Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Okay. So I have 2 adorable cats, Vincent Van Gato and Francesco. We recently moved and I got married. Vinnie recently urinated on my backpack and has started pooping just out side of the litter box. He's always with in like 6 inches of the litterbox. He used to do that only when the litter box was to his standards. But its gotten worse and with his urinating in my backpack...i'm concerned. Frankie has adjusted just fine. Any suggestions?! I've had Vinnie since he was a baby and I love him so very much. I just want him to be his normal self again...

ps....here's a picture of my boys

Hi There,

All cats are different and Vinnie might be having a harder time adjusting than your other baby. Remember, cats become very attached to their homes so it can be very difficult for them to adjust to a new place. This might explain the inappropriate elimination.

Just to be sure, if Vinnie were my kitty, I would take him in for a vet check to make sure all is well. If possible, a urinalysis should be done to rule out a urinary tract infection and/or crystals. I realize that he is defecating out of the box also, but this may or may not indicate a separate problem.

Cats are creatures of habit and in Vinnie's eyes his world has been turned upside down. Everything has changed and he is most likely very nervous. If he ends up having a normal exam, you might want to consider meds temporarily to reduce his stress. It would also be good to have one or two more litterboxes. Ideally, you should have one litterbox per cat plus one extra. This gives the cat a choice plus makes it easuer to keep the litterboxes cleaner.

I would also find a good enzyme-based cleaner so you can totally get the smell of urine out of the backpack, or anything else he has urinated on. As long as he detects the smell of urine, he will be likely to repeat the behavior.

Take care, and please keep us updated.

PHKitkat