Help, my cat is weeing everywhere!

[janelane]

Hi everyone, I am really in need of some suggestions here on how to stop this behavior.

We have four cats. All males, all neutered. Recently our alpha male started peeing everywhere. Not spraying, deliberate squat and go. We have had him to the vet who has assured us there is nothing physically wrong, no inflamations or infections. He is somewhat senior at ten years old, but he is not incontinent.

I am at my wits end. He started out going on my husband's desk chair, and then under it on the tile floor. It took us awhile to figure out who was doing it. I cleaned the area down with odo-ban and that kept him away -- but he just changed areas. Recently, he has taken to peeing in soft things. In the last couple weeks he has peed in the basket of fresh clean laundry, on the comforter on the bed, a blanket that was on the floor and my curtains that had down to clean and was just getting ready to put back up.

This morning I have reached my limit. I woke up with him next to me in bed -- I thought he was just there to look out the window. Turns out he had PEED RIGHT NEXT TO MY HEAD!

I don't know what to do! He will use the boxes to poo fine, it's only with wee. We have started scooping them out more frequently. We've tried giving him extra attention. Today I lost my cool, stuck his nose in it and fussed him, which didn't seem to phase him at all. Tomorrow we are going to go get a fourth litter box and different kind of litter to see if that helps.

For ten entire years we have had NO incidents outside the box with any of our guys (the youngest is 5, so they've been a functioning pride for awhile, they all get along great.) I just don't know what to do! I feel like my entire house reeks, I can't get it out of my nose. I have no idea how to get him to stop or even what started this or what he's trying to tell us. Help?!

[Spirit Deer]

One of ours does that every now and then. Our vet suggested we re-boot him and it worked. Now when he acts up, we stick him in a large dog crate for a week and usually he's fine after that.

Good luck. It's frustrating.

I've found OxyClean works pretty well to remove the smell.

[Debbie-cat]

Wow, I have never had that happen to me before with my cats. If you find something that works, let us know though ust in case!!! Good luck!!!

[quilting2day2]

I had cat Once that was doing that. He had a urinary tract infection . So your cat may have this problem also. So you might want to get yours to the vet pronto. Cats usually avoid their litter box if they are having pain while using it.

[Debbie-cat]

I had cat Once that was doing that. He had a urinary tract infection . So your cat may have this problem also. So you might want to get yours to the vet pronto. Cats usually avoid their litter box if they are having pain while using it.

I would have never thought of that but it makes perfect sense!! Thanks for sharing! If it ever happens here, I will be sure to get them to the vet right away!

[annertak]

For three weeks mine did that, too! I finally took her to the vet last week, and he said she had a UTI, and he gave her a shot that he said works in her system for two weeks & said we'd notice a difference within a week. Sure enough, she did it one more time after the vet visit, then stopped completely! I thought I was going to go crazy, because she's never done this before & it was four or five times a day, but I could never catch her doing it! Argh!

I would do the vet thing again, just in case. Good luck! I know how frustrating it can be!

[Ceashels]

interesting. My first thought would be a UTI as well. I wonder if it was missed in the Vets testing? My cat always had a bladder infection along with crystals that formed inside the bladder, I wonder if the crystals could be present without an infection? I agree with rebooting the cat and limiting how much house roaming privileges for a while. If it continues after that it might be worth having the vet recheck him.

I know that if there isn't anything physically wrong with the cat and the problem continues there is an Animal Behavioral Program that my vet told me about. (I think there is one thru Cornell University and another thru the University of Pa.) Either should be able to help you figure out what is causing the issue and narrow down the circumstances to find the solution.

Good luck.

[PrairieRose]

For a very short period of time I was going to raise persians. One thing that all of the research taught me was that you can't have 2 males in the house without having this problem. Ofcourse that was 2 intact males but I have a friend who has recently (due to circumstances beyond her control) acquired a 2nd neutered male---she has 2 dogs and 2 female cats in the house as well--dogs are female. The 1st male has started 'marking' now.....a trip to vet showed no infection......he won't stop.....it's a major pain. I've always been told that once a male starts spraying, you can't stop it. I hope you find a solution before it gets the others trying to cover it up all over........

