The Cat's Meow - My Cat is Peeing All Over My Tile Floor!

Rob "Power of the Meow" Stanson on Sep 2, 2008

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From Anna M. via AOL

"We took in a lost female cat about two years ago. She's turned out to have a very nice personality and gets along well with my Yorkie. We believe that she's around four-years-old.

"She's always used her litterbox with no problem until very recently -- she's been going on the tiles on my dining room floor. I've tried putting her outside, but as she's declawed I can't leave her there (indeed, I'm very nervous about her being out there at all). I've made every attempt to keep the litter clean and even have changed it frequently. Still, she goes on the tile.

"I'm about at my wit's end. Do you have any suggestions?"

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Inappropriate elimination is one of the main problems people contact me about. In some ways, you're rather fortunate -- cleaning cat urine off of a tile floor is a picnic compared to getting the scent out of a carpet, curtains, or even a sofa!

Still, the first thing that it's absolutely vital for you to do is to eliminate the odor of the urine entirely. While you may not be able to smell it, your cat can. And even on a tile floor the urine can soak into the grout and leave traces that Miss Kitty will be able to sense. I recommend a thorough scrubbing followed by a soaking with something that will break down the chemicals that cause the scent. Products such as Nature's Miracle or even Febreze work quite well. Spray it over the entire area and let it dry. Then it can't hurt to spray it again!

Next, you need to determine why she's no longer fond of going in the litterbox. Reasons for this could include:

- A change in the type of litter you've been using. Some cats are very fussy about this, and won't like the texture or scent of a different brand.
- A change in the type of litterbox you have for her.
- A change in where the litterbox is kept.
- A change in the household, such as a new child or other family member.
- A medical problem such as a urinary tract infection (UTI). If it's uncomfortable for her to go, she'll seek out a comfortable area (such as cool tiles) to do her business.
- Any other change in the household that might upset her routine.

I'm going to take a wild stab that your problem could well be medically related, as she was a stray and these UTI's can often take a long time to manifest. Of course, if any of the other things mentioned above are coming into play, I would perhaps make those changes first, then seeing if the problem goes away.

I've had problems on and off over the years with inappropriate elimination. It always requires more than a little bit of detective work, but I've always found a solution in the end. I suspect you will, too!

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Cat fancier Rob "Power of the Meow" Stanson has been an observer and studied cats for over twenty years. Visit him at "The Cat's Meow" where you can view the archives or ask him your own question which he will answer in a future column!