by Cassandra Lohr

Created on: August 26, 2010

If you have ever owned a cat, you have probably seen him or her go outside of the litterbox. It is usually on your clean clothes or new furniture. Before you get too upset, read on to see if it is behavioral or a medical condition your kitty needs help for.

First of all, is your male cat neutered? If you have an intact male cat, he will want to "spray" in places around your house to mark his territory. This does look different than just regular urination. If he is in more of a squatting position and the urine ends up on the floor it is likely regular urination. If he is in a standing position and the urine ends up on a vertical surface (such as a wall) he is probably marking that as HIS wall. The fix for this is getting him neutered. One word of caution: if you wait too long to neuter him, it may not help take away the spraying behavior later on in life. He will think of that behavior as normal, even when fixed. You typically want to neuter at about 4-6 months of age.

If your male cat is urinating out of the box and he seems painful or vocalizes a lot, he could either have a urinary tract infection (UTI) or be partially blocked. In male cats, their urethra can become obstructed by a plug, resulting in them being unable to urinate. Sometimes, if the plug is starting to form, they can begin to go outside the box. When kitties (male or female) experience pain when they urinate in the litterbox they do not want to urinate there again. They don't understand it is the UTI or other issue causing pain. To them, the litterbox causes the "owie". A UTI is usually cured by your veterinarian doing a urinalysis and getting antibiotics for your kitty. There is a condition called FLUTD (Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease). This is a lifelong condition some cats have that needs a special diet and possibly frequent treatments for UTI's throughout kitty's lifetime.  For more info on FLUTD, visit www.veterinarypartners.com.

Female cats can get the same conditions as male cats. They do have the advantage of not typically getting blocked. However, they get the UTI's a little more often. It is best to take her to the vet so they can check a urinalysis. Some cats (males and females) can have urinary crystals form when the PH of their urine is just right. Too many crystals forming can cause bladder or kidney stones.

If your cat is having bowel movements outside of the box, it could be intestinal parasites. Roundworms and hookworms are just two of the parasites cats can get. Parasites infect the intestines and colon and can cause diarrhea or blood in the stool. Take a sample of your cat's poop to your veterinarian to check for intestinal worms. Indoor cats can actually get these parasites too. Some potting soils have roundworm eggs that your pet can swipe his or her paws in and then lick off and swallow. Keeping your cat on a monthly heartworm and flea preventative, such as Revolution, will also protect against some of those intestinal worms.

Both sexes of cat are prone to kidney disease. This occurs usually in older cats but can certainly appear in young kitties. There are no outward signs or symptoms of kidney disease until the kidneys have lost about 70-80% of their function. The best way to diagnose earlier stages is to have bloodwork done by your vet. They will check values called BUN and creatinine. These are waste products the kidneys help get rid of. If these are abnormal, kitty's kidneys may not be working as well as they should. If your cat does end up having kidney issues, there are prescription diets and medications your veterinarian can prescribe to help your companion out.

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