Feline urination behaviour is the sequence of acts by which a domestic cat voids urine, conventionally described as entering the box, digging, squatting to urinate, covering, and leaving[1]. The sequence is not stereotyped: an ethogram recorded up to 39 behaviours across appetitive, consummatory, and post-consummatory phases, and the sequence was prolonged in a clinic-like environment, mostly through post-elimination interaction with the box[1]. Preferences for box design are individual rather than species-wide; offered covered and uncovered boxes, most cats showed no preference and only a minority favoured one type[2]. Inappropriate urination, or periuria, is a common behavioural complaint of owners[2], and it is associated with urinary tract disease and with litter box type and number[3].
- feline urination
- elimination behaviour
- litter box
- periuria
- substrate preference
Animal Behavior and Welfare Studies • Small Animals • Veterinary • Health Sciences
References
- Ragen T.S. McGowan; Jacklyn J. Ellis; Miles K. Bensky; François Martin; The ins and outs of the litter box: A detailed ethogram of cat elimination behavior in two contrasting environments. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. 2017, 194, 67-78. [CrossRef]
- Emma K Grigg; Lindsay Pick; Belle Nibblett; Litter box preference in domestic cats: covered versus uncovered. J. Feline Med. Surg. 2012, 15, 280-284. [CrossRef]
- Barbara Padalino; Martina Zappaterra; Martina Felici; Claire Ricci-Bonot; Leonardo Nanni Costa; Katherine Houpt; Alessandra Tateo; Factors associated with house-soiling in Italian cats. J. Feline Med. Surg. 2023, 25, 1-12. [CrossRef]