Cat Peeing In The Sink: What To Do?

When you have a pet at home you have to make sure to maintain hygiene as having an animal in a human household can totally disrupt your routine and you could bring home a lot of diseases along with a new member in the house.

If you have a cat it becomes a little easier on you because you don’t have to give it the litter-training as they are self-trained for that. 

Imagine your dismay when you find that your cat has peed in places like the bathtub or the sink. It erks you and also messes up the hygienic conditions of your house. 

It makes you double guess your decision of having a pet and gives you second thoughts. 

But it is not as severe as you think it is. Let’s find out what could possibly lead to this?

Cat Peed In Sink In Front Of Me?

Cats are very controlling creatures also they thrive on attention. Peeing at places other than the litter box may be a move to get your attention. 

If your cat has peed somewhere other than its litter box, you might have yelled at the cat and over the issue, it might have associated the action as a way of catching your attention.

So when your cat pees in the sink, there are a lot of reasons your cat might be doing so, but if it’s in front of you it is most likely done to get your attention.

Cats only understand actions and consequences. They don’t realize that whatever they may be doing may be unsafe or cause harm to the people they are living in the house with. 

So if you need to stop your cat from doing so, you can try ignoring the cat. When you ignore the cat it would move on to other things to get your attention. 

Mother cats are also known to be using the technique of silent treatment to teach the cats something. 

They also ignore the young kittens to teach them a lesson and discipline them. You can also use this simple technique to stop your cat from doing so.

You can also use the method of light punishment. In no way i would ever suggest you hit your cute little pet, you should never do it but any harmless punishment like squirting a little water would be enough to make your cat back away from the sink.

Have you ever wondered how long can a cat go without peeing

Why Is My Cat Peeing In The Sink?

The reason your cat does so could be as simple as a matter of gaining attention or it could be because of unwanted issues with the litter box

The plausible reasons your cat is peeing in the sink would be :

1. It is trying to communicate with you and get through a message to you about her current litter arrangement 
2. The cat may be suffering from some kind of disease which could make it associate the litter box with the feeling of pain so that it might be using the sink instead of the litter box.
3. The litter box may not be clean, cats do not use dirty litter boxes so it might be the sink it chooses.
4. The litter box may not meet the approval of your cat, the dimensions of the box also matter to them and if they are not comfortable they will not use it.
5. Marking territory by urinating on the spot is very common in cats. The cat may want to mark the sink as its territory
6. Anxiousness or stress could also cause the deviation of the cat from the litter box to other places, like the sink, which is among one of them.

Also, check the reasons behind Cat Peeing in Water and Food Bowl

Is It Normal For Cats To Pee In The Sink?

No, it is not normal if the cat pees in the sink instead of the litter boxes. All the reasons the cat does so could be classified as ones that require your attention. 

If the cat does not feel safe or comfortable with the litter box your sink might be her new litter box but it is highly unhealthy for the people in the house.

It is a move cats generally use to grab your attention or relay a message to you, so do not ignore your cat if it does so.

Medical reasons that could be associated with this could even be fatal. If it is a Urinary Tract Infection it could be easily curable if detected at the right time. Other diseases related to the bladder or kidney may require surgery or may not even be cured. 

So if your cat is peeing in the sink, the medical issues should be ruled out first and foremost. They might suffer less if the disease or problem is detected earlier. 

When the cat is peeing anywhere except its litter box it is trying to convey a message and you need to pay attention to the cat’s actions and understand the message in order to help it.

Find out why did my cat pee on me?

How To Stop Cats From Peeing In The Sink?

When cats pee anywhere except the litter box pet owners immediately get alert and try to come up with ways to stop the cats from doing so again. 

To do so you can follow some simple things to keep your cats out of the sink:

1. We know cats are not huge fans of water, they avoid going near it or getting wet. You can use this to your advantage and fill the sink with water when it is not in use. 
2. If the issue lies with the litter box, you can try cleaning the litter box and checking for yourself.
3. Changing the litter or the litter box might also help if the cat is unhappy with the litter box or the litter in it, they might not use the litter box.
4. You can use diffusers to relieve the stress the cat might be feeling, which could be yet another reason for using the sink as the litter box 
5. If the issue is medical get it checked by the vet asap and try to resolve the issue as soon as possible.
6. You can try adding another litter box or changing the location of the previous one.
7. We know cats are not huge fans of water, they avoid going near it or getting wet. You can use this to your advantage and fill the sink with water when it is not in use. 
8. If the issue lies with the litter box, you can try cleaning the litter box and checking for yourself.
9. Changing the litter or the litter box might also help if the cat is unhappy with the litter box or the litter in it, they might not use the litter box.
10. You can use diffusers to relieve the stress the cat might be feeling, which could be yet another reason for using the sink as the litter box 
11. If the issue is medical get it checked by the vet asap and try to resolve the issue as soon as possible.
12. You can try adding another litter box or changing the location of the previous one.

Check out Why my cat peeing in bathtub

How To Get Rid Of Cat Urine Smell In My Sink?

Apart from hygienic discrepancies, when your cat pees in the sink the issue of removing the strong stench of it also remains a nagging problem.

Certain precautions to disinfect the sink are to be kept in mind to solve the problem.

Follow these steps to clean your sink and get rid of the smell too :

1. Soak the sink with paper towels so it can soak up any leftover pee if there is any.
2. Sprinkle baking soda all over the sink and let it rest for a few minutes.
3. Rinse the soda with a vinegar solution.
4. The vinegar solution should be made in the ratio 1:8 ratio of vinegar and water. The disinfectant properties of vinegar would disinfect the sink and also get rid of the smell.
5. Clean the sink after with an enzymatic solution. This enzymatic solution would clear up any residue bacteria and they are generally made to smell nice. These kinds of smells are not favored by the cat and also serve the purpose of putting the cat away from the sink in the future too.
6. In substitution for the baking soda, you can fill up the sink with water and add bleach to it. The bleach would disinfect the sink and to some extent kill the odor too.
7. This can be followed by rinsing with vinegar to get rid of any odors that are left.

If you are not really a fan of using all of these homemade products you can go to the nearest pet store and you could find suitable products for the same.

Make sure you leave no residue products as they might be harmful too. 

Find out how long does cat urine odor last

Frequently Asked Questions 

Summary 

It is pretty annoying when you get a pet that does not require much litter box training, is self-taught but still pees around the house, especially in places like the sink.

It becomes really difficult to punish these sweet cats when they do something like this. You should never hit them as a form of punishment, verbal scolding or something harmless could be sufficient to do so.

First make sure you find the reason your cat is doing so, so if the cat is peeing in the sink find out the reason it does so and try to resolve it. The issue could be medical or stress-related or could even be due to the litter box.

You can always use things to clean it but it’s better you find the solution to the problem instead of putting it off or finding a temporary solution. Isn’t it?

Check out more details about How To Discipline A Cat For Peeing Outside The Litter Box?

Video Highlight

References 

• https://www.vet.cornell.edu/departments-centers-and-institutes/cornell-feline-health-center/health-information/feline-health-topics/feline-behavior-problems-house-soiling
• https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jvim.14680