Hi,

This is my first time posting on the forum but I have been reading it ever since I became a Bengal owner. I have 2 gorgeous boys, Padraig and Phelan, both age 4, brothers.

Recently I have been having a problem with Phelan peeing outside the litterbox. He has started peeing on anything soft and in the corners of various rooms. Today he has peed in the same spot twice! - I'm at my wits end! He never poops anywhere but the box.

This is what I have tried so far:

Vets - I checked here first as he has had crystals before. Nothing conclusive but they didn't test his urine as I didn't have a sample.
More litterboxes - They have always had one large tray but I have now put an extra tray upstairs.
Different litter - they are very fussy but wood based seems to be their fave.
Increasing the stimulation in the environment - I have bought new toys, played with them more and built a new cat tree.
Feliway - this doesn't seem to affect them.

I moved house about 3 months ago but in the last 2 weeks the problem is escalated. My theory is that I let the cats out in the garden (supervised) a couple of times and now that's all they want to do. Phelan just shouts all of the time and it seems when he gets very frustrated he then pees - I guess he's stressed. I've been considering letting them out to roam free to hopefully stop the problem but I've never let them out on their own and they are currently not chipped (although I would obviously do this if I did). My house is quite near a road but I am just terrified that they will not come back! The other boy is fine, he doesn't seem too bothered, although he does love going outside.

I don't know what to do - any advice would be greatly received.

I know how you feel! I can't handle cat pee either, there is nothing that compares to the smell of cat urine! Have you been cleaning the areas with an enzyme cleaner like urine off? If not I would STRONGLY suggest doing so! Another thing, if you are not comfortable with letting them out(I wouldn't be) have you ever tried to walk him on a harness? If this is the reason he is literally "pissed off"
It might be a good compromise for the two of you!

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"Vets - I checked here first as he has had crystals before. Nothing conclusive but they didn't test his urine as I didn't have a sample."

My suggestion would be to -DEFINITELY get his urine checked.
Bring in a sample as soon as you can to resolve that possibility.
If he's had crystals once, it is HIGHLY possible they may have returned. Crystals can generally be a reoccurring issue.

Urinating in other spots- Especially soft areas may mean he is looking for a comfortable place to urinate because he thinks that the litter box may be whats causing his pee to hurt. In this case, the cat is trying multiple spots in hope that the pain will subside.

Since your cat has had crystals before I assume you are aware of how painful crystals can be for your kitty, and how important it is to help reduce them.

There may also be a UTI possibility.
***DEFINITELY bring in a urine sample to your vet to have his urine checked. From a urine sample, your vet can help to determine whether the urination issue is medical, or behavioral.

Hi

You can buy ph-level sticks to test his urine at home before taking it to vets. ( i got mine from ebay)
its very simple and much quicker. I have been doing this at home with my boy when we suspected crystal. So i just randomly monitor his ph urine level from time to time to make sure its fine.
the thing is you have to test it within 20 mins of fresh pee for accurate results.

re: letting outside
I would def not allow them to roam free, I think its dangerous.
Could you perhaps secure your garden to make it cat proof?
Letting them out whilst secure definitely makes a difference, they are so much more happier and sleep soundless all night after being out, no 3-5 am playing and running around.

Absolutely agree with the others - first port of call is urine test - there is no point trying to correct a behaviour if it is health related and can be sorted that way.

Welcome to the forum - sorry its not on better circumstances.