We own two Cats : one Bengal called Leo, we got him when he was 3 or 4 years old ans he has been with us for a year now.

The other one is a grey cat called Sushi, he is 1 and a half years old and we have it since he’s 2 months old. He have a rare disease called Cerebellar abiotrophy. He is struggling to find his balance and often fall on his side.

Leo former owner told us he started pee/spraying a couple of months ago and that he didn’t had the time take care of him since he is often on business trip and so on.
So we took him in since the cat look gorgeous and we already knew the cat since his former owner is the uncle of my wife. So he gave it to us for free since the cat stays in the immediate family.
Leo is a lovely cat and very affectionate. He likes playing with sushi(wrestling) but sushi likes being on his own and doesn’t like being groomed wich I find quite weird.

The problem is that Leo started peeing on textile (clothes, carpet, sheets) that was on the floor. He started after 2 or 3 weeks after he moved in with us and since our old appartement had a carpet floor it was quite hard to manage. We moved to a bigger apartment with wood flooring and for 2 or 3 months he stopped peeing. He would often pee in the bathroom sink but it’s no big deal for us. Then all of a sudden he started spraying on the leather sofa and his pee would fall in the cracks and drop on the hard wood floor. We used deterrent to keep him away from there and he did not do it again. We used the deterrent for 2 or 3 month a we stopped , since then no accident on the couch. We then bought him a big cat condo and the condo had a carpeted base and first thing he does minutes after installing it? He peed on the carpet base. We then put his litter box on the base so he could pee there instead of on the cat condo. Now we bareley even have any accident unless some carpet or spread/sheets has fallen on the floor. It’s a matter of minutes until he pees on them and it has to be on the floor. If it’s on the sofa or the bed he will sleep on it. Even a little foot of sheet that hangs on the floor he will do it. It’s like he addicted to it.

We got to the vet and all seems fine, it’s more of a behavioral issue. What could be causing it? And we know for sure that it’s not the other cat because of the accuracy of the stains and because we often catch him doing it.

Did someone else have this issue?

Environmental changes and health changes are the most common reasons cats start doing this. If your vet ran tests and has proclaimed Leo healthy, then something else has changed in his world. We don't understand a cat's behavior and they can't tell us what is going on with them. I'd make sure everything is picked up off the floor. If you don't already have three litter boxes, you should -- one for each cat and an extra one. I wouldn't call these "accidents" unless there is a health reason for Leo doing that. He's intentionally not using his litter box for some reason. I take it you have no problem with Sushi.

Indeed, even with his disability sushi do not have an issue with the litter box.

Leo started this before we had him, so we decided to foster him thinking it was because his former owner was not around enough. I work day shift and my girlfriend works nights so there is always someone with them. He is declawed which i think could be the cause of the issue since a lot of declawed cat develop an aversion to the litter box, But he pees regularly in it.

if i can rank up the place he most often pees on it would look like
-1 bathroom sink
-2 cat condo
-3 litter box
-4 clothes left on the floor (it must be outside the bedrooms, for some reason there never was an accident in the bedroom.)

we we had him at first he was stressed a lot, he would often pluck out thuft of hair and his peeing was uncontrollable. Now he doesn't do this anymore and he pees on the floor when we left something on it or when he find a spot between his litter box and the carpeted base of the cat condo. over all he feels more relaxed. We feed him with urinary vet food and some wet food in the morning before i go to work.

maybe once a day he seems to be bullying Sushi. Per exemple he will bite his neck or sit on his face (while sushi is laying on his side after falling) and sushi simply hat this since he is a dominant type of cat an this always lead to noisy wrestling between the two.

As of friday night he started peeing on the sofa again, 1 or 2 times a day. it is a faux-leather couch and he pees on blankets that are placed on the right side of the couch( for comfort near a good fire and to hide a tear in the leather). I could'nt find cat attract or feliway here in Quebec and what they suggested us(vet) where anti-depressor wich is a no-go and cost way to much. like 80 bucks for a couple of pills. This is problematic since its leather, the pee drop on the floor and damage the wood. At this pace we will have to change the flooring pretty soon. Is there a way to limit his peeing to the litterbox and the bathroom sink ? Because giving him treats when he uses the sink or the box could push him pee elsewhere since cat don't eat where they pee.

Thanks

Similar issue here..
Boy started to spray and pee on the carpet ,then cushions.
I managed to retrain him back to his litter box , but still maybe once in few days it will happen again.

I have no answer. I can recommend to retrain him back to litter box. Mine seems to know that he should be going to the box, as he does it every single time when I am here even though i say/do nothing for him to go to the right place. When I'm asleep or out he seems to prefer soft furnishing to pee on.

Right now it's been a month and no issue, A cat behaviorist came and noted that our litter boxes( wich are standard size bought in a pet store) are too small for bengal, the solution she gave use was to get 60L plastic storagebox at walmart(10$ each). I put the two in the place of the old ones and she also she noticed our bengal was having a ADD like symptom in wich during he wasn't walways alert. so built a scheduled day for him, with two 20 minute play session and one click training session at the same time each day. Since then we never had a leak, anywhere, not even in the sink. we are now in the process of re-integrating carpet in the house and since he is clicker trained with a training carpet, treats and a clicker, he seems to associate carpet and fabrics on the ground as a source for treat so he often sit on them. he still isn't fully alert during play he often look back like if he was anxious but maybe it's just how he is.

all in all it's good news and for those who have pee issue, get those 60 L storage container, my Cat seems to love them and he doesn't go in my other cat littter box anymore(a normal one), also i use a new litter called intersand wich is amazing, it's dust free and when you scoop pee it stays in one solid block so the litter stays clean longer.

I am so happy to hear that you solved this problem -- see, there was a reason for this. He didn't like the small litter box. Most cats would rather use their litter box than go somewhere else. I'm glad to know there is a great cat behaviorist somewhere in this world that can help cat owners solve these problems. I'm thrilled for you!

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The little monsters 3

Updates on Leo, No more spraying nor peeing. it is Awesome! but he started plucking out tufts of hair from his side and his skin seem very irritated , like a rash or eczema.

could it be stress or maybe he have sensitive skin? he don't seem to be overgrooming but when he groom and get to that spot he just pluck hairs out.

I've read that food allergies can cause that behavior too. Has anything changed in his diet, new treats or food - or even a new detergent that you are using on blankets that he may lay on?

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Dallas, TX USA
Diesel - snow Bengal born 09/01/2013 adopted Feb 2014
Tuck, Chloe, Buddy, Lewis & Tia - rescue kitties
Clyde, Bleu & Coal - Great Danes