Why is my cat peeing on rugs and furniture instead of her litter box?
Updated On September 23rd, 2025
Pet's info: Cat | Mixed Breed | Female | unspayed
I have five cats. Four females and one male. One of the females is an adult (2yrs), Freya is 8 months old and the other three are kittens (3 months). All of my cats except Freya use their litter boxes. There are two of them side by side with covers and I scoop both once a day and fully clean both once a week. I use clumping litter that is fine (small) like sand and sometimes the litter is odor eliminating and sometimes not. Only Freya will poo/pee on rugs, carpet and furniture. Help!
4 Answers
Most Helpful Answer
Published on November 5th, 2016
Thanks for more information on Frejya! It could be that there are too many cats using two litter boxes. It's recommended that each cat has their own litter box, plus one; therefore, if you have five cats, you should have six boxes. You are doing exactly right by scooping them every day and fully cleaning them once a week. I would try setting up at least two different litter boxes in separate areas of your home to see if that helps the problem. She may just want to use a box that isn't used to every other cat in the home. Cats can be extremely finicky about litter boxes, and will often refuse to use a box if too many cats are also using it. Try this first to see if that helps with her eliminating outside the box. If it doesn't, then I would take her into the vet for an exam to see if there is a medical cause behind this behavior.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Related Answers from Veterinarians
-
Published on January 12th, 2019
Congrats on your new kitten Star! I hate to hear that she is having this issue. First you want to make sure that you are making the litter box and the area around the box as appealing as possible. You should consider adding a second litter box make sure to clean them daily. Studies have shown that cats prefer large, uncovered litter boxes with a clumping clay based litter. They want to box to be in a private area where they cannot be trapped by other pets. Certainly make sure you are sticking to the guidelines. Some cats who urinate outside the litter box can actually have pain when they urinate and this could contribute to the behavior. Since they can't talk, I recommend to have her urine checked for any signs of infection or other abnormalities. make an appointment with her veterinarian. Lastly, it could be related to stress from getting use to a new place. Try to decrease stress with a pheromone diffuser like Feliway. Providing opportunities for climbing and hiding in high perch areas (so think cat tree or shelves). There is also a special diet made by Royal Canin called Calm which effects the serotonin levels in the brain. This may help her to use the box better. Lastly, there are medications that can help with behavioral issues. I hope this helps to point you in the right direction. Please feel free to post any additional questions!
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
-
Published on August 15th, 2018
I am sorry to hear about your kitty! This is a frustrating and unfortunately common problem in cats! First, I would recommend a trip to the vet for an exam, and urinalysis to ensure there isn't a medical cause for this behavior such as a urinary tract infection or stones in the bladder. If the vet rules out any medical causes, then there are a variety of things you can try at home. There should be 1 more litter box than number of cats in your house. The box needs to be scooped daily and cleaned completely weekly. Some cats prefer a covered box and others an uncovered box. A very large litterbox is ideal. Some cats have a preferenc over substrates (one litter is better than another) so sometimes it takes some experimentation. I would recommend a pheremone diffuser product called "Feliway" that can decrease this issue in some cats https://www.feliway.com/us#redirected . You can also read this article for more ideas: https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=4951508 . If you try all these things to no avail then sometimes prescription anti-anxiety drugs can help. Also I would recommend being diligent about not placing towels/clothes/blankets on the floor.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
-
Published on July 2nd, 2018
There are a large number of reasons that a cat will inappropriately urinate or defecate (outside the litter box). I am attaching a handout below which discusses this in detail. https://www.vin.com/veterinarypartner/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=4951508 The first step in figuring out why a cat is going outside the litter box is to have your veterinarian do an examination and get a urine and/or stool sample to evaluate for a medical reason. If that is normal, then we need to look at other possibilities. The handout above discusses litter box issues that can play a role. Unfortunately, some cats do become afraid of self-cleaning litter boxes if they turn on while the cat is in the box. I have a few suggestions for you. First, the "correct" number of litter boxes is the number of cats plus one. So, if Mystic is your only cat, you should still have 2 boxes. Keep the automatic box, but add another box in another location. Make sure the other box is not covered or lined and is cleaned daily. You may also want to try products like Cat Attract Litter (https://www.drelseys.com/shop/cat-attract/). You should also look at decreasing stress in case that is playing a role. One option for decreasing stress is to add a Feliway Diffuser ( https://www.feliway.com ) to your house. This is a calming pheromone that will work for a month. If your veterinarian cannot find a medical reason and all litter box issues have been dealt with, then it may be time to discuss medication with your veterinarian. Medications are also discussed in the handout. Good luck! I hope that was helpful and gives you some ideas. Thanks for using PetCoach
2Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Why won't my cat use either of her litter boxes?
My cat has a bad habit of peeing on things such of clothes or towels if left on the floor, even for a moment. She will also climb into laundry baskets and pee in there too. She has a large clean litter box, which she uses regularly. However this does
I have a 2 year old rescue cat I adopted in May, she had a litter of 5 kittens last November before being fixed. She's recently in the last few months starting urinating on furniture and clean rugs. We also have 2 Male cats so we make sure to scoop
My cat pees everywhere I clean it and she pees in a new place she won't stop. What is happening I have taken her to the vet its driving me crazy she was litter trained and my aunt had her for a year and now she uses the box but she also pees outside
Hello, i have a question my cat retchi, recently she started a weird behavior peeing all over the place on cushion, sofa and any plastic bag or on the floor and not using her letter box it started 7 months, at first i thought it was due to stress or
My cat is peeing and pooing everywhere and we tried everything
We recently moved into my in laws to save money, but unfortunately they said my cat Lilly is not invited to stay with us. She has been staying elsewhere. The reason the in laws won’t allow for Lilly to stay with us is because they noticed her peeing
My cat keeps peeing on everything I own what do I do
My 5 month old kitten has been litter trained since the day we got him.. which is since he was about four weeks old. He just peed on my bed. It wasn’t extra stinky. He has never done any like it before but a different cat used his litter box. Is it s
My cat (about 9 months) has started peeing on carpets all over the house. My cat is male, and I have an older male cat as well (about 7 years). I caught him today and yelled at him, then locked him and my other one in the area their litter box and fo
Book an appointment with the pros – our expert vets are here to help.
