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The most common unwanted behavior described by people that share their homes with cats is house soiling, which includes urinating or defecating in unwanted areas outside the litter box. House soiling is sometimes called inappropriate elimination.
If there is a change in your cat’s elimination habits (location, frequency, consistency, amount), a veterinary visit is highly recommended. There may be an underlying physical illness causing the behavior. Early detection and early intervention are key in helping resolve house soiling.
Supporting the lifestyle and elimination needs of cats can prevent and help reverse inappropriate elimination. Regardless the cause, assessing the needs of your cat is a good starting point.
All cats need exercise, social contact, and attention. They also need time to rest, opportunities to engage in seeking/finding behavior, and freedom from stress. Whatever the cause of house soiling, you can set your cat up for success by providing for their common, basic needs. Here are some examples:
Based on research, here are items most cats prefer when it comes to a litter box:
Storage containers with an entry door or large sweater boxes often make excellent litter boxes.
Providing a “litter cafeteria” temporarily can help you determine what your cat prefers. Offer several boxes with a variety of litter types and depths. Include clay clumping, since that is the favorite of most cats. Place the boxes in the same area. Take note of which litter type is used most frequently over the course of a week and provide that litter moving forward.
Next, try putting the favored litter into several types of boxes — high sides, low sides, covered, and open.
If your cat is eliminating outside the box, pay attention to the surface they are choosing. Is it paper, fabric, or towels? Sometimes providing a litter box with the preferred material will prompt the cat to use the litter box. Cat litter can then be gradually mixed in with the preferred material to retrain over time.
Most cats are fastidious by nature, which means they spend a lot of time grooming themselves. They prefer a tidy bathroom as well. Consider a human going into a public restroom. If someone before you forgets to flush, do you proceed and use the toilet? Doing our best to keep the litter clean and appealing to cats is one of the most important ways to maintain good elimination habits for your cats.
There are numerous physical illnesses that can lead to house soiling, including:
A thorough health checkup, behavioral checkup, and lab testing are the first important steps in changing house soiling. A thorough history, physical examination, blood tests, urine testing, and X-rays may be recommended.
Your veterinarian may recommend follow-up testing and treatment for underlying illnesses as part of a comprehensive therapeutic plan to reduce house soiling.
House soiling can be divided into two categories: marking behavior and toileting behavior. A cat may soil for one or both of these reasons, and underlying stress can contribute to both marking and toileting problems.
Marking: Cats may mark with urine or feces. Marking functions as a form of communication. It is considered a normal behavior, as it allows cats to convey information about their sexual status, social status and territory. When house cats mark, it often indicates the presence of social pressure or other stressors.
Most cats that exhibit marking behavior continue to use their litter box for full voiding, but deposit small amounts of urine or feces in socially important locations. Urine is most often deposited on vertical surfaces. Surgical de-sexing of housecats greatly reduces marking behavior.
Some examples of socially important locations where a cat may mark:
Toileting: Cats that soil related to a toileting concern generally deposit a large amount of urine or feces, as the behavior represents full elimination. They often choose hidden areas rather than socially important locations for voiding. Cats who toilet outside the litter box may avoid their box altogether or may continue to use their box occasionally.
Toileting usually involves one or more of these factors:
The diagnosis or cause of house soiling is needed to guide treatment. Your veterinarian can help you make this diagnosis and prescribe an appropriate treatment protocol. Most treatment plans involve strategies to help re-establish the habit of using the litter box, for example:
Sometimes, it can be helpful to confine your cat to a small area to re-start litter use. Confinement can be risky, as it can cause many cats to become distressed, so do not attempt confinement training until you have consulted with your veterinarian.
Do not use a squirt bottle; do not scold or punish your cat. Punishment exacerbates behavior problems in cats, as it increases stress and could cause your cat to become afraid of you.
Cats that are diagnosed with house soiling secondary to anxiety, stress, or frustration may benefit from medication. Medication alone will not solve or reverse the behavior and should always be accompanied by a detailed re-training plan. Your veterinarian can help determine whether medications are appropriate for your cat.
© Copyright 2025 LifeLearn Inc. Used and/or modified with permission under license. This content written by LifeLearn Animal Health (LifeLearn Inc.) is licensed to this practice for the personal use of our clients. Any copying, printing or further distribution is prohibited without the express written consent of LifeLearn. This content does not contain all available information for any referenced medications and has not been reviewed by the FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine, or Health Canada Veterinary Drugs Directorate. This content may help answer commonly asked questions, but is not a substitute for medical advice, or a proper consultation and/or clinical examination of your pet by a veterinarian. Please contact your veterinarian if you have any questions or concerns about your pet’s health. Last updated on Mar 20, 2025.
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