Inappropriate Elimination - Cat

Also known as: housesoiling

Introduction

explanation

General Aspects of Investigation of Housesoiling Cases

Medical Assessment

Medical factors are very important in housesoiling and marking problems. Certain conditions are directly involved in the generation and maintenance of behavioural problems, whilst others are contributory in an indirect sense [see box].

Medical factors underlying housesoiling problems
Conditions causing PU/PD: renal insufficiency, diabetes mellitus.
Feline lower urinary tract disease.
Diseases causing debilitation: osteoarthritis, senile dementia, and sensory loss.
Diseases affecting cognition: senile dementia, CNS pathology [primary or secondary to systemic disease].

The medical workup must include:

• Medical history
• Clinical examination – including abdominal palpation
• Urinalysis
• Assessment of mobility, cognitive function and sensory perception
• Further investigation through haematology, biochemistry or imaging techniques

If a case is to be referred to a non-veterinary behaviourist, it is essential to rule out any potential underlying or contributory medical factor.

Behavioural Assessment

Housesoiling and indoor marking behaviour may be difficult to differentiate in some cases, and in many they occur together. It is important to collect all of the information needed to make a judgement:

• Age of onset
• Previous record of house training
• Present reaction to litter facilities
• Pattern of deposits – location, frequency, volume
• Orientation of deposits – onto vertical or horizontal surfaces
• Posture of cat during deposition
• Relationships between animals in the household
• Presence or absence of the owner or other animals around the time of soiling [including other cats seen outside].
• Owner’s reaction to the deposits
• Events in the household or the neighbourhood coinciding with the onset of the behaviour
• Assessment of the cat’s emotional reactions to novelty in the environment and to strangers

Using a House Plan

One of the most useful tools when investigating a problem of feline house soiling is a plan of the house in which the cat lives. This does not need to be a detailed scale drawing but rather a basic plan indicating the layout of rooms in the house, the position of windows, doors and major furniture and the location of major resources such as feeding and watering stations, sleeping locations and play areas. Each individual cat’s favourite resting places and rooms they prefer to inhabit should be noted on the diagram. The client should mark onto this diagram the location of urine and faeces that they have found. [see figure]