

Squabbling between cats or a dog, strangers in the home, noise, or a scary event that occurred while they were using the litter box (intimidation by another cat or a washing machine buzzer, for example) can also be the underlying cause. We humans, who love them, often force them into unnatural situations where they feel crowded, bored, or anxious. Behavioral causesĬonversely, behavior may be the underlying cause of inappropriate urination in and of itself.ĭomestic cats are very, very closely related to wild cats who live in groups of related female cats, roaming and defending territories of about 10 acres. Laundry on the floor offers a soft, welcoming place to try to relieve the pain.

The pain cats experience can lead to behavioral-inappropriate urination due to a learned aversion to the “offending” litter box seen as the source of pain by the cat. Endocrinopathies: Endocrinopathies are disorders of the endocrine system, which can cause a variety of symptoms, including inappropriate urination.Diabetes: Diabetes can cause an increase in urination and thirst.Kidney disease: Kidney disease can cause an increase in urination and thirst.FLUTD can cause pain, inflammation, and blockages of the urethra. Feline lower urinary tract disease (FLUTD): FLUTD is a group of conditions that affect the lower urinary tract in cats.UTIs are common in cats and can cause pain, urgency, and frequency of urination. Urinary tract infection (UTI): A UTI is a bacterial infection of the bladder or urethra.When cats choose somewhere besides their litter boxes to urinate, veterinarians look for health concerns such as such as kidney disease, hyperthyroidism, diabetes, crystals in the urine (a potentially life-threatening situation in male cats), bladder stones, or bladder inflammation caused by an infection or even stress.Ĭommon medical conditions that can cause inappropriate urination: While there are a number of underlying causes, they can generally be broken down into medical causes, behavioral causes, and litter box causes (or some combination of these three). Inappropriate urination is the leading cause of cats being surrendered to shelters. We’ve updated it with new and more detailed information for 2023. Note to readers: This is one of our most popular articles.
