One Cat Peeing Outside the Box

QUESTION: I have a 8 year old male cat who has been neutered. He's been a member of our household for the past 6 years. We have a total of 5 cats. He has always been a "good boy" (he's the only male), until recently when he has started peeing outside the litter box. He is very fussy about his litter box so we purchased one of the automatic kind. We changed litters because the TidyCat we were using did not clump fast enough and that seems to be when the peeing outside the box started. . .so we changed back to the TidyCat litter and even put in an additional box (we now have 5 litter boxes around the house)but he still is peeing outside the box. One of his favorite places to do it is in the plastic dustpan I keep in the cat room to clean up the stray litter, so we have had to completely remove that from the room. He's been checked and doesn't have any urinary issues. I've also purchased a Feniway unit and recently moved it to the cat room where the majority of the litter boxes are hoping that will help. Any suggestions? ANSWER: Hi Sandra, Thank you for inquiring. It seems you have taken care of many avenues in trying to figure out what the issue is here. I will reiterate them to be certain that a step hasnt been missed. Have you seen him crouching to urinate? i understand he likes peeing in the dustpan, but Are we sure he isn't marking? A new marking behavior could be from some stress or "threat" to his environment. For ex, a new cat added to home, or cat outdoors on property spraying outside Rule of thumb with cats urinating put of box: Again, it seems like you took care of a lot of the issues but I will reiterate what they are here: 1. Rule out underlying medical condition. (the vet checked, was a urine analysis run? Was he tested for other issues as well?) 2. Assess stress level of cat and environment. remove stress/ also use Feliway and Rescue Remedy (great job adding Feliway! be sure to keep it fresh/replaced as often as recommended on box)) 3. Keep litter boxes immaculately clean, scoop twice daily, clean plastic boxes weekly. Has litter box been moved to new location? 4. Experiment with different litters and place more boxes around the home. (you have) 5. Any chance cat was stressed or somehow traumatized when using box? 6. Use enzyme cleaner in areas she has soiled outside of litter box. 7. Good luck investigating! Great move on adding a litter box! He does not have urinary issues but was he tested for other illnesses? I am not suggesting this is the case here, but as a side note, I have seen very serious health issues cause a kitty to not use litter box. I have also seen end of life issues signify a change in litter box habits. was he felv/fiv tested? and a blood panel run? Any crying while urinating? Is there continual crouching and little drops of urine being squeezed out? You purchased an automatic box, (great idea!) but are the others all being cleaned/scooped at least twice daily? You mentioned he was picky. You tried a new litter, then switched back to Tidy Cat. Many cats do not like high dust perfumed litters (not to mention potential health issues that cold arise from dusty clay clumping litters) Dirty litter boxes are comparable to clogged public toilets with multiple users. Is there a chance Tidy Cat is getting stuck in his paws or if he is long hair attached to his fur and he dosent like it? It does not clump as quickly but i like corn and wheat litters. Also, another HUGE issue I often see overlooked: Any changes in the home? Moving? Relocating? Renovations? New baby? Strange people in the home? New cat or dog added? Roommates leaving? new ones in the home? A new cat hanging outside windows, property or yard? Think back to behavior and when it started and what exactly has occurred that was different than before. I think young children can be shown to be very good with cats but another issue i have also seen is just kids being kids, running, jumping, yelling can stress out a sensitive cat and change litterbox habits. I am not sure of your specific circumstances obviously and it seems like you have done some great investigative work with your kitty. I hope i have perhaps helped in a suggestion that may have been overlooked. Please feel free to inquire further if you have figured anything out! Shanti ---------- FOLLOW-UP ---------- QUESTION: Thanks for your input. We do not have any children (50+ couple) and I am home alot so the cats get lots of attention. We did get a "new" (5 year old Sphynx) a couple of months back but he was fine with her and didn't start the urinating outside the box until a couple of weeks ago. I am wondering if the automatic cat box may have scared him? I have tried and/or am currently using World's Best Cat Litter - which is the one that I put in the automatic box and was in there the first time he peed outside the box so I switched to a wheat based litter. I have Tidy Cat back in the box we just added and am now trying the new Arm and Hammer corn based litter. He doesn't make any sounds or seem to strain when he urinates. Other than having him get another checkup. . .I think he is physically fine.

Answer:

Hi Sandra, Thank you very much for your rating, I wanted to add one more thing.... It is hard to say since i am not there to witness all of the dynamics. And i asked several questions that I am still not clear on, so I can only give possibilities. Are we sure it is urinating and not spraying? What tests was he given? Was it a U/A? Have you caught him in the act? it could be new box, but you do still have the other regular boxes. I know they all get lots of attention, but it could also definitely be the new Sphinx even though the behavior showed up more than a month afterward. Was he your special guy, and now the Sphinx is getting a lot of that attention? I don't suggest you return the Sphynx at all, but establish the hierarchy with resident kitty on top. Make sure to continue to give some extra special TLC if he feels slightly displaced, now and always. I do this by allowing "my kitties" on my bed to sleep at night and the fosters sleep/entertain/have a ball in the living room at night with my extra large dog whom they adore. i feed the ones higher in the order first,lucky for me the two acquiescent sweet "foster cat "males don't mind at all. There is a harmony here and everyone knows their place and they all get special love. I am sure you do the same. Just since your kitty is showing anxiety signs Id give extra special sessions of whatever makes him feel loved continually Are you pretty meticulous about scooping? If he is picky about his box, (although a lot of work with 5 kitties), they would need scooping twice daily. Also, I would look into his diet, some diets exacerbate the propensity of bladder issues. Good luck investigating! S