There's always an explanation

Question: My cat is urinating inside. What can I do?
Answer: There are many possible explanations for this behaviour. The first thing to do is to take the cat to your vet for an examination and a urine test. If all is normal, make sure your cat always has access to a clean dirt-box in a quiet part of the house. If the cat has not been using a dirt-box inside recently, you should offer two trays with different litter types (one bark litter and one granules). If you have more than one cat, provide a dirt-box for each cat and one extra and make sure they're well spaced. Clean all previously soiled areas with an enzyme-containing cleaner and supervise the cat at all times when it's inside. If you see the cat attempt to spray or squat to pass urine, shut it outside or in the area containing the dirt-boxes for 10 minutes or so. If you're not home to supervise the cat or too busy to watch it, make sure it's outside or shut in an area containing a dirt-box, with access to food and water and a place to sleep. Make sure the cat has quality time with you during the day. Play with it, pat it, feed it treats. If the problem continues, you need to call in a behaviourist to establish the trigger for the behaviour and provide a modification programme and, possibly, medication and/or pheromone therapy. Possible explanations include reaction to an intruding cat, status-related problems between cats in the household, reactions to changes in the physical environment (renovations, new furniture), new animals or people in the household. A recently acquired cat may be doing this because it's previously been kept in a situation that left it no option but to soil inside. Remember, cats don't behave this way to annoy you deliberately! There's always an explanation.
Dr Elsa Flint is a veterinarian and animal behaviourist in practice at Shore Vets, Devonport