You should seek the advice of your veterinarian if your pet is ill as only he or she can correctly advise on the diagnosis and recommend the treatment that is most appropriate for your pet.

Cats are usually easily house-trained, but from time to time things go wrong and they start urinating in the house ....why ?

Identifying the reason why a cat starts passing urine in inappropriate places requires a detailed examination of the history of the animal, it's environmental circumstances and a physical examination by a veterinarian to eliminate medical problems. 

There are 2 basic reasons why cats start urinating in undesirable places :

• Territory marking

Urine contains strong marker smells (pheromones) that are used to communicate with other cats. The main purposes of marking are :

• To mark out territory
• To identify the individual cat
• To express sexual activity - ie to attract a mate.

You can tell when your cat is "marking" because it will spray urine whilst standing upright and stretching or treading with it's hindlegs. The urine is usually deposited on to upright objects eg walls, doors etc.

Urine marking is normal behaviour - but of course it is unacceptable in our homes ..particularly if your pet is an entire male because the urine can smell so pungent. Even some cats which are neutered before they have reached puberty will spray mark.

If your cat suddenly starts marking indoors it is likely that :

• There is a new cat in the neighbourhood which is "challenging" for domination of your cats territory by marking within it
• Another cat in your household is gaining a dominant position in the "pecking order" of cats
• It is the mating season

In the first two situations the cat with the unacceptable urine marking behaviour feels threatened.  

• Inappropriate urination

There are many causes of inappropriate urination including :

• Medical reasons - kidney disease, diabetes mellitus, cystitis, lower urinary tract disease, hyperadrenocorticism
• Litterbox aversion - if it is not kept clean enough. Litter boxes should be cleaned DAILY
• The cat develops a preference to urinate on soft materials
• Anxiety

Treatment

• If the cat has a disease this must be correctly diagnosed and specific treatment given
• Keep litter trays clean 
• After cleaning thoroughly cover locations that the cat "prefers" to urinate in - an object, or a strong smelling item eg pot-pourri, or it's food and water bowl
• Prevent contact with "threatening" cats eg strays
• Feliway (Abbott Laboratories) - is a synthetic pheromone which has been shown to be effective at reducing urine marking when applied to urination sites daily
• Neutering -  is effective at reducing marking behaviour in 90% of intact male cats

Updated October 2013