Yesterday was the coldest day I personally have survived in my own home. A colder day occurred in my lifetime but I wasn't here that day. From time to time a little rattle outside would indicate that enough warmth was escaping through the roof for a little water to drip from the eaves. Other than that nothing melted; the snow that had started to melt in the sun, the day before, was a little denser but not even really crusty. The snow was deep enough for Silver's head to stick out if she held her head up high, which she does not normally do. Hello? This is the little princess who decided, after spending last winter as an indoor pet, that she didn't want to be outside when temperatures were even refrigerator-cold.
"Isn't it time you went out for a break?" I asked the cats.
"NO," Serena nonverbally said. "I already had mine." Serena had spent most of the morning keeping Drudge company in the cellar.
"I need one," Silver nonverbally said. I went to the door. "I'm not going out in THAaaat," Silver nonverbally said.
"Well, I suppose today is enough of an emergency that you can use the emergency litter box," I said, going back to the computer.
The cats have a small litter box in the office, which Serena has actually used, and a bigger, newer one they have agreed not to use. They reached this agreement by giving each other the evil eye when either one approached it. Silver approached it, sniffed, and apparently decided to wait.
I should have known,..
Serena was sitting beside me on the bench in front of the desktop computer.
Silver quietly walked around to the bench, but went under it rather than jumping onto it...and the next thing I noticed was an odor. Quite a strong odor for a young female cat. She must have been holding in for a day or two. That, or she's picked up something worse than the worms that apparently responded to Worm-Eze, during her summer as a feral cat.
"Silver!" I yelled. "What is WRONG with you?"
Silver scuttled back to the litter box and pointed.
Serena had used the litter box. After months of detente, when Silver had probably thought she was entitled to use the new box first, Serena must have used it quietly, one night, not wanting to wake Silver and me. The litter had absorbed the odor and most of the dampness, but Silver knew. And her way to vent her feelings about Serena's having left her odor in the box was for Silver to leave her odor right...below...Serena's nose!
Cats have strong feelings about that sort of thing.
"I wouldn't have a cat," said the odd jobs man, whose sister has a Cat Sanctuary several miles from here. "They are nasty animals. They run into the house just to make a mess on your floor."
"If they do that, there's a problem," I said.
"Yes, there's a problem," he agreed. "The problem is that they are cats!"
Actually it's not that bad, but there are indeed situations that cause indoor cats to leave messy messages outside the litter box. There is always a message. You will want to clean up the mess, and you really don't want to do permanent harm to the cat, whatever your emotional reaction may suggest...but you don't want to ignore the message either. The cat is telling you something you need to know. Some common possibilities:
1. Your cat is male. Males don't leave solid waste where they eat and sleep unless there is a problem, but they scent-mark their territory. The simplest solution is not to let a male cat come inside the house. (This does not solve the problem of what they'll do on the steps, porch, paths, fence...) If you do want to keep a male cat indoors, have him neutered before he's really noticed that he's male, as early as the vet will do the operation. If it's too late for that, you can try giving him a selection of litter boxes all over the house and cleaning them regularly so that he wants to scent them first, but resign yourself. You will be doing a lot of sniffing and scrubbing. A mild bleach solution, like the one with which Chlorox Wipes are saturated, will react with the mild ammonia solution the cat has applied to the house, producing a mild whiff of vapor that would be dangerous in stronger concentrations and a chemical reaction that removes urea and, often, paint and other surfaces. Expensive enzyme formulas are more efficient and less likely to eat into the surfaces of your walls and floors.
2. Your unaltered cat wants to attract a mate. Cats don't go to bars, so the quickest way they can tell other cats they're available is to leave hormone-saturated personal odor at the edges of their territory. Outdoor cats usually do this in places where humans don't notice it. Indoor cats sometimes do it in the house, sometimes near a door. If you don't want kittens, winter is the best time to spay a female cat. (Males can be neutered at any time of year. Females are more likely to have started kittens already, complicating the procedure, when the weather is mild or warm.)
