The first thing you should be thinking when your cat has made attempts to use the litter box or tray, but ends up doing a pee or poop over the side, should be "could my cat have a health problem?". That means it's time for a vet check I'm afraid (P.S. your vet will love you if you bring a fresh sample with you)!
If your vet gives your cat the medical "all clear", then it's time to review your litter box setup and your scooping and cleaning regime. It's possible your cat may have intended to use the box but when they got there, the manky, over-soiled cat litter might've made them think twice. Cats are clean and fastidious animals, so they definitely don't want to be stepping in yesterday's cat pee or accommodating several of their co-cat's faecal creations so they adopt a "near enough is good enough" type approach to toileting. They do it, sure, but like us there are lots of things cats hate but tolerate... every one and every cat has their breaking point!
If your vet gives your cat the medical "all clear", then it's time to review your litter box setup and your scooping and cleaning regime. It's possible your cat may have intended to use the box but when they got there, the manky, over-soiled cat litter might've made them think twice. Cats are clean and fastidious animals, so they definitely don't want to be stepping in yesterday's cat pee or accommodating several of their co-cat's faecal creations so they adopt a "near enough is good enough" type approach to toileting. They do it, sure, but like us there are lots of things cats hate but tolerate... every one and every cat has their breaking point!
Why does my cat sometimes urinate over the side of the litter box?
Cats naturally squat very low to empty their bladder, but if they're weak or painful they may adapt their squat to a more tolerable upright posture and the side effect of that (so to speak) might be the cause of their loss of aim. Common painful conditions like osteoarthritis of the spine, hips, knees or injuries to the tail nerve/muscle pain may be the cause. Also weakness (eg from anaemia, heart disease, muscle or nervous system problems, tail pull injuries or other illness etc) may make the effort of assuming and sustaining the correct toileting position tricky. Finding pee near to or over the side of the tray can be a very important clue that your cat may need extra assistance with accessing their tray especially if they are an ageing senior or geriatric cat. This might potentially be analgesia and adapting the tray to suit your cat's access needs better or buying a more suitable one, something I discuss in more depth further down the page.
Some cats just prefer to adopt a more upright normal posture when peeing than others and some male cats can pee with great force. Sometimes there's a perfect storm - for instance when these factors coincide with a very full bladder. So for instance, a perfectly healthy cat may devour a wet food meal, have a big drink and spend their afternoon napping and on waking have a very full bladder. Or perhaps a cat that has been taking medication that is known to create more urine (eg corticosteroids like prednisolone, dexamethasone). Others might have a medical illnesses that increases urine volume like kidney disease or diabetes mellitus. My point is that if any of these cats happen to get their squatting angle ever so slightly wrong, a jet of pee can go over the side of a tray or hit the inner surface of the hood and run out the join and onto the floor.
Some cats just prefer to adopt a more upright normal posture when peeing than others and some male cats can pee with great force. Sometimes there's a perfect storm - for instance when these factors coincide with a very full bladder. So for instance, a perfectly healthy cat may devour a wet food meal, have a big drink and spend their afternoon napping and on waking have a very full bladder. Or perhaps a cat that has been taking medication that is known to create more urine (eg corticosteroids like prednisolone, dexamethasone). Others might have a medical illnesses that increases urine volume like kidney disease or diabetes mellitus. My point is that if any of these cats happen to get their squatting angle ever so slightly wrong, a jet of pee can go over the side of a tray or hit the inner surface of the hood and run out the join and onto the floor.
How does faeces end up over the side of the litter box?
Just as I've discussed with urinating over the side of the tray, sometimes your cat may have a painful condition that makes access to the tray tricky. Other cats can get constipated and physically passing faeces can be difficult and painful. They may try lots of different postures to help get that giant, hard log of faeces to come out and in the process lose one over the side. These cats may benefit from extra moisture and fibre in their diet which your vet can assist with. If a cat's faeces is sloppier than normal or the urge to pass poop comes on more quickly than they expect (as they often do with gut disease), then they may come out faster and more forcefully than usual. If your cat hasn't had time to get into the right position (such as can be the case with diarrhoea, anxiety or being ambushed by other cats), then that's another reason you may end up with a poop-overboard situation.
The other possibility is what I call a "drop-off" situation, where cats think their poo has landed in the tray but it hasn't and is still attached to their back end. Long and medium haired cats with fluffy bottoms and tails can get faeces stuck to their fur from time to time so trimming an inch of fur from their nether regions can make a big difference in this situation. "Drop-offs" also happen when individual logs of faeces become linked like little brown train carriages. They can dangle half in and half out of their bottom and eventually only come loose as your cat leaves the litter box/tray. The most common causes of this are: eating grass (which is poorly digested by cats and makes its way intact to see the light of day the other end!), ingestion of excessive amounts of fur, and sometimes any string-like object (or linear foreign body as us vets would call it) that they've accidentally swallowed. At Christmas, tinsel is the cause of many a "sparkle" poop - that's if they're lucky and the tinsel doesn't get stuck further up and need surgically removing! Don't say you haven't been warned ;-)
The other possibility is what I call a "drop-off" situation, where cats think their poo has landed in the tray but it hasn't and is still attached to their back end. Long and medium haired cats with fluffy bottoms and tails can get faeces stuck to their fur from time to time so trimming an inch of fur from their nether regions can make a big difference in this situation. "Drop-offs" also happen when individual logs of faeces become linked like little brown train carriages. They can dangle half in and half out of their bottom and eventually only come loose as your cat leaves the litter box/tray. The most common causes of this are: eating grass (which is poorly digested by cats and makes its way intact to see the light of day the other end!), ingestion of excessive amounts of fur, and sometimes any string-like object (or linear foreign body as us vets would call it) that they've accidentally swallowed. At Christmas, tinsel is the cause of many a "sparkle" poop - that's if they're lucky and the tinsel doesn't get stuck further up and need surgically removing! Don't say you haven't been warned ;-)
Choosing a litter box for a cat with pain or mobility issues
Elderly cats and others with painful or restricted movement may find it difficult to get in/out of or manoeuvre within many types of litter trays - even if they seem to manage it. Bear this in mind when choosing a litter box. You don't have to stick with the original design you bought when they were younger but if you're making a change always offer the new tray in addition to their existing one at least until you're sure that your cat is comfortable using it.
