I've been researching this problem, but so far haven't found an answer that fits our situation here. My husband and I "inherited" Van, who is probably about 12 or 13, from his aunt last year. She is a barn cat his aunt adopted and (somewhat) tamed. At this point, Van has seemed to settle down fairly well. She doesn't like the other cats, but she's learned to tolerate them. They mainly leave her alone: our old tom cat stays upstairs with me, and the two younger ones are focused on teasing each other.
Within the last week, Van has suddenly started peeing on furniture. It started with a kitchen chair (where she hangs out), but she has also been peeing on the couch. It's covered in plastic, but that doesn't stop her. I've been systematically eliminating the common problems: she can get to the litter boxes, since the couch is in the same room; she isn't declawed and has never showed any sign of disliking the litter; I've seen her walk past the other cats to get to the litter box if she needs to; it doesn't appear to be UTI, since she's peeing plenty (as evidenced by the soaked chair and puddles on the couch); and I don't think it's stress since we haven't changed anything, and the cats are leaving her alone even more now than before.
Is there any other health problem that might cause this sudden behavior change? I'm hesitant to take her to the vet, because our old cat has hyperthyroidism and he needs to get his thyroid rechecked fairly soon, and we can't really afford two vet visits close together; but if we need to, we can try to budget it out.
Within the last week, Van has suddenly started peeing on furniture. It started with a kitchen chair (where she hangs out), but she has also been peeing on the couch. It's covered in plastic, but that doesn't stop her. I've been systematically eliminating the common problems: she can get to the litter boxes, since the couch is in the same room; she isn't declawed and has never showed any sign of disliking the litter; I've seen her walk past the other cats to get to the litter box if she needs to; it doesn't appear to be UTI, since she's peeing plenty (as evidenced by the soaked chair and puddles on the couch); and I don't think it's stress since we haven't changed anything, and the cats are leaving her alone even more now than before.
Is there any other health problem that might cause this sudden behavior change? I'm hesitant to take her to the vet, because our old cat has hyperthyroidism and he needs to get his thyroid rechecked fairly soon, and we can't really afford two vet visits close together; but if we need to, we can try to budget it out.