Q & A
Q: We just moved into a new house and our 4 year old cat is
driving us crazy. He is not using his litterbox. Instead, he urinates
on our bed and in our laundry basket, sometimes right while I'm
in the room! Help!
A: First, have your cat examined by your vet to make sure there’s nothing physically wrong with him.
Once you’ve ruled out a medical reason for the inappropriate urination, you can assume the problem is behavioral.
A move can be very stressful for any pet—and it sounds like this is the case for your cat. Some tips for a less stressful move with a cat:
- Place the cat, his litter box, food bowls, toys, and bed in a small, enclosed area (for example a bathroom or laundry room).
- Keep the cat in this one room for a couple of weeks.
- Gradually begin letting him explore the rest of his new indoor territory with you there to supervise.
- Continue to confine him at night.
- Once he seems comfortable with his new surroundings, you can begin letting him have free range inside your house.
- Keep the first litter box in it's same location (the bathroom or laundry room in our example) and add a second litter box in an area he frequents.
- The rule of thumb is one litter box per cat plus one (so two litter boxes for one cat).
If your cat was indoor/outdoor at your old house, you can begin introducing him to his new outdoor territory gradually (always supervised) after acclimating him to the new indoor situation first.