Dr. Craig's Animal Behavior Blog Archive September 2009

Is it Marking or Inappropriate Elimination?

Cats can both urinate outside of the box and spray or mark. These two problems need to be treated differently. Spaying is always a behavioral problem while inappropriate urination can be either a behavioral or a medical problem. 


Signs Your Cat is Marking


  • The urine is on a vertical surface, such as walls or bookcases.
  • Your cat is an unneutered male.
  • You’ve seen your cat spray.
  • Free roaming cats are visible to your indoor cat.


If your cat is marking spay or neuter him/her immediately. While most marking is done by male cats, some females will mark. Eliminating the sexual hormones may completely eliminate the problem. If the problem continues behavioral modification will be necessary. Start by making sure no free roaming, outdoor cats are within visual range.

This can be accomplished with blinds, drapes, or motion detector sprinkler system to keep them away from the house. Cover all the marked areas with heavy plastic or aluminum foil. Use of the pheromone product Feliway may decrease the behavior. Some cats are significantly helped by being placed on buspirone.

Sep 29, 2009 12:45 PM

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Help My Cat's Using the Rug

Help My Cat’s Using the Rug.


If your cat stops using the litter box, the first step is to eliminate a possible medical condition before addressing it as a behavior problem. Sudden changes in litter box habits could be a sign of diabetes, idiopathic cystitis, urinary crystals, bladder stones, or renal disease. If your male is straining and producing little or no urine, it is a medical emergency. 


To help the veterinarian diagnose a medical condition, please either collect urine or bring you cat to the office with a full bladder. To collect urine with a cat, first empty and clean the litter box. The litter box can then be left empty or filled with Nosorb, special litter crystals that do not absorb urine. The Nosorb crystals must be placed in an empty litter box, not on top of your cat’s ordinary litter. Confine the cat with the litter box in a small room with no absorbent surfaces. Please bring the urine into the office in a clean jar.


After any medical issues have been resolved, the behavioral side of the problem can be addressed. Make the litter box as inviting as possible. For most cats, this means a large litter box with low sides in an accessible area. If your cat is using only one inappropriate area, consider putting a litter box over that location. Try different kinds of litter until you find one that suits your cat’s fancy. Most cats prefer unscented and dust free litter. Some cats will show a preference for play sand, pelleted pine, or pelleted paper litter.


After making the litter box cat friendly, the next step is to make the inappropriate areas as unattractive as possible. Cover the areas with heavy plastic or aluminum foil. If possible block the cat from the entire area by shutting the door or placing furniture over the location. Place food and water dishes in the locations. Cats prefer to not have to urinate or defecate near their food.


After making all the appropriate litter boxes changes if your cat still has inappropriate elimination problems, it may be necessary to add behavior medications to his/her regime. These medications are used to relieve anxiety and to reduce any possible residual pain in the bladder from previous health conditions. A complete blood panel should be performed before starting on these medications.

Sep 25, 2009 9:40 AM

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Your Indoor Cat

With a few simple steps, your cat can have a happy and fulfilling life as a totally indoor cat. Indoor cats need appropriate access to clean litter areas and mental and physical enrichment.


The Baker House Vets recommend one litter box for every cat in the household plus a spare. If you have a particularly large house, you might want to have a few more. The litter boxes should not be lined up in a single room or banished to a far corner of the basement. Instead, they should be in easily accessible locations but not in excessively high traffic areas. Downstairs a corner of the kitchen or laundry room usually works well. While upstairs, a bathroom or a corridor is usually appropriate. Remember to keep the doors open to allow the cats to enter. If the dog bothers the litter, try using a baby gate or a cat door.


Most cats prefer open style litter boxes with unscented litter. However every cat is an individual, your cat might prefer a closed box or perfumed litter. All cats prefer a clean litter box. We recommend that the box be scooped at least once a day and completely cleaned weekly.


Tomorrow I will provide tips to help if your cat has chosen your favorite rug for his/her new litter box.

Sep 24, 2009 5:32 PM

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