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Why is my cat peeing and pooping outside the litter box after moving?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Mixed Breed | Female | spayed | 4 years and 1 month old | 20 lbs

long story short, moved 6 months ago and my cat has had fits ever since moving. before we moved, she good. now she won’t use the litter box, has peed on me, peed and pooped in dining room, on couch and bed. it’s been off and on since the move and i don’t know what else to do.

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Heidi DVM, CVA, CCRT, CVTP, CVSMT, CVCH

Veterinarian, Certified Veterinary Acupuncturist, Certified Canine Rehabilitation Practitioner

Published on February 25th, 2018

I'm so sorry that you are having such problems with Kitty. I am imagine how frustrating this is for you. Since these problems started with the move, stress may be playing a role. One option for decreasing stress is to add a Feliway Diffuser ( https://www.feliway.com/us#redirected ) to your house. This is a calming pheromone that will work for a month. I have also had luck with Rescue Remedy ( http://www.bachflower.com/rescue-remedy-pet/ ) which can be added to the water. Hover, there are a large number of reasons that a cat will inappropriately urinate and defecate (urinate and defecate outside the litter box) and stress may be only one of the reasons. I am attaching a handout below which discusses this in detail. http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=633 The first step in figuring out why a cat is urinating outside the litter box is to have your veterinarian do an examination and get a urine 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. Make sure you have at least 2 litter boxes (if Kitty is the only cat), they are not covered or lined, and are cleaned daily. You may also want to try products like Cat Attract Litter (https://www.drelseys.com/shop/cat-attract/). 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 above. Good luck! I hope that was helpful and that you can figure out what's going on with Kitty. Thanks for using PetCoach.

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Other Answers

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    Answered By Andrea M. Brodie, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on December 3rd, 2016

    It sounds like your kitty is still upset over the loss of its friend and possibly over you leaving to go to college as well.. Get some Feliway diffusers and plug them in where your kitty spends most of her time. It may take a while for Coco to adjust. Feliway has a stress relieving effect on cats. Maybe your parents can give her access only to a few rooms in the house and give her extra special attention and pets,

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