3. Your cat is sick, usually either as a result of eating something it caught outdoors (most birds that cats can catch will make the cats sick), eating human food it found indoors, or reacting to chemical pollution in air, water, or even cat food. Sick cats often try to eliminate the problem as close as possible to their humans, or where they're sure their humans will find it. They're asking you for help. If the mess shows evidence of something other than simple food poisoning, like worms or blood, get the cat to the vet as fast as you can. If it looks like simple food poisoning but persists for more than an hour or two, you may feel better later if you rush to the vet, but person may be as baffled as you and cat are. Food-grade charcoal powder (one capsule as sold at Wal-Mart emptied into a cup of water, stirred up, given from a syringe) will adsorb most toxins and infections right away and even relieve symptoms of feline panleukopenia, improving the cat's chances of survival. Taking the cat to a place where it will do relatively little damage, such as its carrying cage, for observation will show the cat that you care.
4. Your cat is expressing irritation with something you or another cat did. The mess will probably be where you or the other cat is, and the cat may make a point of showing you what it's doing. A cat who is really ticked off may climb onto your lap or shoulder and express its indignation right down your clothes. While moments like this can test people's commitment to keeping the cat, or at least to keeping it indoors, it can be helpful to put the cat in "time out" for a few hours while reflecting on your sins and considering what to do differently.
5. You didn't clean the place where the cat made its mess before. Cats react to faint traces of their own bodywaste odors as territorial markers, and may think they need to refresh those markers as their scent begins to fade. Then again, while even cats who share food may like to have their own litter boxes, which are certainly marked with their scent, cats will abandon a litter box when its odor gets too strong; daily cleaning with just a little fresh litter is better than less frequent cleaning with more. Scrub thoroughly this time, and consider applying an odor cats hate to targets other than a litter box. Original formula Listerine, a mix of mint, thyme, and eucalyptus, is good because it's repellent to cats (toxic if it gets on their skin or into their mouths) and it keeps black mold from growing where urea may have soaked into wood.
6. Your kitten wants to share a proud moment with you. Kittens are not born with the ability to excrete bodywastes on their own; for the first few weeks someone else has to help them. When they toddle out of their nests and nibble on solid food, their mothers stop helping them and they have to exercise their growing ability to control their internal muscles. The first few little puddles and piles a kitten makes are a source of pride. Kittens are usually content for their immediate families to see what they figured out how to do, but if they're already pets they may want you to see, too. They look up at you exactly like a child saying "Look, Mom, I'm riding a bicycle!" Say something like, "Well, aren't you clever," and take the kitten to a more appropriate place in case it has more to excrete. Female kittens learn fast. Males learn fast, too, about solid waste, but never lose their feeling that their bodies' liquid secretions have the best smells that ever were or will be.
7. A new cat has joined the family. A cat who is willing to share part of the house, but claims some places as its own, will draw the line for the newcomer with bodywastes in places it claims. Cleaning will not defeat the cat's purpose and may in fact please the cat, since its odor will linger in the air anyway and no cat wants to live with piles of dung.
8. The new cat itself may be staking out its territory, if a senior cat is not present to do that first. Commercial cat litter has a subtle scent that speaks directly to cats' instincts, saying something like "Squat on me," so kittens who have not seen a litter box before can usually figure out what it is, but sometimes their instinct to mark their territory is even stronger than their instinct to claim a brand-new litter box as their own. Clean the spot and redirect the cat to its very own litter box. (It really is good, for cats as well as for storekeepers, to buy a new box and new litter when you adopt a new cat.)
9. Some cats will share one litter box, which is very convenient for their humans. Many cats, however, really prefer to have one of their very own, and giving each cat its own box can reduce the spread of infections and parasites among cats. Sometimes a cat who wants its own box will refuse to use a litter box another cat uses. A puddle right beside the litter box may be a cat's way of saying "I want my own litter box." In the case of an extra-large cat (like our long-ago Queen Graybelle) it may be the cat's way of saying "This box is too small." Manx and Maine Coon cats are especially likely to reach a size where they really can't squat comfortably in the smaller-size boxes sold in stores.
