Don't despair!  There are solutions.

By Chassie Hall

I have six cats that range in age from seven years to eight months old.  My oldest cat, Cleo, is bossy, short-tempered and my favorite of the bunch.  Some of my cats don't like any of the others and other cats have their buddies.  I keep two litter boxes in the house; one upstairs and one downstairs.  Four of my cats go outside to take care of business almost exclusively where two of the oldest cats choose to live indoors only and use the litter box full-time. For the most part, there is peace in the household. So, as you can imagine, I was quite shocked and aggravated every time a cat would relieve themselves in places other than the litter box. 

The first time Cleo ever refused to use the litter box was when I forgot to change it.  She has a little ritual where she scratches at the floor like she's digging in kitty litter when she wants to let me know it's time for a litter change.  She usually does this right in front of me or in my line-of-sight.  She's a clever girl, my Cleo. If I ignore her or forget then she'll go on the floor right in front of me.  She's saying, "It stinks too bad to go near it! Change it now or I'll be forced to go on the floor; I can't wait anymore!"

Another interesting experience came about when my other dominant female, Cinnamon, grew up and decided she was going to challenge Cleo's position in the household.  Cleo just wasn't ready to give up her position of stature and she said so by refusing to share the same litter box that Cinnamon uses.  AND sometimes Cinnamon would deliberately use both litter boxes within a few minutes of eachother to further aggravate Cleo.  SO... Cleo pees on my bathroom rug (more than once before I figured it out). She was saying, "I do not like Cinnamon and I refuse to go potty after her!". Here we go again, it's time for me to solve another feline battle!  I could change the litter more often but I don't have that kind of time so I bought a used (and cleaned) LitterMaid brand self-scooping electric litter box at a yard sale for about $30, which is about a third of the cost of a new one from Wal-Mart.  (I'm sure you can get them cheaper in used condition, but ironically, the yard sale I shopped was an animal rescue fundraiser!)  The used LitterMaid litter box worked so well that I purchased a new, larger one to go downstairs.

Then there was this time where My oldest male cat, Brutus, started to have his BMs just outside or on the side of the litter box as if to say, "I'm sick and I don't know why."  Also, at the same time, his brother, Fred, was vomiting regularly and not having normal stools. I learned it was because I bought an alternative brand of cat food as the brand I normally purchased was sold out.  I was tired that day, could not come home without cat food, and didn't want to go to a second store. It was another premium brand so I thought it would be OK for them. A week had passed before I realized their symptoms were directly related to the abrupt change in their diet.  I replenished their supply of regular food and all the cats' tummies were happy again.

Finally, there was little Beans!  She's the baby of the bunch and, as you guessed, looks like she's got brown, orange and black beans all-over her white coat! She was found crawling from underneath my car just after I came home from a trip to the neighborhood store.  She caught a ride somewhere under the car!  She was a sick little girl when she found me. Full of ear mites and dirty, greasy fur, emaciated and dehydrated, too. I made her a veterinary appointment that day and got her all fixed up. Some time went by, she fattened up and she grew quickly. Then she didn't seem to want to use the litter box anymore and at the same time, some kitty cat was urinating on bath towels left on the floor. Then I noticed that she would try to go urinate for a long time but never did very much. She was trying, though.  So, I sent her into the vet's clinic for a professional opinion. Poor little Beans had an infection in her urinary tract that made it painful and difficult for her to go.

The moral of my story is this:
If kitty pees on the floor then she's trying to tell you something is not right!  Don't ignore it!  Don't get mad at kitty!  Evaluate your situation and try a few different things. It just takes a little bit of your attention and some patience. You'll learn how to correct accidents or deliberate defiance by your feline friend without losing your mind... or your carpets!