10 Tips for Successfully Using Pee Pads for Cats

Wait, cats can use pee pads? Yup, you read that right! We have a current pee pads user here in our house, so yes, pee pads for cats is absolutely a thing. When our girl Tinkerbell went into acute kidney failure, she stopped peeing in our litter boxes and, well, she’s never gone back to using the box — even once we got her kidney values back down. It’s all good though, because after months of trial and error, we’ve got her successfully using pee pads all around our house. Below are the ten things that actually made a difference for us, updated with everything I’ve learned since I first wrote this post.

What is a Cat Pee Pad?

A pee pad for cats is just your standard pee pad you’d find on the market for dogs. They come in various rectangular sizes, and you should choose based on the coverage area you need. These pads are soft, almost with a cotton-ball or diaper feel, and the back is lined with plastic (or a waterproof fabric layer on washable versions) that holds the liquid in and keeps it off your floor. The better ones use an absorbent polymer-crystal core that can lock away several cups of liquid so it doesn’t seep back out or track through the house. It’s worth it if your cat pees a lot each time they go like our cat with Kidney disease.

Why Would Your Cat Not Use a Litter Box?

At your wits’ end over your cat no longer peeing where they’re supposed to? Yeah, I’ve been there. Nothing like getting up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom only to step in a sopping wet bath mat on the way. The first step is getting to the underlying cause of this new habit.

I’d love to tell you it’s just a behavioral quirk, no worries. But when a cat stops using their litter box, it’s normally a sign there’s an underlying medical condition at play. So I encourage you to make an appointment with your vet quickly and have your cat checked out, along with getting some bloodwork done. This isn’t a step to skip — litter box avoidance is one of the most common early signs of kidney disease, arthritis, diabetes, and urinary tract issues in cats, and catching it early makes a real difference.

If your cat checks out with a clean bill of health, there are two other common causes. The first is stress — cats do not like change. Have you moved recently? Did you introduce a new pet or family member to the house? Cat stress warrants a whole book on its own, but we’ve found cat pheromone diffusers help take the edge off, and for cats who need a little more support, talk to your vet about whether a low dose of CBD oil makes sense. CBD isn’t a cure-all, and cats process things differently than we do, so it’s worth running any dose by your vet first — especially if your cat is already on other medications.

Situations Where Pee Pads Come in Handy

f you’ve done your due diligence (aka the vet trip) and you’re facing a cat who’s just going to avoid the box from here on out, welcome — I promise it’s not as bad as it seems at first.

Missing the Litter Box

Just like kids, sometimes accidents happen. If your cat occasionally has trouble with aim, I’d keep a pee pad down where you find yourself having to pick up messes. That way when an accident happens, you can simply pick it up, toss it, and replace it.

Kittens

When little ones are getting the hang of the whole litter box thing, or you’re dealing with kittens too small to climb into a box yet, a pee pad is perfect because there’s no barrier to entry. If you’re using them for training, you can sprinkle a bit of kitten training litter on top.

Declawed Cats

If your cat has been declawed, they went through an extremely painful procedure with lifelong effects. It involves cutting off what would be the equivalent of a human’s fingers at the last knuckle. Ouch. We advise never declawing your cat, and it’s encouraging that more states keep moving to ban the procedure.

Unfortunately it still happens, and sometimes when you rescue a cat, they come to us already declawed. Most declawed cats have an aversion to traditional litter because it hurts their paws to walk on. A pee pad offers a soft, non-rigid surface for sensitive paws.

Senior and Sick Cats

This is our situation. We have two cats with kidney disease in the house — one uses the box like a dream, the other only uses it to “go number two,” so we rely on pee pads for the rest. Since she was aiming for our towels, bath mats, and anything plush left on the floor, it was a no-brainer to swap in pee pads for the things we didn’t want her peeing on. She used pee pads reliably for 6 years it made her care so much easier on us.

Kidney disease isn’t the only ailment that keeps a cat from the litter box. Arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, constipation, diarrhea, diabetes, and urinary tract infections are all common culprits. We hear mobility issues in senior cats are becoming one of the most frequent reasons owners reach for pee pads, since a lower, flatter surface is just easier on aging joints than climbing into a box.

Our 10 Cat Pee Pad Tips

1. Use a Frame or Pee Pad Holder

Cats feel obligated to cover up their business when they’re done, which is great when they’re using a normal litter box, but with a pee pad it quickly leads to it getting folded over. Even though pee pads absorb fast, that still causes problems.

Our cat would fold it over, we’d be at work, and then she’d come back later and pee right on top of the fold. The back of a pee pad is slick plastic, so it ends up sliding right off and all over the floor.

Pee pad frames ended our daily cleanup of turned-over messes. We tried a folding pee pad holder first and didn’t love it since she figured out how to pop it out of the corners. This pee pad holder fully covers all the edges and stops her from working it loose.

If you’re in a pinch, some owners have luck putting the pad in an empty litter box. Just note that if your cat has mobility issues or arthritis, a box with high sides likely won’t be inviting. If you like the coziness of a covered box, though, this is a nice way to give them a pee pad “hut.”

2. Pads Marked for Dogs Work Just as Well for Cats

Puppy pee pads are everywhere, I swear dogs get all the attention! Good news for us cat owners: pads labeled for dogs work fine for cats too, so there’s no need to pay extra for something marketed specifically at “cat” pee pads unless you actually prefer the scent or size options.

