# Kitten urinating in water bowl.



## Charliex (Feb 11, 2013)

Hello everyone, i'm new here so I do apologise if there has already been a similar thread.

My kitten is 7 months old, male and un neutered yet. Since I got him he has a constant habit of weeing in his water bowl, which is a nightmare for my other older cat. The most bizarre thing is he poos in the litter tray which they both share, they always have clean food, and litter tray, and the water is emptied and cleaned as soon as he does it. 

He was a stray farm kitten, never had a previous owner, he's settled in perfectly at home with me and my other cat, they get along like brothers and love eachother (I live alone), he's a happy, friendly kitten, no other problems i've noticed with his health at all. I've tried cat deterrant just around the water bowl, putting his face near the soiled water like when cats poop in places they aren't supposed to and they stop doing it. Nothing is working, i'm at a loss and i'm getting really wound up by this. I'm getting him neutered this month but I don't think this will change a thing as he has done it since I got him, i've tried putting the water bowl on a box so he can't stand over it to wee but he just stands in the water or on the box, it is honestly the strangest thing i've ever seen in a cat, pooing in the litter tray but refusing to wee in it. 

It is competeley unfair on my other cat and is a nightmare to have to rush around after him every single morning before work.

Any help or advice would be appreciated, thank you.

C


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## OrientalSlave (Jan 26, 2012)

Have you tried putting out a second litter tray? Some cats like for pee and one for poo.

It's also high time to get him neutered.


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

I agree with the previous poster, put out more litter trays, at least one extra large tray. In fact the rule of thumb is one tray per cat plus one extra tray, so ideally you should put out 3 large trays for 2 cats. Make at least one tray an open tray.

It is certainly very unusual behaviour for a cat to pee in its water bowl, and would possibly be associated with the cat being stressed or anxious, or even maybe having a urinary tract infection. 

If providing more trays and having him neutered straight away does not solve the problem, please come back and let us know, so we can give it further thought.


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## Treaclesmum (Sep 26, 2011)

I know you said he's a farm kitten, but could he be part Bengal...? As Bengals often will pee in water... (like the Asian Leopard Cat does).


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

That's interesting TM, I didn't know that


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## Charliex (Feb 11, 2013)

Thankyou everybody! 

I will definately get another big tray and give that a go. The kitten is just a moggy, very very shy and nervous all the time, I never raise my voice or startle him so I guess its just his mentality, he was born around no humans at all and me as his owner, probably the third person he's ever seen so his anxiety doesnt shock me. I've booked him to be neutered this month. Both indoor cats too so I'm unsure Why he is still so nervous, he is very confident when I lay down, gets into bed with me and purrs away, size obviously scares him no matter how cautious and friendly I am with him 

Thankyou all for the advice, I've had cats my whole life and had very shy ones but none that disobey and have such strange behavior!


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## Sunflower2009 (May 14, 2012)

What litter are you using ?


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## ella (Jan 1, 2009)

Hi

never heard of this before, but I used a large bowl (pudding basin size) for water for my last cat as I tried different things to get him to drink, and the height of the bowl made a difference.... Could you try a bigger/higher bowl? Or a second bowl that stays 'clean'? 

Even a water fountain would allow the water to filter I suppose (not ideal but marginally better than the other cats drinking the unfiltered pee)


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## Calvine (Aug 20, 2012)

Charliex said:


> Hello everyone, i'm new here so I do apologise if there has already been a similar thread.
> 
> My kitten is 7 months old, male and un neutered yet. Since I got him he has a constant habit of weeing in his water bowl, which is a nightmare for my other older cat. The most bizarre thing is he poos in the litter tray which they both share, they always have clean food, and litter tray, and the water is emptied and cleaned as soon as he does it.
> 
> ...


Yep, one of mine (a neutered boy) used to do this and it amazed me that he did it and never got a drop on the floor. So I didn't know he's done it straight away.I mean, he was a crack shot! I got a water fountain and he peed in that too, then eventually gave up, but I put out about six water bowls so the others would all have a clean supply. I also left a tap dripping for the ones I knew like to drink from the tap. It's weird isn't it. It's not as tho the trays were smelly or over-wet. 
Sorry, not much help, but at least you're not alone.

PS Elliot once peed in a handbag too:rolleyes5:.


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## Calvine (Aug 20, 2012)

You could also try a second tray, sometimes they want a tray for each function, one for pee and one for poo. How about one tray with water in it if he likes water so much?


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

Calvine said:


> > How about one tray with water in it if he likes water so much?
> 
> 
> I doubt he'd want to get his feet wet in a tray of water, so a water bowl suits him just fine


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## Charliex (Feb 11, 2013)

Sunflower2009 said:


> What litter are you using ?


Pets at Home all natural wood pellet, they don't like usual grey litter, it clumps too much and is very unhygenic in my apartment, the wood pellet stuff is fantastic, it's easier to clean and empty and keeps the boys paws cleaner from when they cover up their messes


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## muffin789 (Jan 28, 2013)

Charliex said:


> Pets at Home all natural wood pellet, they don't like usual grey litter, it clumps too much and is very unhygenic in my apartment, the wood pellet stuff is fantastic, it's easier to clean and empty and keeps the boys paws cleaner from when they cover up their messes


Hmmm. Just an idea, but maybe you're thinking about what's best for you as opposed to what HE likes to use?!

I'm a fan of wood pellets too for the reasons you give, but one of my departed kitties totally HATED it! He'd poo and pee next to the tray and drove me insane trying to work out what was going on until I tried him on a non-clumping variety. He was fine after that. Luckily, both cats I had at the time were happy to use the same litter, so I only had one tray to change, even if I did have to change it more frequently.

Might be worth a try


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## Tao2 (Sep 9, 2012)

He sounds like the ideal cat to train to use the toilet!! Problem solved and less litter to empty.
I would love to teach mine to use the toilet but they are totally in love with cat litter and won't even contemplate it.


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## drummgal (Nov 23, 2013)

Hi all, I have a similar problem. I have a kitten of about 2 months old. Female, suspected British shorthair and Exotic mixed. I found her in an industrial building. Anyway, immediately after I brought her home, I realised she pees in her water bowl, and then drinks from it as well. No matter how many water bowls I put out, she pees in any or all of them, and drinks from any or all of them as well. She poos in the litter tray fine. I was wondering if there are any ways to correct this? I'm not really worried about anything other than the health problems of drinking her own pee might have. I do clean out her water bowl everytime I see her pee in it, or if I see that there's pee in there. Other than that, she's a wonderful kitten, and I'm really glad I found her!


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## Tarrna (Nov 3, 2013)

Everyone has made excellent advice  

Question: Have you moved your food bowl or kitty litter box at any time?
I ask because once when i had to move around my litter box when i changed houses my cat started to pee in the water bowl from the stress of the change. 

I ended up having to move my litter box to a location she deemed acceptable. 

This luckily resolved her peeing in the water bowl!


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

Many cats like to poo in one litter tray and pee in another. Provide at least 2 large litter trays for her, with a soft clumping litter such as Cats Best Oko Plus. 

Locate the water bowl as far as possible away from the litter trays, e.g. at the opposite side of the room. 

It is quite rare for a cat to wee in their water bowl, but very rare for them to drink the contaminated water afterwards. You definitely saw her drink the water?  I suppose if she is very thirsty if you are feeding her
a dry food diet she would have to drink contaminated water, as there'd be no choice. I say switch her to a wet food diet, to which you add a little water each meal, and then she will hardly need to drink at all from her water bowl. Cats are designed to get most or all of the their fluids from their food.


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