Q: My pet human has been “going” outside his litter box. This is very frustrating because the laundry basket is really starting to smell. Do you have any suggestions?
A: Is your human’s litter box clean enough? Did you scrub out the bathtub and the toilet and the floors enough so that the human will not want to avoid his litter box? You don’t have to use your tongue. There are brushes that are available that do just as good of a job. When using a brush to clean the human litterbox, be sure to use cleaners that eliminate odors and kill bacteria, because these keep the area clean and healthy for your human.
Next, are your humans actually wearing the clothes when they go outside the box? If the box is clean, your human might have a condition called “incontinence.” There are medicines that can deal with this, as well as special disposable clothing and clothes linings (such as Depends) that help. Check the medicine cabinet and the closet. If you see any of these items, try dragging them out to the living room to alert your human that he needs to start using them again. Try not to rub his nose in the mess. This is only traumatizing and he won’t understand why you are doing this to him.
If your human is not wearing the clothes and is actually leaving his mark directly in the laundry hamper, you might want to call a psychiatrist to deal with his behavior issues. This could be the sign of a very, very serious condition. Hide under the bed until he starts taking his medicine.
I had the same problem with my human and it turned out that he was territorial and was just marking his part of the house.