Cat won't stop peeing outside the litter box... and on dog??

[Kikyo]

For the past month, my cat has been peeing outside her litter box. I have had her for about over a year now and this has never been an issue before. We moved into a new apartment in August but this didn't seem to bother her at all. However lately she's been peeing all over the apartment: on a pillow, corner of the bedroom, on my clothes in the closet, on a dog bed while my dog was still sleeping in it, and on a pillow on the couch while my dog was sleeping on it. I tried changing her litter box, thoroughly cleaning her litter box after each use, blocking her from the areas she's peed in, spraying her with water if she gets near those areas, cleaning all those areas with urine odor cleaner/remover, etc. At first it seemed like she was doing it whenever I was standing nearby, so I took it as a sign and took her to the vet. The vet treated her for a UTI and the week following that she seemed a lot better and stopped peeing on things. But today she peed on a pillow my dog was sleeping on. This confuses me because she has lived with this dog (and other dogs) all her life and there had never been any issues before. Are they fighting or something?? My dog is a bit older and she is very gentle with the cat. It does seem like whenever my cat would pee on things, my dog will come alert me and nudge at it until I notice. My dog will also sort of "guard" the areas after I clean them by laying in that spot if the cat is in the room. Is this a territory thing?

Also, my cat is currently not spayed yet. The area we live in has a long wait time for spays and her spay appointment won't be until Nov 14th. Is my cat being unspayed a reason for her peeing behavior? And is there anything I can do or change to ensure this won't become a behavioral habit?

I'm a first time cat owner so any tips or information would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Talien]

Are you using an enzymatic cleaner? If not it will leave residue behind, and that can cause her to keep peeing in those spots because they've already been marked.

It's also possible the UTI could have come back, I'd contact your vet and ask their opinion.

 

[catlover73]

I would contact your vet and let them know that your are still having issues. She may need medicine for the inflammation if the UTI is definitely gone. Was a follow-up appointment done to re-check the urine to make sure the UTI was completely gone? My Apollo had to be on 2 different antibiotics to clear up a stubborn UTI. He also required medicine for inflammation after one cleared and he was still peeing on the floor. Another thing that may need to be ruled out would be crystals. I recently found out that my Apollo has crystals after he had an x-ray. He is on special urinary food now. He is still having some accidents which I am cleaning up with an enzymatic cleaner. I have waterproof vinyl flooring where the accidents are happening so the pee is not absorbed by the floor at all. He is still using the litter box also. The big difference I am seeing in his behavior from when he has had a UTI is that he is not jumping in and out of multiple litter boxes having tiny pees which is his normal behavior for a UTI. He has started passing the crystals and this is when I am seeing accidents. I watch him use him use the litter box at least once a day to monitor his behavior. My Apollo will stop peeing on the floor when he is feeling better on his own. Another thing you might be able to try would be putting a litter box where the accidents are happening. UTI's and inflammation can cause very sudden pee urges that cause accidents. Hopefully this will work for you. I can not try this because it would block the entrances and exits for my home. My vet is aware of this issue and agrees that this being caused by him passing the crystals. Apollo is very difficult to medicate so I am watching his behavior for signs of pain. He also gets very stressed out being given medicine so this has to be taken into account too.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

UTIs frequently recur. Especially if you are dealing with Idiopathic UTI, which is simply an infection with no known cause. The one thing that is known for sure is that they are stress-related, and she apparently has had, and still has some stress issues. The fact that she is unspayed is a stressor, in and of itself, and she's currently a slave to her hormones. This may well be the root cause, along with the move. And there may be tom cats around that you aren't seeing...but she can scent them very easily.

Do call your vet and let them know that you have a return of symptoms, and make an appointment to make sure you don't have a recurrence of the infection. Besides Idiopathic UTI, you may simply be dealing with a bacterial infection that requires a specific antibiotic. There are a few of those around.

Also, I encourage you to take the water bottle out of your repertoire of things to try. They invariably cause more issues than they solve. The cat quickly associates you with the hated bottle. They also learn to do things when the bottle is NOT nearby.

 

[cataholic07]

Getting her spayed will help if it's spraying. Strange why are they so booked up? What food are you feeding her and how much a day? Have you added a 2nd litter box and tried cat attract litter?