Look for a large (ideally 1.5 x the length of your cat), high-sided box or tray with either a low platform or stepped entry, although not so low that you can't have the right depth of clumping cat litter in it (more about which cat litter to choose here). You can always think about ways to adapt the entry to suit your cat's needs using a ramp of easy to manage step.
Look for a large (ideally 1.5 x the length of your cat), high-sided box or tray with either a low platform or stepped entry, although not so low that you can't have the right depth of clumping cat litter in it (more about which cat litter to choose here). You can always think about ways to adapt the entry to suit your cat's needs using a ramp of easy to manage step.
The Trixie Cleany Cat Litter Tray has a removable rim and a very deep back which is great for cats that urinate half squatting or those that prefer an open top tray. It is lower at the from than the back but for older or less mobile cats it may be a little awkward.
The Trixie XXL-sized cream & grey corner litter box above has extra wide dimensions 70 x 56 x 23 cm (L x W x H) compared with other trays. Just make sure you don't get the smaller one that looks the same or others that are described as "extra large" or "jumbo" but whose dimensions don't size up. It seems to be less easy to find these days but this is a great tray for older cats as it has a wide, lower step at the front but still allows for plenty of deep cat litter. It also fits neatly into a corner whilst having a decent sized area for a medium to large sized cat to easily manoeuvre when trying to find that purrfect spot to toilet in. |
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What about covered or hooded trays?
Open-topped litter boxes tend to allow more ventilation of bad smells and they offer cats a clearer line of sight in case anyone tries to disturb them while they're answering a call of nature. Sometimes people forget cats are themselves prey not just predators, so they may instinctively be on the lookout for threats or rivals (any other pets you may have).
That said, some cats seem to prefer the protection of covered style litter boxes. If your cat has chosen this setup over an open-topped tray in the same location, the best then to face the entrance of the tray towards the doorway so they can see any other pets or people coming.
That said, some cats seem to prefer the protection of covered style litter boxes. If your cat has chosen this setup over an open-topped tray in the same location, the best then to face the entrance of the tray towards the doorway so they can see any other pets or people coming.
Look for a larger tray like the Catit Jumbo hooded cat litter tray - which could afford to be even bigger in its overall dimensions I feel, but on the plus side it does have a wide entry step/ledge which may assist access but still allows for filling deep with cat litter. Although the ledge isn't the lowest, you can always modify some steps (as above) or may not need to depending on your cat's leg length and mobility.
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Another good feature to look for in a hooded tray, is a high back and an overlapped join between the top and bottom half. If you have a cat that finds it more comfy to pee standing in a more upright position (eg cats with painful arthritis that needs checking!!), then a tray with this setup may prevents leaks onto your floor.
Offer your cat a step up
Improving access to your cat's tray and make all the difference when they wake up from a sleep with a full bladder and potentially ponder what it might be like to just squat on your duvet instead. Make a step out of whatever you can think of. In the good old days a Yellow Pages was ideal.
Since then I have used anything from a spare paving brick and even leftover old polystyrene packing blocks from a TV delivery to make soft steps up to the litter tray above. I have then just covered them with a puppy training pad and draped a soft mat over the top and it works a treat as you can pick up the mat and flick it outside to get rid of the tracked, rogue cat litter.
You can buy hooded litter trays with inbuilt steps but I don't rate these. One of those ideas that sounds good in theory but hasn't been well executed, as I'm yet to see one with enough space in the actual tray area for a small cat to manoeuvre themselves into position, let alone one with access issues to manoeuvre once inside!
Since then I have used anything from a spare paving brick and even leftover old polystyrene packing blocks from a TV delivery to make soft steps up to the litter tray above. I have then just covered them with a puppy training pad and draped a soft mat over the top and it works a treat as you can pick up the mat and flick it outside to get rid of the tracked, rogue cat litter.
You can buy hooded litter trays with inbuilt steps but I don't rate these. One of those ideas that sounds good in theory but hasn't been well executed, as I'm yet to see one with enough space in the actual tray area for a small cat to manoeuvre themselves into position, let alone one with access issues to manoeuvre once inside!
** Important info about changing your litter box setup! **
Don't forget that if you're making any changes with your cat's litter box or tray set up (including the litter itself), always offer the new option along side the old one so that your cat can get used to the new one over a week or so. It will look, smell and feel different and they need time to adapt to its presence. Sudden changes can result in your cat deciding to "cross their legs" and put off going to the toilet. This can trigger a medical crisis or potentially lead to a decision to toilet somewhere else in your home so it's vital you make any changes not matter how small, very gradual.