My Cat Urinates On The Cupboards

by Cindy Kubo
(Umatilla, Oregon)

2 Year old cat, overweight, has suddenly in the last 3 months started peeing on the counter tops in the kitchen.

Then, today my son called and said she laid on the floor in the laundry room (where the litter box is) and peed all over herself.

He said she acts fine except for that. Help!

Cindy

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My Thoughts:

Not having seen this, I'm not sure, but this description...

"she laid on the floor in the laundry room (where the litter box is) and peed all over herself" sounds like something your veterinarian should look at. It may be that she has a health problem that has been getting worse and has now escalated.

If it were my cat, I would take her to the vet as soon as possible. Cats are normally clean and particular about their bathroom habits. Given the last few months of problems and now this, I wouldn't take any chances.

As for the urinating on the kitchen counter tops issue by itself, I've heard of other cats urinating on counters. The usual reasons may apply, including stress and health problems.

If it's a physical problem, you have to fix that first. For stress, though, there are a couple of training products you can get, including the X-Mat that you can use to train your cat to stay off the counters. Other repellents, like rosemary, or materials sprayed with Bitter Yuck may work too.

You then have to see if she then chooses another inappropriate spot to urinate. If she does, you can work through that as well, while working to identify the source of stress and the reason for the behavior.

Obvious stress triggers can be a change in the household (addition or removal of a family member or other pet, a move, remodeling, etc.). Some not so obvious triggers can be a reaction to other cats outside the house, or a period where less attention is paid to the cat (you start working 2 jobs and aren't home much). Cats can be sensitive to these changes and we may not realize it.

Feliway has been reported to work to stop urination problems in some cases. It tends to reduce stress in cats and is often recommended by vets, including Dr. Katrina Warren of the Housecat Housecall TV show.

I hope that helps some and good luck with her,

-Kurt

If anyone else has an opinion on this problem, meow at us in the comments.