Help! My cat pees on the walls, right in front of us!

[matahari1]

I love my cat, my boyfriend and I saved him from a homeless environment when he was probably about six weeks old. His mother had taught him to go in the litter box, and we hadn't had any trouble with him until a little more than a year ago,
when we went on vacation for about a month.

We had the neighbor watching and feeding him, but when we got back, we found that he had pooped and pissed in various parts of the house (even though our neighbor cleaned his litterbox on a regular basis).

I assumed he was mad at us for leaving him for that extended period of time, and as time went by he was back to going in his litterbox like old times.

All of a sudden, he has started, not only peeing in the various parts of the house, but right in front of our eyes! He knows not to do it, and runs and hides, meekly, knowing that he has been bad, but why this behavior?

Will neutering help? Is he marking his territory? What can I do?

 

[Anne]

Sounds like he is spraying!

Read this article for more info:
http://www.thecatsite.com/behavior/spraying.html

Neutering is a must to prevent spraying. It's important to neuter males before they reach sexual maturity and begin the spraying. Neutering him now could help, but there is a possibilty that the spraying has become a behavioral fixation!

 

[sandie]

Not only should you get him neutered right away, but also have him checked by the vet for a UTI. If he still persists after he is neutered, we have lots of info on trying to break the behavior.