House Soiling Dogs and Cats

What needs to be established in the history of a house soiling animal?

What (urine, feces, both?)

Who (Has the behavior been observed by a specific animal?)

When (did it start, does it occur)

Where does it occur

Methods to determine which animal is urinating in the house?

Pill the animal with fluorescein strips and urine will fluoresce

Methods to determine which animal is defecating?

Shave kid-safe crayons into gelatin capsules or other small edible things to color the stool

What can the “when” tell you

How long the issue will take to correct

Associating related events that could be triggers

Are there predictable triggers

What can the “where” tell you

Often tells you why

Quiet place?

In front of the owner?

Additional things to consider in history

Number of animals

How well do animals get along

Medical issues

What has been tried, has it been tried correctly

What are additional things to consider in history for cats

Is there a cat guarding the litter box

How may litter boxes are there

Where are the litter boxes

Are the litter boxes covered, how big are they

Type of litter and any recent changes

How clean is the litter box

What is the number one reason cats eliminate outside the litter box

Litter box is dirty

What are some common medical issues that can cause house soiling

Painful urination or defecation (idiopathic cystitis, UTI, stones, constipation)

Osteoarthritis

Pain increased stress

What is one of the most common reasons cats defecate outside the box?

Constipation/painful defecation

Cats relate pain to location

What are some other factors that can cause a cat to eliminate outside the litter box?

Owner catches the cat at litter box to medicate it

Declawed cat

Cat misses the litterbox (perches on the edge)

Earth rakes <4 seconds

Persian

What issues are exclusive to dogs

Submissive urination

Informational marking

What issues are exclusive to cats

Litter aversion/preference

What causes submissive urination

Excessive shyness

Common in puppies, small breeds, and females

Poor socialization

Very large rough human approaching

Treatment for submissive urination

Minimize excitement

Ignore the dog until it settles

Squat down, use side view

Higher pitch soft voice

Encourage dog to approach, offer treats

Change context for situation

Greet dog in area that its allowed to urinate

Drug therapy

What drugs are good for submissive urination

Phenylpropanolamine (Tightens bladder spinchter)

Imipramine (reduces anxiety)

What are some medical causes of inappropriate urination (urinary)

UTI

Idiopathic cystitis

What are some medical causes of inappropriate elimination (Muscoskeletal)

Osteoarthritis

What are some medical causes of inappropriate elimination (GI)

Intestinal parasites

Pancreatic problems

Mega colon

What are things to avoid when making a litter box location “user” friendly

Dirty boxes

Bully cats

Sneak attacks

How to treat location aversion/preference based house soiling in dogs

Go back to house training 101

Confine when unable to watch the dog

Tighten dog’s schedule

Lots of rewards

Puppies learn ____ preference why cat preferences are based on ___, ____, and ____.

Surface

Quiet, close, clean

Ways to make soiled area less attractive

Block the area

Protect the area

Change odors

Put food bowls down

What are some accessibility issues

Closed doors

Owner not home

Owner ignores cues

___ mark with only urine while ___ mark with urine and feces

Cats

Dogs

Cat castration reduces male behaviors by ___%

90

Dog castration reduces male behaviors by ___%

50

Cat spaying reduces female marking by ___%

95

Dog spaying stops most female marking (T/F)

True

The likelihood of spraying with one cat is ___% but is ___% when it is 10 or more cats

25

100

Why do animals mark?

Increased anxiety or stress

Perceived invasion of territory

How do you treat marking behavior?

Block access to the area

Desensitize to household changes

Tighten animal schedule

General calming products

Drug therapy (as supplement)