Peeing In Sink - No UTI

[apesusi]

Our male cat has started to pee in our sink. I took him to the vet thinking he had a UTI, but no dice. No crystals, no nothing. He was totally clear.
I cleaned the sink really well and put a feliway plug-in in the bathroom but I just found he peed in there again today.

I'm going to go get some of the cat attract litter to start using, but this was so sudden that I was so sure he had a UTI. So strange!

Any other ideas?

 

[darlili]

I'd also get a brand new box (or two) as well as the Cat Attract. Has anything else changed at all at home? I'm thinking you're scooping at least twice a day. My boy absolutely demands having at least two boxes - a lot of kitties like to pee in one box and poo in the other. Good luck - I know from experience this is no fun at all. Although, at least a sink is easy to clean.

 

[strange_wings]

What tests were run? Some urinary issues are a little harder to detect and are missed on common basic tests.
It just seems odd to me that an adult cat would suddenly seek out a cool surface like that for no reason.

 

[apesusi]

You know, I guess I don't know which tests were done on the urine. She says we can test for an enlarged prostate if we need to next... ???

I thought the sink would be easy to clean, but I think the smell got into the plastic parts in the drain. I can still smell it a bit, so maybe that's why he's going back? I just went to the store and got new drain parts so they're fresh, but I'm afraid to put them on in case he does it again and it goes into the plastic again!

He's been acting skit'ish for a couple days, so it seems like something is up. He's very jumpy and on edge. Nothing else has changed in the house at all.

 

[violet]

apesusi , a very important question. Is this kitty an intact or neutered male?

 

[apesusi]

Originally Posted by Violet

apesusi , a very important question. Is this kitty an intact or neutered male?

Sorry... should have specified... He's neutered.

 

[violet]

Thanks so much!

I'd like to ask you, what kind of litter box does he have now? Open type or covered?

 

[apesusi]

They are covered. He's always used a covered without a problem. Could he just suddenly not like them covered?

 

[violet]

You mentioned he's been acting skittish for a couple days, so something must have happened. It's quite possible that whatever it was, is making him avoid a covered litter box now.
It would be worth a try to take off the cover, or, as has been suggested, get a brand new litter box. The open type. Maybe two would be even better.

Do you have more than this one kitty?

 

[howtoholdacat]

Are there stray cats outside your home? That will set my Hemmy off and he'll sometimes pee in the tub when he's feeling territorial. It could be the cause of the jumpyness.

 

[kittkatt]

Originally Posted by howtoholdacat

Are there stray cats outside your home? That will set my Hemmy off and he'll sometimes pee in the tub when he's feeling territorial. It could be the cause of the jumpyness.

That's a possibility. Two of my cats (Gabriel & Salem) get really territorial when they notice the strays I have on the porches - especially during mating season. Gabriel will sometimes pee in the sink, and Salem will pee in the floor vents.

Most of the time they will use the litterboxes, but when they feel "threatened" in any way they're revert back to peeing outside the box.

If your cat is suddenly jumpy, there must be something that spooked him which is what is probably causing him to pee where he's not supposed to. That would be my guess, anyway.

 

[apesusi]

Thanks everyone. We don't seem to have neighborhood cats or strays... not that I've ever seen and we've been here for 7 years now. But you're right, something spooked him. We added another box and so far he seems to be doing well.

We've kept the bathroom door shut though because the smell got into the wood on the vanity, so we need to sand it down and paint it with Kilz before I want to let him back in there.

I'll update if anything else happens. Thank you!!

 

[mnjulz]

I have a cat that does/did the same think. It was the sink in the spare bathroom (where I keep the litterboxes). I covered the sink with a board and we haven't had a problem since. She'd poop in there also but never in front of me. I think it may have been due to being bullied by another cat. Once she was in the bathroom she was cornered and couldn't go in peace and couldnt leave when she was done. I am very grateful she went in the sink where it was easy to clean and not on the carpet. They are definately trying to tell you something....trying to figure out what is the million dollar question

 

[feralvr]

Sounds like something has spooked your cat. I would keep the bathroom door shut and you already added another litter box which is good. And I would also take the hood off of one of the other boxes.

It is common though for cats who are having a urinary tract problem to pee on cooler surfaces. So I would not rule out something medical either. My other concern would also be if you close off the bathroom he might just find another place to go. I hope that is not the case here but if so then a medical problem might be the answer. to getting this resolved

 

[lilblu]

Were any blood tests or xrays done? It's entirely possible that he could have a kidney/ureter stone that's causing problems. A urine test and blood work might not detect this and come back normal. My cat's kidney stone was only detected by doing an xray.