Help with cat peeing!

[BC-daisymae]

I have a 10yr old cat that is peeing all over my house!
We have 4 indoor cats and 3 litter boxes. He isn't sick!
What can I do???

[cindyrella25]

Hi Daisy!

You know I am having the same problem with mine right now. When I talked to my vet he said it sounds like she is just stressed. I had to laugh. I said she's a cat. What in the world is she stressed out about?
We are currently trying to retrain her to the box. Not easy when we both work all day!


Have you changed the brand of litter you buy? Sometimes it is as simple as they don't like the brand you buy.

Below is the list of steps we are trying to use to retrain her:

Keep the box away from food/water. Cats are motivated to eat/drink and use the potty by scent. They usually won't go potty in a place that smells like their food/water.

Keep the box in a quiet open area; don't enclose your cat (igloo-type boxes aren't ideal).

Is your cat not peeing at all for more than one day, or not pooping at all for more than two or three days? If so, take your cat to the vet immediately. The cat could have a blockage of either the intestinal tract or the urinary tract. This is very painful (cat might be hiding and/or crying) and is potentially deadly if not treated quickly.

Is your cat peeing, just somewhere other than the litter box? If your cat backs up against a vertical surface, like a wall or a piece of furniture, wiggles his tail and releases a spray of urine, and sometimes shifts its weight from one rear paw to the other and vocalizes, your cat is spraying. The telltale sign of spraying (if you don't see him/her do it) is a roundish area of urine a little higher up than the height of your cat's rear end, with streak marks running down to the baseboard or floor. This is territorial behavior, and is more common in male cats, especially if they are not neutered. This behavior might have been prompted by the presence of another cat outside or in a neighboring apartment (especially if it is not neutered or spayed). If this is the case, the cat might focus their spraying around the front or back door or a window, or near an air vent that is shared with the other cat's apartment. Territory or being the cat in charge can be an issue for your cat also if a new cat has recently been added to your household. Ask your vet for advice in handling this behavioral problem. Neutering/spaying would probably help.
If your cat pees away from the litter box, but squats and does not seem to be spraying -- especially if there is blood in the urine -- this is a medical problem requiring a trip to the vet.

If your cat pees outside of the litter box, especially against a vertical surface, but does not seem to be spraying, perhaps your cat is having an orthopedic or neurological problem that makes it difficult for him/her to squat. Does your cat limp, need help jumping up to a chair or bed, have episodes of shaking legs, or seem painful around its spine or tail? If so, take the cat to the vet.

Perhaps a peepee pad would work instead of litter.
If your vet determines the peeing problem is behavioral and not medical, and if there are one or two main accident spots, try cleaning the pee spots; then place a litter box on each main spot and move the boxes a couple of inches or so each day toward the location of the litter box where you want the cat to pee.

If your cat is a senior citizen and your vet determines there is no medical cause for the extracurricular peeing, your elderly cat might just be leaky. If the accident spots are in locations where you could tolerate it, try using peepee pads to protect the floor.



Tips: If you take your cat to the vet because of his/her peeing outside of the litter box, things to notice in preparation for the vet trip include: Does the cat pee right by the litter box or further away? How large is the spot of urine? Does the cat even try to pee in the litter box? Does the cat cry a lot? Is s/he drinking more water than usual? Can you tell if the urine is almost clear, normal color, or dark? When was the last time you know for a fact that the cat urinated?

One very important step in getting your cat to pee only in the litter box is to thoroughly clean all urine spots. You may have to seek out pee spots that are not obvious in order to find them all. This includes the underside of carpet, and the padding and the floor under that. A black light, used in the dark, will make spots that have had urine on them glow!

Peepee pads for adult humans are larger and less expensive than those made for pets. They seem to cost the least at large, chain, discount department stores.

[EclecticCyn]

Believe it or not - some vets are having really good results with treating cats with Prozac

[BC-daisymae]

I think that's what I may need. I think he's just mad. He was an only cat at one time. We've added 3 more cats, 3 dogs and 2 kids since then. I'm starting to think it's just spite. He used to get UTIs a lot, but he doesn't have one now.