Nitrogen (N) availability can strongly influence forage quality and the capacity for semiarid rangelands to respond to increasing atmospheric CO₂. Although many pathways of nitrogen input and loss from rangelands have been carefully quantified, cattle-mediated N losses are often poorly understood. We used measurements of cattle N consumption rate, weight gains, and spatial distribution in shortgrass rangeland of northeastern Colorado to evaluate the influence of cattle on rangeland N balance. Specifically, we estimated annual rates of N loss via cattle weight gains and spatial redistribution of N into pasture corners and areas near water tanks, and used previous studies to calculate ammonia volatilization from urine patches. Using measurements of plant biomass and N content inside and outside grazing cages over 13 yr, we estimate that cattle stocked at 0.65 animal unit months (AUM) · ha⁻¹ consumed 3.34 kg N · ha⁻¹ · yr⁻¹. Using an independent animal-based method, we estimate that cattle consumed 3.58 kg N · ha⁻¹ · yr⁻¹ for the same stocking rate and years. A global positioning system tracking study revealed that cattle spent an average of 27% of their time in pasture corners or adjacent to water tanks, even though these areas represented only 2.5% of pasture area. Based on these measurements, we estimate that cattle stocked at 0.65 AUM · ha⁻¹ during the summer can remove 0.60 kg N · ha⁻¹ in cattle biomass gain and spatially redistribute 0.73 kg N · ha⁻¹ to areas near corners and water tanks. An additional 0.17 kg N · ha⁻¹ can be lost as NH₃ volatilization from urine patches. Cumulatively, these cattle-mediated pathways (1.50 kg N · ha⁻¹) may explain the imbalance between current estimates of atmospheric inputs and trace gas losses. While NO_x emission remains the largest pathway of N loss, spatial N redistribution by cattle and N removed in cattle biomass are the second and third largest losses, respectively. Management of cattle-mediated N fluxes should be recognized as one means to influence long-term sustainability of semiarid rangelands.