Urinating over the litter box lid.

Question
Good morning,

I have a Maincoon cat, Norm, and he is roughly 2+/- yrs old. Recently, Norm has been urinating in a position that causes urine to spill over the lid. Most of the time he is successful and stays within the litter box parameters, however I witnessed Norm urinating in a position where he back himself up so far, that his rear is beyond the litter box lid while leaving plenty of room infront of him. Since the first accident, the litter box is cleaned daily and newspaper has been placed under the box. This has not helped. Norm is not urinating like this every time, but I would estimate that this has been happened 3 times over the past two weeks.

Could this be medical, or behavioral? Norm has been apart of this family since Christmas 2005. He was a shelter kitty with a cold. He since then has gained back his weight, and is not sneezing. He eats Iams and is currently an indoor cat. Additionally, he has a personality quirk, he is VERY chatty. We love this about Norm, he is sweet and loving, and has definatly acclimated to his new home. However, the urinating over the litter box lid is becoming a concern because it started recently, and has increased in frequency. Other than the urination, Norm is his normal chatty self, very affectionate and personable.

Thank you for your help.

Answer
Hi Keri.  As long as he's still using the box consistently, I wouldn't suspect any health problems, but certainly, if that's a concern for you, a check up is entirely approrpriate.  

Urinating over the edge is pretty common, unfortunately.  Studies show that all commercial litter boxes are too small for most adult cats.  That's both too small AND too shallow.  What many people are doing is using a cement mixing tub instead of a litter box.  They're much deeper and help prevent this type of accident.  I have several friends that use them and recommend them.

You may also want to try an extra large hooded litter box.  This is what I use with my guys.  Some cats prefer not to use a hooded box, but I haven't had any problems with them.  And the do a wonderful job at preventing accidents and litter tracking.