problems with my cat

[momz]

I have a male cat, about 1 year old, we've had him for about 4 months. He is neutered, came from the shelter.

Anyway, this morning, I discovered that he urinated in my closet during the night. Last week, he urinated in my daughters room as well. He has a litter box that we keep clean, so I'm not sure why he's messing outside of the box (he's using the box for #2 though).

I've never had a cat before, so I don't know how to address this problem. I don't want to be the crazy cat lady that smells like kitty pee....

 

[wdwmom2]

I have a male cat, about 1 year old, we've had him for about 4 months. He is neutered, came from the shelter.

Anyway, this morning, I discovered that he urinated in my closet during the night. Last week, he urinated in my daughters room as well. He has a litter box that we keep clean, so I'm not sure why he's messing outside of the box (he's using the box for #2 though).

I've never had a cat before, so I don't know how to address this problem. I don't want to be the crazy cat lady that smells like kitty pee....

Two words....vet appointment!!!!

 

[moburg]

Two words....vet appointment!!!!

Well, yes, thats a good start. But first I would think about anything else that might have changed shortly before the first incident. New pets, new baby or other big changes can set a cat off to cause something like this.

If nothing new, then get a vet appt. And don't wait too long. A urinary infection can kill a cat fairly quickly.

 

[wdwmom2]

Well, yes, thats a good start. But first I would think about anything else that might have changed shortly before the first incident. New pets, new baby or other big changes can set a cat off to cause something like this.

If nothing new, then get a vet appt. And don't wait too long. A urinary infection can kill a cat fairly quickly.

I how I know about the change issue. But unfortunately, when the 150 lb English Bull Mastiff entered my home and promply chased my cat down in the basement, it took more than "it's OK kitty, doggy is gone", to get my cat back to normal. It took some type of drug, don't remember what it was, to get him back to normal and stop the peeing. I believe it was some type of anti-anxiety drug. Poor cat would sit in the hall and stare at the wall!!! Only used the med a few days, couldn't stand seeing my cat all doped out like that. He's been fine ever since. DS was told to never bring that dog back in the house!!!

 

[Katieinwonderland]

When my male cat was doing this, it was a UTI. We took him to the vet and once he was given medication, he was fine. We did have to steam clean the areas he had peed on though, so he wouldn't keep going back to them.

Our best investment as cat owners was a professional steam cleaner!

 

[Swalphin]

He may have crystals in his urine that make it painful for him to tinkle, I'd get him checked out with the vet to rule that out.
He may have been spooked by something when he was using his litter box and now associates it with whatever spooked him.
I do not believe he is doing it to spite you, he is trying to tell you something. Try and think of any changes in his life new food, litter, ect.
Try another box in a different location. Also pick up a bottle of urine gone, it has enzymes in it that will get rid of the odor not mask it. I found it a Target.
I went through something similar with my cat and changing the location of the box did the trick. I am out of a powder room now.Good luck

 

[donalducky]

My cat started doing this as well. Come to find out he has a urinary tract problem that happens in ALOT of male cats. The problem is not something that is easy to get rid of either and in my cats case it's a life long problem that requires special food and a daily dose of medicine to keep it at bay. At first I thought it might be a behavioral problem but when animals start to do weird things like that it's just to get your attention that something isn't right with them. I would definitely have him checked out for any medical problems sooner rather than later.

 

[scottishduffy]

My kitty has had chronic issues with urinating outside his box.

It is definitely good to start to the vet. We have had Matisse run through fully at the vet several times.

Behavioral things that helped at first: Two different litter boxes always scooped and kept clean regularly. We had a different litter in each box so he could decide his favorite. Feed him far away from the litter box, just in case we feed special urinary tract food. Feliway plug ins in areas that we didn't want him near (he always marks our sofas). We also ended up keeping our sofas covered in plastic tarp when we couldn't supervise kitty. Making sure he has plenty of toys/diversions and attention.

Our kitty still had issues with all behavioral stuff we tried. He meows constantly at night when we go to sleep and is extremely anxious to be alone. We are currently starting him on anxiety medication to see if that helps him. The vet said for out kitty he has anxiety problems and we are working on that.

 

[mamacatnv]

Multiple boxes work well for us, we have a habitual pee'er whom the vet has deemed perfectly healthy, its behavioral. He likes piles of blankets, towels or laundry. As long as we don't leave any of those items on the floor we do okay.


Place a kitty box in the areas he is going outside of his box
We have 3 kitties and 6 boxes. We use unscented clumping litter and have 4 covered and 2 uncovered boxes. They each have a favorite and there are 2 boxes they never poop in, only pee which leads me to believe that cats prefer to have separate facilities for their business.

 

[avgeek81]

My cat had problems with peeing outside the box. It started when she was 4 yrs old. It was right after my dad passed away so at first the vet thought it maybe due to stress and was considering putting her on some anti anxiety meds. But it turned out she had huge bladder stones that had to be surgically removed. She also had blood in her urine. We had to put boxes in every room because she had to go as soon as there was any urine in her bladder. She is now 9 and is on special food but has not had any other problems. We sometimes give her normal wet food and snacks because the food dissolves the stones if they start to form.

My other cat had diabetes and took to pooping outside the box the last few months of his life. The vet suggested we get an under bed storage container from walmart and use that as a litter box if we had the room. Sometimes cats need more room when they go

 

[suzcruz]

we have the same problem. our male kitten was with us for a month before he started peeing in different places. we got a second box, used a calming spray & also a keep-away spray, but nothing is working consistently. Vet said he did not have a uti or any other medical problems. He does not seem nervous or upset in any way, in fact, he seems pretty happy when he does it! Right now, we are trying cat-attracting litter. Its more expensive so i am using the clumping litter with some expensive litter on top. i posted about this problem before, and someone said some male cats are neutered too early which might cause this. But what's weird to me is that he was fine for a month and he often uses the litter boxes without a problem, so why did it start and why does it only happen sometimes? good luck!

 

[mamacatnv]

If my kitty picks up on other animals smells he will pee on the items.

Son had a girlyfriend who had livestock, horses, pigs etc. She had to always hang her stuff up and if son left his clothes even in a pile on his bed after visiting her the cat would pee on them - we found Feliway worked well when we used it in son's room.

DD has a friend who lives with 3 dogs, a cat, several bunnies and volunteers at the Humane Society and the local petting zoo. Same thing, we know not to leave any of her stuff laying around, she is aware of it too since her own kitty takes issue with her smells too!

Cats are very particular and very clean - when we had tried it all our vet suggested the unscented litter and that seems to be the icing on the cake.