Behavioral inappropriate urination

[Cgrove]

Hi,
My cat, Rico, has been having major issues peeing everywhere (laundry baskets, closets, carpets, etc) for around 3 years now. My dad is so fed up that he is going to get rid of the poor guy unless the issue stops ASAP. We have another cat and Rico is afraid of him so I think this may be the cause of the issue. We are going to take him to the vet just to make sure, although I feel confident that it’s a behavioral problem because he has peed in a laundry basket right next to his litter box several times. Also, some relevant info: he is neutered and 11 years old. Our two cats share a litter box but it hasn’t been an issue until he started peeing everywhere, but I’m still going to try getting a second litter box to see if that helps. Does anyone have any suggestions to help me solve this issue? I would really appreciate it because he’s the sweetest cat that I’ve grown up with for 11 years now and I don’t want to see him go to a shelter.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. Getting a second litter box is a good start. And, a vet checkup is also a good thing to do. It sounds as if the other cat is dominant to Rico, which causes fear, and it also sounds like your dad is insensitive to this. So, I would also give Rico a place of his own - with all his amenities (food/water/litter box/ toys/cat trees/etc) - perhaps in your own bedroom?

The thing that confuses me is the fact that something has changed in the past 3 years, if Rico and the other cat were OK before that. Perhaps, there is a health issue with the other cat? Sometimes, illness in one cat can bring about odd behaviors in another cat.

More information would be very helpful to try to assess what some of your options might be. The other cat's age, when this cat was 'adopted', if the other cat is neutered, and so on and so on.

 

[daftcat75]

Take him to the vet first. It's so much easier to rule out health conditions first.

Get two extra boxes. You should have one per cat plus a spare. Cats will pee outside the box if they don't feel it's clean enough or if there are territorial issues between them. Having enough boxes can prevent both.

Get a UV flashlight and enzyme cleaner to remove all traces of where he has peed before. Otherwise, he will keep going back to those places.

 

[Cgrove]

thanks, that is all very helpful. The second cat is 4 years old so we got him when Rico was around 7 years old. They are both neutered.

 

[sunny578]

I'm sorry you are dealing with this! Poor Rico

I would get at least two more litter boxes, if not more. Generally, people suggest having one more litter box than cats, but if you have a cat with litter box issues, even more can help solve the problem.

You also want to consider where these litter boxes are placed. Nervous cats need to be able to see around them while using their litter box, so if the boxes have hoods, you want to get rid of those for now. You also don't want your boxes to be in a corner or in a closet. You want your litter boxes to have multiple points of entry and exit, so Rico knows he can't be ambushed while using the litter box.

Where does Rico spend most of his time? Does he have high up places that he can jump to? This can also help a cat feel more at ease in their territory. As can things that he can scratch, like scratching posts and cardboard scratchers, etc.

How often is Rico urinating out of turn? If this is happening every day, you might consider confining Rico to your bedroom as suggested above for a bit while you re-think your space, add in some cat furniture, and create a new litter box set up. But, if the illegal urinating is happening once a week or something like that, this confinement might not be necessary.

Pheromones can also help reduce stress.

Also wondering what happens when Rico urinates somewhere? You say that your dad is fed up (which I get, cat urine is awful) but you want to make sure that there is no punishment or yelling when Rico urinates outside of his box. This will only cause more stress, and more stress generally equals more cat urine.

Please keep us posted and let me know if you have any questions!!

 

[Cgrove]

Great advice! We definitely don't scold rico at all when he pees outside his box. What is the best way to react when we catch him in the act of inappropriately urinating?

Also, it's probably important to mention that we have a dog but Rico and the dog don't seem to have any issues and rico doesn't appear afraid of the dog. Because of the dog, we would have some issues uncovering the litter box because the dog has a tendency to eat out of the litter box when it is open. I could put it on top of the counter where the dog can't reach it but I fear this would only worsen the issue with rico because it is less accessible. Any suggestions? Do you think the best solution would be moving the litter box to the counter or would this just make it worse?

 

[sunny578]

That's good! I would say just ignore him when he's urinating out of the box. I think some people might try to move the cat while they are urinating, but in my experience, that only works for a kitten who is still learning what a litter box is.

I kept a litter box on the counter and one of my cats used it. It was a little weird, but easy to clean. You could try putting one up there to see what he thinks!

What probably would be more successful is to get a baby gate that has a little cat door cut out, so Rico has access to a dog free room. Even if he doesn't appear to be stressed out by the dog, he might be, especially when he is in his most vulnerable state. If you have a hoodless box or two in a room that the dog can't access, Rico might feel more confident about using a box. This was probably the most important thing we did for my inappropriate urinator--putting her litter box in a room that she knows dogs and kids won't enter.

Let us know how it goes and if you have anymore questions or ideas!