I would have never imagined that catnip could be making my cat to pee outside the litter box. Through all the years I have been cat owner I thought I knew most of the reasons why cats urinate outside the litter box, such as the cat not being happy with the hygiene of the litter box, location, type of litter, a new pet in the house, another cat spotted through the window, urinary tract disease issues, etc.
I was so happy that my cat never had these issues, she always enjoys a clean litter box thanks to the Litter Robot 3 and she is the only cat at home.
Sophie is very confident about her territory inside the house and she doesn’t feel threatened by other animals she can see outside the window. Actually, when a visitor comes over or even strangers (e.g. the cable guy or others) Sophie is like a little queen walking with confidence and coming close to the person, sniffing it a little and then like saying: welcome! This is my home! :-)
So I never thought my cat could ever urinate outside the litter box, but that day happened. One day I was sitting on my couch and could smell cat urine, I thought it was weird and mentioned this to my husband. We determined that my cat urinated close to the couch and I started paying attention to her after that. However, I never smelled cat pee again anywhere in the house so I assumed she never did it again and that event was just like one-time-deal.
When I Found Out That Catnip Causes Litter Box Accidents
About 3 months after this event I saw my cat playing with her catnip toy and decided to give her a little catnip herb so I did. She started rubbing her face onto it and eating a little bit. Then she got a little crazy playing and running so I thought this was the catnip effect (I almost don’t give Sophie any catnip, I did it just a couple of times when she was a kitten and that’s it). After seeing my kitty going crazy over the catnip I went to my bedroom to finish some work so I stayed there for about 30 minutes and after that, I decided to get a glass of water so I went back to the kitchen. Oh, boy, did I get surprised; Sophie had used the carpet as a litter box and did a big pee, I couldn’t believe it. My Sophie doing this? Urinating on the carpet? Really? The only connection to this behavior was the catnip so I started researching and I found several cat owners commenting on forums that their cats pee right in front of them after having catnip!
Why Does Catnip Make Some Cats Urinate Outside The Litter Box?
It seems like the catnip somehow releases some hormonal response making cats male or female spray. Catnip has a strong effect on the cat’s body and this is some of the responses to that stimulus. Some cats don’t even experience any effect with catnip, while others experience like being “high” similar to the influence of marijuana or LSD in people. This is due to the stimulant called nepetalactone that catnip contains.
I learned that kittens don’t get very affected with catnip but as they get adult some cats react like this, they simply urinate right after the catnip use.
Some cats even urinate right on top of the catnip, others do huge urine next to where they eat the catnip. I read stories of some cat owners describing how the kitchen floor looked like a lagoon with pee right after they gave their cats some catnip. That’s was it! It was the catnip that made my cat do this unusual behavior.
Unfortunately I didn’t get to record my cat when this happened, but I share with you this video of a cat peeing after consuming Catnip. This behavior is not so uncommon in cats.
You Sill Need To Discard Urinary Issues
Even when I suspected the catnip being the one to blame, I still took my cat to the Vet because I didn’t want to take chances of an underlying condition, such as a urinary disease. Just relying on my suspicious wasn’t enough.
After the Vet run some tests she concluded that my cat didn’t have any urinary issue, no urinary tract disease nor kidney problems and told me that some cats react like that with catnip. Then I remembered giving my cat catnip like 3 months previously to this event and it was probably the urine I smelled by the couch about that time.
A Good Urine Destroyer Will Help You
To clean the areas where she urinated I bought a good cat urine destroyer that kills the enzymes from cat urine that nothing else can kill which is what makes cats smell and keep them urinating again on the same spot. I also bought a black light urine detector to check the spot close to the couch and I found it and cleaned it as well.
Bye Bye Catnip!
After this event, I threw what I had left of catnip away and never used it again and I won’t. If your cat is reacting like this to catnip I recommend you to avoid using stuffed toys with catnip as well. All adds up to the point that your cat may end up spraying where you don’t want him to.
All cats may not react the same to this herb, but some cats do, so if your cat has occasional litter box accidents and you have given it catnip maybe that’s a thread to get to the root of the problem.
Since I stopped giving my pet catnip she hasn’t had any litter box accident again, which confirms my suspicions.
When you think you have learned it all about cats, you find out that catnip can be the cause for cats to urinate outside the litter box. I hope my experience helps you and finally gives you the answer you have been looking for.
Every since my cat ate catnip sees urinate all over the house
Where catnip might have been see pres there or if see are it see goes and hides and pews there
It’s true Addison, I would have never thought catnip was causing my cat to pee outside the litter box but thank goodness now I am well aware of it.
OH MY GOSH!!! THATS CRAZY!! My 2 year old cat Simba just started peeing in the house about a week ago ( has NEVER had an accident) so we rushed him to the vet, fearing the start of urinary tract problems like we had with our previous cat and he was fine! I was so scared that this would just keep happening forever and my house would smell like cat pee. Until today. Today I noticed the catnip plant I had was completely demolished. Like he ate the shit out of it. Then I thought…. Weird…. He only started peeing around the same time I got the plant…. Well, time to see if this is our problem. Bye bye catnip!!
