Why is my cat going to toilet in the bathtub?

[CinderToriella]

we have an 11 year old cat who always uses her kitty litter, she is a house cat and goes outside when we do

she always has used her kitty litter, but now she still uses it but also goes to the toilet in the bath tub and the bathroom floor!

the changes we have made that could be effecting it are
-moved a lot of stuff into the room she has her toilet in , untill we sort it all out ,so a lot less room but she can get to her toilet

-we put upa small low child gate to stop our dog from going in there
-we changed her kitty litter from clay clumps to the crystals as they were lasting longer

but last night we added some of her clay clumps back in incase that was the issue but she still used her toilet then later on used the bath tub again


we always clean her toilet and mix it up and scrape it around each day

whats going on with our little fluff ball lol ?

[Kazmar]

She may like the feeling on her feet. So get some of those sticky gripy things for the bath. She wont like the feel of it.
Also maybe attention? I knew some cats that would pee and poo on stove tops! For attention. Yuk! Not mine thank god!

[Acacia]

Is she exclusively peeing/pooing in the bath/bathroom floor i.e. is she doing one thing in the litter tray and the other in the bath?

My instinct tells me that she's probably reacting to the change in litter type. Cats can be really picky like that. And they can be really picky to the point of doing one type of elimination but not the other in the new litter. I've been through this too, where I changed litter and my cats would not use it, or use it sometimes and not others, or use it for peeing but not pooing.

Can you see what happens if you go back to clay litter completely? If that fixes the problem then I would slowly start introducing a small amount of crystals into the clay and gradually increase the ratio mix to be more and more crystals over time until she makes the transition fully.

We use crystals too as they last longer and absorb a lot more smell, but it did take some time and the above method to get one of our cats in particular to get used to it.

HTH

[Kazbah]

Is she going a lot more? Might be worth getting her checked out by the vet - mine does this when he's not well, particularly with cystitis (crystals in urethra)

[sloane]

Is she going a lot more? Might be worth getting her checked out by the vet - mine does this when he's not well, particularly with cystitis (crystals in urethra)

that's what i was thinking as well - my cat only ever went to the toilet in the bath when she wasn't well.

[Lolli]

Yeah, my cat started doing this as he got older. If the litter was even a tiny bit full, he'd use the bathtub. A vet told me they like the smell of the drains- he did suggest putting some bi carb down mine to reduce the smell, but it didn't help.

TBH hun, my cat was in the initial stages of kidney failure when he started doing this. Maybe get checked out by a vet

[Twin Sister]

You should get her checked out by your vet. Sometimes if cats have crystals in their urine or a bladder infection, they associate the litter box with pain and they start to urinate elsewhere. If there is nothing medically wrong with her then your vet can also discuss behavioural reasons with you.

[CinderToriella]

Im calling the vet today

I know she is an older cat so i am always worried about her health ..

I hope its just the change it kitty litter .. but iv been meaning to take her to get a check up anyway so i wont put it off any longer..

[sloane]

it prob is just the change but it's good to be sure.

[MummyTummy]

My cat also pees in the bath when she gets cystitis. She doesn't have kitty litter though - fully outdoor pee/pooper.

My last cat used to hate litter that wasn't totally fresh each time she used it (crystals weren't around then - i have a feeling they may have suited her better) and she used the bath, the shower or the bathroom sink or the roof gutter because it would drain away entirely. She was a bit eccentric though, hygiene was an absolute priority for her. Every activity she did was preceeded and ended with a thorough wash all over!!

Vet check really is the most important thing at this stage to rule out any health issues before proceeding on behavioural issues. I hope it is just the change in her environment and/or kitty litter change.