Cat pees on edge of litter box and on floor

by Tom Goulden
(St. Louis Missouri)

Cat is in the litter box but pees on the edge of the litter box, and on the floor.

We have 3 cats and 3 litter boxes. One of the cats (we don't know which one) is in the box but pees on the edge of the box and often on the concrete floor.

My Thoughts:

I'm sorry to hear that you're having issues, Tom. Assuming you can catch your cat in the act and verify that what you suspect is really what's going on...

I've heard of this problem, and in fact, Priscilla used to do this from time to time, but not consistently.

Some cats develop a habit of standing up to pee, others just seem to shoot for the edge.

I haven't found anyone with a solid answer on why this might be the case, but assuming the cat is healthy, the only solution that I know will work is getting a box with higher sides.

I like to leave a good 3 - 4 inches of litter in the box, which means my cat is often up a little higher than some. So for adult cats, a box with the highest sides possible is necessary.

Veterinarian Lisa Pierson recommends 3.5 - 4 inches of litter. Because some of her cats stand up to pee, she needs high sides. Her solution to the high sides is to use a plastic container, such as those from Sterilite.

As she says, "bigger the bathroom, the more inviting it will be for your cat."

So other than making sure your cat is healthy and checking to make sure all traces of urine are gone (and checking with a black light), getting a box with higher sides is the solution.

One last thought... is this happening with only one of the boxes in the house? Is there anything different about that box from the others?

Is it shorter? Is it Older? Did anything change with that box right when this started? Should it be moved to a different location?

I hope that helps and please let us know how it goes,

Kurt