Male cat peeing everywhere

[Cloverisme]

Hello, I have a male cat that pees on all the other animals beds and we don’t know why. Can anyone help with how to fix his behavior?

 

[sunny578]

Hello! I have a few questions:

When did this start?

What other animals do you have? Children?

What is your litter box set up?

How old is your cat? How long have you had him? Is he neutered?

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Yes, please answer the above. It could be so many things, and the more details we have, the better we can try to find answers for you.

I would also add,

Have there been any recent changes in the household and its routines, and is there any new construction in the area, or stray animals in and out of your yard?

 

[Cloverisme]

Hello! I have a few questions:

When did this start?

What other animals do you have? Children?

What is your litter box set up?

How old is your cat? How long have you had him? Is he neutered?

It’s been within the past year that he started to pee in random places.
We have four other cats and I have a teen.
We have five liter boxes throughout the house.
He is about 5years old and he is neutered.

 

[Cloverisme]

Yes, please answer the above. It could be so many things, and the more details we have, the better we can try to find answers for you.

I would also add,

Have there been any recent changes in the household and its routines, and is there any new construction in the area, or stray animals in and out of your yard?

No there aren’t any new routines and I haven’t seen any new cats around the neighborhood.

 

[Greenmyrtle]

Try a Felaway mister? also, not much help, but oxyclean works well for cat pee on things you can launder - and is cheap
Medical issues ruled out?
If so, Inter-cat relations top of my suspect list.

 

[Cloverisme]

Try a Felaway mister? also, not much help, but oxyclean works well for cat pee on things you can launder - and is cheap
Medical issues ruled out?
If so, Inter-cat relations top of my suspect list.

He does it with the dog’s bed too, does that still fall into Inter relations?

 

[Greenmyrtle]

My cat used to pee in her own beds, even beds she loved. (she's not allowed a cat bed anymore - plenty of soft options, not just beds)
She did have a urinary thing long ago - vet speculated that peeing in litter tray was painful, so she was using other container shaped things to see if they weren't painful. Cat's aren't great at cause and effect. I don't think that was why - she has done it from time to time since, but that advice stuck with me.

So Definitely check for medical issues.

If it's territory marking, then sure, why not let the dog know all about it too!
Feliway has worked for many around territorial behaviors like peeing and spraying.

 

[sunny578]

Ok, thank you for the info!

Barring any medical issues, it sounds like he is trying to make the home smell more like him.

Wondering where all the pet beds are in your home, and if the litter boxes are close by. Does he ever urinate somewhere that isn't another animal's bed?

What is his personality like? How does he get along with the other cats? The dog?

Does he every urinate in his own pet bed, or has he not claimed one?

What I might try first is keeping the pet beds very clean by laundering them weekly. Then, once you put them back in their places, spraying them with pheromones. This way, they will smell less like an animal that isn't him, and more like a scent that (hopefully) will calm him down.

Next, I would add some new cat things right by each of the animal beds. One way for a cat to spread his scent is by urinating; another is by scratching. Does he prefer to scratch vertical scratching posts, or horizontal surfaces? Or, maybe he would like one of those chin scratchers you can attach to the walls? I would get whatever kind of scratching surface he likes (or a variety of choices if you aren't sure) and place a new item for him to scratch right next to each animal bed. You could use cat nip to draw him to these new scratching posts, or new fun toys, treat dispensers, etc.

Next to the dog bed, I might place a cat tree.

Another option is to get a few new litter boxes, fill them with cat attract (or another new fun litter) and place them next to the other animal's beds.

I might also spend extra time brushing him or collecting his hair from his fav sleeping spots and then putting some of his fur on the other animals' beds. This is another thing that will help the house smell more like him.

It also might be helpful to consider his stress level. Are the litter boxes in places that are easy to get to, and do they have multiple entry points and exits? Can he look around while he's urinating and see if any other cats or dogs are there to ambush him? Are the litter boxes scooped at least daily, and are they hoodless? Does he feel comfortable around the dog, or do you think he would benefit from having a room that is gated off and dog free? Does he have lots of high-up places that he can claim as his own?

This is so hard!! Good luck, and please keep us posted!

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Since you aren't aware of any changes (although I've seen construction 3 blocks over trigger incidents like this in very sensitive cats), the first thing to do is make sure that there isn't any physical cause for this. A cat with pain on peeing will associate the pain with the box before he will associate it with his own body.

You will want to invest in a GOOD enzymatic cleaner, since he will smell his own pee and be attracted back to those spots even if you can't. A black light is also a good thing to have, especially when you are trying to track down exactly where he might have gone. Also, you can use that light to take a quick peek on the outside of your home, around doors and windows, just to make sure that the culprit isn't some sneaky neighborhood cat creeping around. A least one litter box per cat, plus one more, and try different litters. Cats can be very picky about litter. My girl likes the very fine grind of corn or walnut.

And I love sunny578 's suggestions!

 

[Cloverisme]

Ok, thank you for the info!

Barring any medical issues, it sounds like he is trying to make the home smell more like him.

Wondering where all the pet beds are in your home, and if the litter boxes are close by. Does he ever urinate somewhere that isn't another animal's bed?

What is his personality like? How does he get along with the other cats? The dog?

Does he every urinate in his own pet bed, or has he not claimed one?

What I might try first is keeping the pet beds very clean by laundering them weekly. Then, once you put them back in their places, spraying them with pheromones. This way, they will smell less like an animal that isn't him, and more like a scent that (hopefully) will calm him down.

Next, I would add some new cat things right by each of the animal beds. One way for a cat to spread his scent is by urinating; another is by scratching. Does he prefer to scratch vertical scratching posts, or horizontal surfaces? Or, maybe he would like one of those chin scratchers you can attach to the walls? I would get whatever kind of scratching surface he likes (or a variety of choices if you aren't sure) and place a new item for him to scratch right next to each animal bed. You could use cat nip to draw him to these new scratching posts, or new fun toys, treat dispensers, etc.

Next to the dog bed, I might place a cat tree.

Another option is to get a few new litter boxes, fill them with cat attract (or another new fun litter) and place them next to the other animal's beds.

I might also spend extra time brushing him or collecting his hair from his fav sleeping spots and then putting some of his fur on the other animals' beds. This is another thing that will help the house smell more like him.

It also might be helpful to consider his stress level. Are the litter boxes in places that are easy to get to, and do they have multiple entry points and exits? Can he look around while he's urinating and see if any other cats or dogs are there to ambush him? Are the litter boxes scooped at least daily, and are they hoodless? Does he feel comfortable around the dog, or do you think he would benefit from having a room that is gated off and dog free? Does he have lots of high-up places that he can claim as his own?

This is so hard!! Good luck, and please keep us posted!

Omg this information is so helpful. I took him to the vet to check for a possible UTI and they weren’t able to get a urine sample. They did give him some medication just in case. He has a self cleaning litter box in my daughters room. I have a litter box in the laundry room downstairs and upstairs as well.