Male kitten will use litter box but sometimes pees on the carpet. Is he marking his territory?
Wednesday, August 11th, 2010 at
9:25 am
My boyfriend says he is trying to mark his territory and will get rid of him if he pees on the carpet again. How do we make sure he doesn’t do it anymore because he does pee in his litter box most of the time, but sometimes it’s on the carpet. Please help, I’ve grown attatched to him and hate seeing him get into trouble. I would hate to see him go.
Filed under: Cat Litter
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If it is just around the litter box he could just be missing. My cat use to dig real close to the edge then squat and have his butt hanging out over the box and get the tile. Can you put your box on a hard floor and maybe get a water proof mat that you can clean easily.
yeah, that’s what he’s doing. i had a male kitten pee on my friend’s lap once.
just push him when he does it, or starts to do it, to make him stop. and then grab him and put him in his litter box so he knows that’s where he’s supposed to go.
He might be marking his territory. But are you sure his litter box is big enough? My kitty is a fat cat and he was doing this, I got him a larger box and it helped.
is there anything new going on in your household? Sometimes cats are just letting you know they’re mad about something when they go where they know they shouldn’t. My male tabby will poop on the kitchen table when we go out of town. He has a litter box and a cat door to come and go as he pleases, but because he’s trying to send us a message, he does it in peculiar places. He also stopped using the litter box when we got a new dog. Just show him you still love him, give him lots of TLC and he should get over it.
Also, make sure you keep his box clean. If it’s dirty, that could be another reason he’s not using it.
I second what chicken said. Also, in my experience with male kittens (and even adults) is that they seem to be notorious for using the bathroom out of the litter box. Neutering may help when he gets old enough.
not sure if he is marking his territory or just your carpet
Tell him, "Would you get rid of your own child for a potty-training accident?" Umm, no.
How old is the kitten? If you brought him home too soon, (before 10-12 weeks) then he didn’t have the proper time to learn from his mom. If he’s peeing in the same spots over and over, it should be easy to fix.
Remember, a cat’s sense of smell is fourteen times stronger than that of a human. This is why it is so important for you to thoroughly clean the urine spots. You cat probably still smells the urine in the carpet, and this can make them want to “re-mark” that spot over and over.
To remove the smell of urine from just about anything, first clean it with some sort of soap or kitchen cleaner. Then clean it with lemon juice. If you don’t like the smell of lemon juice follow it up with a little bit of vanilla extract. One of the most effective formulas I’ve found for removing ANY odor was from Popular Science Magazine. Mix 1 quart of Hydrogen Peroxide, with 1/4 cup of Baking Soda, and one tablespoon of liquid dishwashing soap. Saturate the affected area, rinse thoroughly with clean water, and the smell is gone. This is non-toxic and safe for your animals and children, and those with allergies. This is especially helpful for removing skunk odor from your outdoor animals. As always, test a small portion of fabric for color fastness, before treating a large area.
What Won’t Work… There are many home remedies for treating pet stains and odors, and let me stress that most of them are not too bad as far as removing odors for humans’ noses. Vinegar, ammonia, baking soda, laundry detergents, lemon juice, fabric softeners, and commercial strength pet stain removers are all great for removing the odors that humans can smell. However; you will need more to remove the odor for your cat’s nose. An enzymatic cleaner is the best answer, but it is slow and may take more than one application, (Nature’s Miracle is one of them). The Hydrogen Peroxide/Baking Soda combo is fast, but can alter the colors of some fabrics. In the end, you must decide which application is best for your situation.
Even if you clean a pet stain with soap and water certain micro-organisms remain behind and your pet can smell them. Enzymatic Cleaners are designed to completely eliminate the source of the odor by using enzymes to eat away the micro-organisms that cause the odor. The one drawback to these cleaners is that they are slow; it could take several weeks for them to completely eliminate an odor. Enzymantic Cleaners are available at most pet stores, organic/natural/health food stores, and even some hardware stores. You can also ask your vet for suppliers.
More tips:
Always scoop litter boxes at LEAST once a day, and change the litter at least once a week. When cleaning the box, use a mild detergent and finish by rinsing very thoroughly. Never use strong-smelling pine cleansers or ammonia. If you want to disinfect the box with bleach, dilute it with water first. Rinsing the box with boiling water is also effective. With covered cat boxes, the smell can be worse, especially with high humidity, so you must be willing to clean it more.