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My cat pees outside litter box. How to stop this behavior & clean?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Domestic Longhair | Female | spayed | 3 years and 2 months old | 12 lbs

My cat has peed on my drapes right in front of me. And after seeing that check my draps and that is where she has been going. Also she goes right outside the box. Just pee not poop. I don't have any drapes up now. But need to put them back up I think I will need new ones. How can I treat the wall area and floor area, I have those squares that are like linoleum which it seeps in between the seams. Help I live in a apartment. and have to stop this behavior. and clean it up too. I use Dr.El cat lit

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Megan, DVM, CVA

Veterinarian

Published on January 22nd, 2018

She may be urinating outside the litter box if she has an infection or bladder stones. I would have your vet take a look at her. Your vet will be able to do a urinalysis to ensure everything is ok. They will be able to start her on antibiotics if needed. If everything is normal, then I would be more concerned with behavioral. I would definitely get of the drapes. As far as cleaning, I would try to use a deodorizer to help hide her scent. See link below. Clean the wall area the best you can. Unfortunately, you may not be able to get deep into those cracks. You can try q-tips although this may be a little tedious. Some things to try for her behavior is adding additional litter boxes throughout the house especially near where the drapes are that she likes to use. I would also add some feliway diffusers. This is a cat pheromone that will sometimes help calm cats.. It doesn't work on every cat though. Finally, if these don't work, I would talk to you vet about adding in an anti-anxiety medicine like amitryptilline. I have had good success with this to help with inappropriate urination. I hope this helps! One example of a deodorizing enzymatic cleaner:

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Other Answers

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    Answered By Maria DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on January 18th, 2018

    I would recommend a few different things. First I would rule out medical. This means full blood work and a urinalysis performed at the veterinarian's office. If everything is clear then the next step I would do is have how ever many cats you have plus one in litter boxes. I would clean them twice a day. I would also use clumping litter. If you play around with different types of litter I would only change one box at a time to see what she prefers. Then I would also make sure you have one litter box on each level. After this make sure there are places she can climb up on and hide in. If any of this does not work there is medication that typically helps with inappropriate urination. Some people have indoor/outdoor cats to solve this problem but the cats are more at risk for diseases, getting hit by a car and getting attacked. I hope this helps and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

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