[sabrelvssammy]

if its not a UTI (have the vet dbl check) then it is a behavioral problem and you have to stop it RIGHT AWAY because the other cats may begin to 'mimic' him... our one cat started it and the others followed suit (vet said that's where the term 'copy cat' came from...don't know if he was being serious or not...but that is exactly what was happening)...the vet caged him for a week w/his box (re-conditioning) and he used the box to urinate in while in the cage...but started again back at home...all in all we ended up having to find a new home for our other cat (which really was a blessing anyway coz she wasn't doing well in a multi-pet household and i felt sorry for her spending all her days huddled under the bed afraid of the other dogs and cats....don't worry..she went to a little old lady that sat and held her in her rocker and loved her like there was nothing else)...my male cat continued for the next 17 yrs peeing on and off in the box...(i know..that sounds so gross....unfortunately my attachment to him was a little bit obsessive so i dealt with it)...we kept a carpet cleaner nearby...never had anything lying around that he would want to pee in...luckily he didn't pee in the beds or on the furniture...he would just go in corners and along the baseboards in the house...he would pee in a pile of clothes or a blanket or something on the floor though....(helped me keep the place extremely well picked up anyway)....each place he ever pee'd i would clean...let dry out and then put something over the spot so he would never be able to go there again (made for alot of furniture re-arranging)....haha... vet told me one day (when he was about 17- he lived to 20) that i deserved a medal for putting up with all this and still loving him the way i did...that too many times he watched people get fed up and either abandon the animal or put him down...it wasn't easy....believe me...i wanted to choke him some days... when we moved (he was about 10 then) it seemed to get less...i guess he couldn't smell himself as well...
i was able to keep the smell out because of the constant cleaning of the carpet and i used VINEGAR in the soap solution.... needless to say when he passed away about 4 yrs ago we ripped up all the carpets and padding and replaced everything.....(it was time anyway....)

okay by now you are probably all thinking i am 'wacko' for putting up with all this from a 'cat'.... but my pets to me have always been and will always be as important to me as your children are to you....they are living breathing creatures (the same as us) and 'I feel' (notice i say '[I]' feel-coz i know there are plenty of others who do not share that same 'feeling' as me....anyway....they deserve a chance too...even if they aren't 'perfect'.....my dad once looked at my two 'new' babies and said to them "i know you two don't realize it..but you have won the equivalent of the lottery"...and in all reality...they have.... if i have to come back to this planet in another life..one thing is sure....i want to be a pet of mine.....lol

[janelane]

Hey guys just wanted to say thanks for the suggestions. We don't have anything to crate him in, so I think I'm going to wait and see if he does it one more time for that before we go buy something. Fingers crossed, there's been nothing today. We've had the bedroom shut off.

UTI was my first thought as well, but dr, says no. They actually gave him that two week shot, too, just in case. I had completely forgotten about that until that poster mentioned it. It was just last Saturday we were at the vet (we will be calling again when they open tomorrow.)

We had a friend over yesterday that assured us the house doesn't stink at all. It's just stuck in my nose. Luckily we only have hard woods and tile, and knock on wood the couches haven't appealed to him yet. Hoping that keeping him out of the bedroom and keeping fluffy things off the floor will help.

Greebo, I hope it doesn't go that far, but thanks for thinking of the Uni route, it hadn't even occurred to me.

sabre, we're the same as you, here. We would never consider getting rid of any of them for any reason. They are definitely our babies. Our parents even refer to them as the grandcats.

Thanks again everyone!

[checks]

I had a co-worker who had a cat that started peeing all over the house. This one was female, about ten years old too. They had just gotten two new puppies and the vet said it was the cat rebelling! They first noticed the smell in bed! The cat actually sat on the bed and peed. Vet told him there wasn't alot to do to actually change that behavior except keep them in a crate with the kitty litter pan. '

Sad.

Hope your cat stops. Does he go outside, at all? If so, maybe he's not wanting to go in the cold or just getting dementia! Who knows? Good luck.

[YankeeMom]

Technically you should have at least one more litter box than you have cats. So with four cats, you might have to get a fifth litter box.

Our oldest cat was doing that for a while. He did have a UTI. He did it for a few weeks after not having a UTI anymore too. Never heard of the two week shot. I'll ask about that if he gets sick again. That's got to be easier than shoving a pill down his throat every day.

I hope your kitty stops being naughty

[pip]

We had a cat that just didn't do well with me having babies. She actually started peeing in the baby carrier (it had a terry cloth cover over it and we didn't notice for a couple of days, and by then there was a couple of inches of urine accumulating in the bottom, gross). Then, with the same cat, we had some raccoons get into the basement through the fireplace and that really freaked her out and she started peeing and pooing all over the place. All of that pushed me over the edge and we did end up giving her back to the humane society, something that I feel badly about even to this day. Wish someone would have suggested crating her for awhile, wonder if that would have helped.