Q & A: House training for kittens

Q: My kitten is all of a sudden urinating all over the house. Why does she do that?

A: Firstly, you need to determine whether it is a health or behaviour issue. To eliminate the health issue, take the kitten to the vet, who will evaluate her physical condition. Cats urinating around the house is a common sign of possible urinary tract infection or bladder infection. In that case the vet will prescribe antibiotics, which will clear the problem.

However, if that is not the cause, try a few of these things to see if it will resolve the problem.

• Ensure that there is one litter box per cat in the household. Cats don’t like to share their litter boxes with other cats.
• Change the litter material, from sand to granular or vice versa.
• Place the litter box on the spot that the cat frequently, inappropriately uses. Move the litter box to the regular spot a few centimetres a day until it is back in its place.
• Keep the litter boxes as clean as possible at all times.

If this doesn’t resolve the issue, you will need to contact a reputable animal behaviourist for help.

Small animal veterinarian