3. Give Your Cat More Options, Not Fewer

If you want to minimize accidents, give your cat several places to go, at least at first. Start by putting pads everywhere your cat has already been peeing outside the box. It might feel like too many spots, but odds are your cat will settle into a couple of favorites and you won’t need to keep them all down forever.

Once you know the favorite spots, you’re on the right track. If you don’t love the location, you can slowly shift the pad toward where you’d prefer it. I wouldn’t move it more than 6–12 inches a day, or you risk losing the progress you’ve made.

4. Place Pads Beside or Under the Box, Not Inside It

This is the one piece of advice I’d add if I were writing this post from scratch: most cats prefer the texture of litter under their paws, so tucking a pad inside an otherwise-empty box (aside from the “pinch” fix in tip #1) tends to work less reliably than placing it right beside or underneath the litter box itself. That positioning keeps the pad close to the spot your cat already associates with going to the bathroom, which shortens the learning curve considerably.

5. Add Their Scent

If your cat isn’t taking to the pee pad right away, you can boost its appeal by transferring their scent onto it. This means the not-so-fun job of getting a bit of their pee or poop onto the pad.

I find it easiest to dab up an accident spot and press it onto a fresh pad. Don’t overdo it, though, or it won’t be clean enough for your cat to want to use. It’s a fine balance.

6. Consider Washable, Reusable Pads

Disposable pads are still what we use most, but washable fabric pee pads have gotten a lot better and are worth a look if you’re going through pads quickly or want to cut down on waste. The good ones use a multi-layer design with a waterproof, non-slip backing and hold up to hundreds of washes without losing absorbency. They cost more upfront but can pay for themselves if your cat is a long-term pad user like ours.

7. Look for a High-Absorbency Core if You Have a Heavy Wetter

Not all pee pads are created equal. If your cat is dealing with kidney disease, diabetes, or another condition that increases urine output, look specifically for pads with a polymer-crystal absorbent core rather than just layered cotton fluff — they lock in more liquid and are far less likely to leak through onto your floor overnight.

8. Anchor the Pad So It Doesn’t Slide

Beyond a frame or holder, a strip of painter’s tape at the corners (or a rubber-backed mat underneath) keeps the pad from sliding when your cat steps on or off it. A pad that slides around under a cat’s feet is a pad that gets abandoned fast.

9. Thoroughly Clean Up Every Accident

For the pee pad system to work, you need to clean up every spot your cat missed the box or pad — and I mean all of them, including ones from before you introduced the pads. If your cat is spraying or having accidents, grab a blacklight and go over your whole house to find spots you didn’t know about. We use this simple blacklight to track them down.

Then use a cat-specific enzyme cleaner to remove every trace of the smell. I’ve had a lot of success with Nature’s Miracle— the foam breaks down bio-based messes on contact and eliminates the strong odor and sticky residue that comes with cat urine. Once I’ve cleaned an area and let it dry, I go back over it with the blacklight to confirm it’s actually gone, not just covered up.

10. Keep an Eye on Changes and Loop In Your Vet

Pee pad habits can shift as your cat ages or as an underlying condition progresses. If a cat who’s been reliably using her pads suddenly stops, or starts missing more often, treat it as a signal worth mentioning at your next vet visit rather than just a pad-placement problem. For cats managing something like kidney disease, this kind of behavior change is often the clearest window into how they’re actually doing.

FAQ: Pee Pads for Cats

Can cats really use pee pads, or are they just for dogs? Yes — pee pads are material-agnostic. Anything marketed for puppies works just as well for cats. The main thing to get right is placement and scent, not the label on the package.

Should I put the pee pad inside the litter box? Generally, no. Most cats prefer the feel of litter under their paws, so a pad sitting inside an otherwise-empty box tends to be a less reliable fix. Placing it beside or underneath the box usually works better.

Are washable pee pads better than disposable ones? It depends on your situation. Washable pads cost more upfront but can save money over time if your cat needs them long-term, and they cut down on waste. Disposable pads are simpler for occasional use, training, or travel.

My cat won’t go near the pee pad at all — now what? Try adding their scent to the pad, moving it to a spot they’re already choosing on their own, and giving them more than one option at first. If they still won’t touch it after a couple of weeks, it’s worth a vet visit to rule out pain (arthritis especially) or another medical cause.

How long will my cat need to use pee pads? It depends on the reason. Kittens usually graduate out of them once they’re litter-trained. Cats using pads because of a chronic condition, like our Tinkerbell, may need them indefinitely — and that’s okay.

What’s the best way to stop pee pads from sliding around? A dedicated pee pad frame or holder is the most reliable fix. In a pinch, painter’s tape at the corners or a rubber-backed mat underneath will do the job.

Conclusion on Pee Pads for Cats

Hopefully these tips get you back to peace and harmony in your house. I know how stressful it is dealing with animal you love that is also at the same time destroying your home.

If you are wondering what we order for pee pads at the moment we have been very happy with our AmazonBasics Pee Pads. I get the jumbo box and keep the cost down to just pennies per pad.

Our most popular pee pad spot is, believe it or not, right next to her litter box. Cats have an instinct to pee in sand, and I think she genuinely wants to use it — something’s just tripping her up, whether that’s our other cats or early arthritis on top of her kidney disease. We’ve also been glad that none of our other cats have taken to the pads; it’s just our girl who won’t use the box.

Have you found a pee pad setup that works for your cat? I’d love to hear about it — drop it in the comments below.

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