10. The bathroom is a logical place to park a litter box and let cats use it at will. Many cats show an interest in how humans use toilets and, if the seat is left down and the lid is left up, will learn to make a plop (or splash, in houses that still have water-flush toilets) all by themselves. This is super-convenient for their humans. Few if any cats will ever learn how to flush, but to me that seems like a small favor to ask in exchange for going litter-box-free. So is wiping the seat with disinfectant before sitting on it. Some cats, unfortunately, give up on using the toilet because they'd rather use the sink, tub, or shower as their own personal water-flush toilets. I would at least try applying Listerine to the appliance before putting the cat in a shelter, but we all have our own boundaries about this kind of thing.
No doubt there are other possibilities but this short list covers most of the reasons why cats may soil the house that they regard as home. Sooner or later all cat people have to deal with this problem, but (except in the case of long-term illness) it's not a problem most of us have to deal with in every single year.
Dogs, on the other hand...I've never personally known an indoor pet dog who didn't present one or another of these problems in every single year. Probably more than once a year, given the frequency with which the problems presented themselves to visitors. Dog people either resign themselves to doing a lot of scrubbing, or keep their dogs outdoors. Dogs can learn to use their version of a litter box in the house, but they don't learn easily, and because their instincts don't include any aversion to their own excrement even if it made them sick, they do forget easily. A dog may go to the corner with the absorbent mat in it to please its master, which dogs do instinctively like doing, but many other things may distract the dog from the goal of pleasing its master--and the dog likes its own mess. This is why several of the world's religious and cultural traditions, not only Muslims, teach that dogs should be kept outdoors.
But humans are about as likely to have unsanitary "little accidents" as female cats are.
Here are some female cats who instinctively like to be clean, and some dogs who have at least learned that doing things in the cleanest possible way pleases humans.
Zipcode 10101: Definitely Not Our Serena from NYC
She was probably dumped, and was certainly recognized and brought into a shelter, because of that tumor. It's been biopsied and pronounced benign. They think this large, youthful, dominant cat is not merely a Queen Cat, but naturally suited to being an Only Cat. However, she likes humans and purrs when approached by shelter staff.
Starburst, Whose Foster Humans Call Him Bingo, from Long Island
His web page sounds as if those New Yorkers have only just seen for the first time what a wonderful pet a coon hound normally is. Easy to look at, easy to live with, they don't demand a lot of attention but are almost always up for a walk or a game. (Or a hunting trip, if you're into that kind of thing.) They sound as if it's surprising that Starburst, or Bingo, is housebroken and gets on well with the other dogs, the cat, and the child in his foster home. The one reason why some people don't want a coon hound is the size. Starburst is about a year old and already weighs 44 healthy pounds. If you need a lap-size dog, keep looking. If you have room and time for a dog who can run about as far and as fast as you can, this may be the dog for you.
Zipcode 20202: Duchess from DC
Just another summer kitten brought in (with four siblings) by someone who didn't want kittens and didn't do what prevents kittens happening. (Do it before the thaw!) Duchess may be a Queen Cat but is young enough that she's likely to learn to get along well with other cats, dogs, children, or other animals. They don't insist, but they recommend that you adopt one of her siblings too. They say nothing about discounts.
Lola from Houston via DC
Lola is thought to be about two years old, more retriever than anything else. She was found living with puppies. She didn't show a protective instinct but wanted to be rescued by any human she could persuade to rescue the family. So, she chose the wrong job. She may not be suited to be a feral mother dog, but her foster humans think she'll be a wonderful pet. She weighs about 45 pounds. They will deliver her to any state or to Canada if video chat convinces them that you can offer the right home. They will want a Zoom chat with you in your roomy fenced yard. Lola is used to having plenty of room for exercise.
Zipcode 30303: Concha from Atlanta
She won the photo contest, hands down--she is an Amber-Eyed Silver Tip. But she's fallen into the hands of the Humane Society. Use judgment. Concha is young and may grow bigger; currently she's a small cat. She was only recently "rescued." Not much is known about her.
Mia from Bogue by way of Atlanta
She won't win photo contests for long. She is a Black-Mouth Cur, not a pretty breed, but they can be good pets. At ten months old Mia has already learned to use the "bathroom" and "bedroom" spaces humans tell her to use, sit, stay, and shake. She behaves well with other dogs and children, too. Mia is currently living on the Carolina coast and could be delivered to other places, as well as Atlanta, for a fee.