Hello Makayla! I am so glad I could help you with my article. When this happened to my Sophie I couldn’t find any article about it, just some random comments in forums. That’s why I created this article and I am happy I can help people going through the same problem with their cats. So from now on, by bye catnip for Simba :-)
Thank you so much for this article. My cat just peed on my bathroom floor shortly after I put some catnip on his new scratcher toy. It was way too coincidental because he was acting a bit crazy from it and then peed. No more catnip in my house!
You’re welcome Valerie, no catnip in my house either :)
Many herbs *do* have *definite* diuretic properties, and that includes Catnip! So, it shouldn’t be surprising for cats that have eaten it to have ‘urination issues’! LOL! . . . “[Catnip] can act as a diuretic, increasing urination . . .” https://www.healthline.com/health/catnip-tea#how-to-make-catnip-tea
That’s good to know Pam. I thought it could be a response to hormone stimulation but it could also be the diuretic properties of the catnip lol. Thanks for your comment Pam!
We got a container of catnip for our cat on Christmas. I have been sprinkling it on his cat tree. For the last month he has been peeing huge amounts all over the basement. I didn’t even connect it with the catnip. I am throwing away the cat tree and the catnip!
Thank you so much!
I am happy my article helped you Ren!
Thanks so much for this. My 8 year old cat is perfect and today he decided he would pee right on the floor next to the catnip toy! He never does not use his litter tray. The toy has gone in the bin and I hope thats why and it is a one off occasion!
Hello Debbie, I am pretty sure your boy won’t do this again. My cat NEVER did that again after I got rid of the catnip.
My cat hasn’t had catnip in months and yesterday I gave her some and less than 15 minutes later she peed on a pile of plastic bags. Gonna monitor her for sure, but finding your post made me realize that this can actually be a side effect of catnip, so thank you!
You’re welcome Rose, I am happy to help.
My 12 year old cat just did this! I haven’t given him catnip in about 2-3 months – he never has accidents. I gave him a plate on the hard surface floor in the kitchen. He went right at it and I walked out of the room. I walked in not more than 3 minutes later and I saw the puddle and stood with my jaw almost on the ground. I immediately googled to find this article! Good to know it’s not anything to worry about. Will start giving him the catnip outside!
That is a good solution Polly, I am happy you found your answer quickly. That’s why I created this article. God bless.
We just recently bought a scratch chaise infused with catnip for our Leia. Thinking nothing of it we noticed her having a huge pee on our rug close to the catnip. This is so unlike her so I looked it up and found your article. Thank you so much. It has helped. No more catnip for her.
I am very happy to help, Tanya.
We just adopted two 4 month old kittens at the Humane Society. They have been using the litter box just fine. I got them some catnip toys. Within 4 hours one of the kittens peed on the couch. I’ve thrown out all of the catnip toys! Hope that she goes back to peeing in the litter box…..
Hello Rebecca, I am sure your kitten will keep using the litter box again. Catnip causes this type of reaction but once it’s gone, it won’t happen anymore. That’s my experience with my cat Sophie.
Hello! I never would have believed it, but I saw it myself. After sprinkling some catnip on a throw rug, my 14 yo cat, Alien, went nuts, rolled around in the ‘nip and then stood up and peed right on the ‘nip. No more ‘nip for Alien!
It’s crazy, isn’t it? No more catnip for my cat Sophie either.
Hello !
I have a 3 year old cat (sterilized) and ever since we switched our couch she doesnt have a place to nap anymore so now she hates the couch and pees on it constantly. I bought her a bed so that she has a new place and in hopes of her liking the bed i put catnip on it ( i haven t tried it on her before) she peed right after on her new bed! Thank you for the article it was very helpful now !
My only question is , do you think that if i put some catnip in her litterbox , will it make her want to use the litter box rather than the couch ? I will schedule a vet visit right away but I am pretty convinced that she pees on the couch out of spite . Thank you!:)
Hello Janine, your cat should use the litter box as the place to do her business, not out of her hormone response with the use of catnip so I don’t think this is a good idea. Taking your cat to the Vet is a wise decision because you can discard other issues. One thing I will tell you is that you should clean the pee on the couch with a special cat urine eliminator since cats can still smell the urine even after you clean the spot, and then they pee in the same area again. Nothing to do with human emotions :) A good cat urine eliminator is Nature’s Miracle.
Thank you so much for your article about cats urinating under the influence of catnip. I was mystified when my cat urinated copiously on the settee after playing with catnip. He did it right on the toy! I now feel much better informed. It seems a shame to throw away his catnip products that he enjoys so much but I don’t want any more pools on the furniture. He can have them outside!
That’s a very good solution Laura, at least you know now that catnip inside the house is a risk of a pee party :) Thanks for your comment!