Cat peeing outside of litter box

ClumsyBear

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Hello,

My cat is about 1.5 years old and sometimes pees outside his litter box.
He's done it since he was a baby. It started with peeing on our blankets/bed. We didn't allow him in the bedroom unsupervised for a while, and he stopped. However, he then started peeing on stuff in the front closet. If I left grocery bags or any fabric on the floor in the front closet, he pees on it. We've been good at not leaving things there, but I left one of those rolling carts, and he managed to climb it and pee on it this week. He also peed on my partner's gym bag that was on the couch this week.

Is there a way to help rectify that behaviour? Or, is there something that could be causing the behaviour? We think it might be some sort of separation anxiety, but unsure. It's not extremely frequent and is usually always in the same spot, but it is annoying to keep having to clean cat pee.

He's also neutered, and his litter box is near the front closet.
 

louisstools

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With litter issues a vet checkup is usually recommended to rule out anything medical.
Behavioral issues are harder to correct. My girl cat has always had a dislike of me leaving clothes or towels on the floor. If I do that she'll pee on them. So I don't leave them on the floor. In the past when she was willing to eat, if I left my door open at night she'd pee on my bed for not being available to feed her when the sun came up. So I learned to close my door and keep her out at night. You have to find out what triggers their behavior and figure out a way to remove the trigger.
 

Furballsmom

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Hi, as mentioned a vet visit is recommended. He's going through a lot of effort to pee on soft things, which so often is an indication of pain or discomfort which cats associate with the litterbox and try to avoid that, so they choose bedding, clothes et al.

Did you, or previous owners have a dog or cat that peed in the bedroom, closet and couch? Have you tried any calming products? Even though it can sometimes appear as such, cats aren't mentally or emotionally wired to urinate as a complaint about not being fed.

How often is the litterbox cleaned? Have you tried adding a box, and trying different litter to find one he likes? There's a litter called Cat Attract, which might help also.
 
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ClumsyBear

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Hi, as mentioned a vet visit is recommended.
Did you, or previous owners have a dog or cat that peed in the bedroom, closet and couch? Have you tried any calming products?
How often is the litterbox cleaned?
We've seen the vets for other things before (he has asthma and was also sick a weekend, so he's had checkups and tests then), so I'm not sure it's a medical issue. I'll try and ask his vet, we need to schedule his yearly check-up soon anyway.
No previous animals in the apartment either. Litterbox gets cleaned daily, and he does use it, except for that maybe once/twice a month closet pee.
We noticed it tends to happen more when we leave him alone for a while (he's never by himself for more than 24 hrs though). Maybe calming products while we are gone could help! He might be feeling a bit anxious by himself. He's a very clingy cat.
 

stonewall179

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Hello,

My cat is about 1.5 years old and sometimes pees outside his litter box.
He's done it since he was a baby. It started with peeing on our blankets/bed. We didn't allow him in the bedroom unsupervised for a while, and he stopped. However, he then started peeing on stuff in the front closet. If I left grocery bags or any fabric on the floor in the front closet, he pees on it. We've been good at not leaving things there, but I left one of those rolling carts, and he managed to climb it and pee on it this week. He also peed on my partner's gym bag that was on the couch this week.

Is there a way to help rectify that behaviour? Or, is there something that could be causing the behaviour? We think it might be some sort of separation anxiety, but unsure. It's not extremely frequent and is usually always in the same spot, but it is annoying to keep having to clean cat pee.

He's also neutered, and his litter box is near the front closet.
 

KiminKy

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Hello,

My cat is about 1.5 years old and sometimes pees outside his litter box.
He's done it since he was a baby. It started with peeing on our blankets/bed. We didn't allow him in the bedroom unsupervised for a while, and he stopped. However, he then started peeing on stuff in the front closet. If I left grocery bags or any fabric on the floor in the front closet, he pees on it. We've been good at not leaving things there, but I left one of those rolling carts, and he managed to climb it and pee on it this week. He also peed on my partner's gym bag that was on the couch this week.

Is there a way to help rectify that behaviour? Or, is there something that could be causing the behaviour? We think it might be some sort of separation anxiety, but unsure. It's not extremely frequent and is usually always in the same spot, but it is annoying to keep having to clean cat pee.

He's also neutered, and his litter box is near the front closet.
Hi, did you ever solve this issue? I’m having trouble with my cat.
 
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