out how to introduce a new cat so that all of the cats in your life have a happy and smooth transition.
• Is your cat peeing on your bed? If so, this is their way of letting you know that they are stressed and unhappy.

Once you have figured out the “Why your cat is peeing outside of the litter box” comes the part of stopping it. Once you have stopped it there are a few other things to do to keep them using the litter box.

• Clean the floors. While this sounds like an obvious thing, you need to clean the floors so the smell is no longer there. Cats use their sense of smell to determine going to the bathroom, if they were peeing on the carpet and you don’t use cleaners that get rid of the smell, even after solving the why your cat will still smell that location as a place to go to the bathroom.
• Make sure the litter boxes are kept clean. Again this sounds like an obvious but a cat will not use a dirty litter box. They will find somewhere clean to go to the bathroom if the litter box is not to their standard of cleanliness. 
• Get FELIWAY^® Diffusers. FELIWAY® CLASSIC Diffusers are clinically proven to reduce urine marking in 9 out of 10 cats and kittens. These results are seen within the first 7 days.

  If you have multiple cats in the home, tension is the most common cause of litter box issues. In a multi cat household, you are going to want to use the FELIWAY^® MultiCat Diffusers, along with FELIWAY^® CLASSIC Diffusers. 

  FELIWAY^® CLASSIC provides “happy messages” to cats and makes them feel calm and comfortable at home. FELIWAY^® CLASSIC may help decrease urine marking, scratching and hiding. FELIWAY^® MultiCat sends “harmony messages” to cats and restores harmony between multiple cats living together.

  These are my favorite solution to making sure that the cats in our home are feeling secure and comfortable on top of us loving on them and making sure all of their needs are taken care of! Grab it here on Amazon!

Be sure to also check out these other helpful posts on taking care of cats! 

• How Stop cats from Scratching furniture
• How to prepare your home when getting a kitten
• What you need to do monthly as a cat owner
• New Kitten Checklist
• First time cat owner check list
• How to use Feliway for Cat Stress