Hello: I've had Deeks since he was a baby and he turned four in April. He's been faithfully using his litter boxes (one in basement or rec room & one on top or 3rd floor) faithfully, that is until about two weeks ago. He has suddenly started peeing in the living room, under the end table next to the couch against the wall and on to the baseboard. No rhyme nor reason nor indication that I can gather as to why the change. He still uses the litter boxes but I would guess he's gone in this spot about six times in the past two weeks.
I did some recent research and followed some advice (which hasn't worked).
Made a mixture of hydrogen peroxide, baking soda and dish soap and scrubbed and dried the area before spraying "Just for Cats Urine Destroyer" which I purchased from Pet Smart. I made a lemon fragrance liquid spray from boiling lemon peelings and sprayed the area thoroughly and I even covered the floor in that specific area under the end table with tin foil in the hopes that would deter Deeks from going in that spot.
All these attempts were carried out following advice or recommendations from articles obtained from internet research. Unfortunately none of these remedies has hindered the situation and Deeks has no issues with the tin foil whatsoever.
I will add that Deeks has a habit of peeing over the top of his two litter boxes and I rectified that situation by adding three pieces of clear hard plastic (one to each end & one to the back) to the rectangular shaped litter boxes. I'm also aware how particular cats are to change, especially to their litter boxes but Deeks continued and still continues to use both boxes even with the clear plastic additions I added to each.
Wondering if anyone has any advice (remedies, etc.) on how to tackle my sudden dilemma?
Thanks.

He's six months old now...

1) are you sure he's peeing not spraying? Does it have a bad smell? If so, it's spraying.
2) Is he neutered?
3) has anything changed in the household? New baby? New pet? Cats outside in the garden?
4) did you take him to the vet to make sure he's not physically sick?

So it sounds like the tact that you have taken is to think that he's going where he's going because he "likes" it there better than the litterbox, so the remedy is to make him like it less by putting sprays and other deterrents in that spot?

To me that's not a very sensible approach, because even if you were to succeed in dissuading him into selecting a different spot, there are nearly an infinite number other equally bad places in the house he could go, correct? What are you going to do? Dissuade him from going in each and every one of those spots until he has no choice but to use his litterbox again? I think a more sensible approach would be to try to figure out why he is going outside his box, and then make his box more attractive to him again.

Reasons why he might be going outside the box:

1. He's rejecting the litterbox itself: doesn't like the litter, the box is too small, or too smelly, or it's in a "bad" location, or it's too confining, or there is a territorial issue with another pet. If this is the problem, you just need to get a box that is more suitable, and put it in a better location.

2. It's hurting him to "go", so he has a litterbox avoidance issue. For this one you'd need to get the issue diagnosed by a vet, then get it resolved (if it can be resolved).

3. He's not so much peeing but "marking". If he's freaked out about his place in the home, he might be marking special locations in the house to claim his ownership. Male cats do that more so than females I think. One common remedy for this is to use "Feliway", which is a feline pheromone diffuser.

4. Stress. Things like new additions or subtractions to the family (either 4 legged or 2 legged) can cause stress, or major changes to the house, or his routine can cause this. Again, "Feliway" is often used for this, but catification and make sure to give him extra play and attention can help.

Probably the easiest thing to do is to get 2 new boxes. Make sure they are really big and open boxes, and place them where or near where he is going inappropriately, keep them immaculately clean, and see if things change. Add a feliway diffuser to the area as well. They also make special litter for this sort of situation. Check out "cat attract litter".

A trip to the vet and a consult from a cat behaviorist would probably be next on the list. Don't forget that this issue has got to be one of the top things that a cat behaviorist deals with, so they should be able to work with you on a solution for this.

Before getting help, you can also call up the "My Cat From Hell" episodes. I'd say at least one in 3 of those deal with peeing issues, and then you get to see a cat behaviorist (Jackson Galaxy) help people through those issues.

Good luck

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The little monsters 3

An easy remedy is to put a litter box where he is now peeing. If you have a three level home, you need at least three litter boxes -- one on each level. A lot of design works goes into creating a litter box -- they know what a cat likes and now that you've added plastic to them, they are probably not to his liking. It also never hurts to have him checked out by a vet to make sure there isn't something medical going on.

Know that cat urine has an odor whether it's from peeing or spraying. It's coming from the same area! It's just spraying, the cat is standing and will lift its tail and spray vertically. The cats squats to pee. Same stinky urine!

If only the cat could tell us what was going on! It would make things so much easier. However, they do things like go outside of the litter box and that is telling in itself. You simply have to figure out what the reason is.

Hi

I had a pee'ing outside the box issue last year with one of mine who was nearly three years old at the time. Part of it was stress related due to foxes constantly coming into our garden and chasing him. Part of it was the fact he decided he no longer liked the position of the litter boxes and no longer liked the litter!

So before the fox breeding season this year I changed the gate to our garden so now they can't bring their Cubs in. The adults can still get in but they don't hang around anymore. I also put jagger on zylkene which is just a milk protein and mimics a mothers milk which helped with his anxiety. The vet looks on it as a food additive - it's not anything nasty. He's not on it anymore though as the foxes aren't so much of an issue so far this year.

I also discovered he would only use his tray if I carried it into the hall but he still needed to be encouraged. So I tried a new litter as well, changed to catsan clumping clay which is really fine, we'd been using cats best oko plus until then and had been for years with no issues. He now uses the tray without an issue as long as it is spotlessly clean.

Where he peed on our rug or in our wood basket, I put a couple of little bowls of food or treats there and also sprayed the area with feliway after I'd cleaned it.

It might be worth checking if something is coming into your garden that Deeks can sense but hopefully something from my experience might help!

I hope you manage to find a solution soon!

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Clare
Hendrix and Jagger, Brown Marble Boys (born 18 August 2013)
Hampshire, UK

My bengal was doing the same thing in his litter box. Squatting and peeing and then raising his butt. I purchased a litter box with 3 very high sides and now it's not an issue! Cats are strange creatures sometimes. You mentioned you take him on walks (mine gets two walks a day as well). There could be "issues" in the outside world -- smells that you can't smell but your kitty can. Other cats, especially. Mine is constantly following a zig-zag trail of the scent of another cat on our walks. My bengal sprays with a thin stream -- not a wide spray. It is completely aggravating. Mine does not spray in the house often -- usually it's because he's holding it because he wants to spray on our walks and mark every shrub near the street.

I would have suggested walking your kitty, but you already do that. You might want to check out cat enclosures -- portable or permanent where he can enjoy the outdoors. Mine has a large enclosure on our deck and he will spray the brick wall as soon as he goes out there. At least the smell is THERE and not in the house.

I know this behavior is quite irritating, but the best thing is to keep an eye on him and when you feel he is going to spray, move him away from that location. I hope you do add another litter box on the second level. You always want to make it convenient for the cat to use the litter box instead of something else. And make sure you use a good enzymatic clean to clean the area completely.

Our Bengal started peeing outside the litter box when she was about 3. I finally tried a new litter - Dr Elseys Touch of the Outdoors - immediate success and no more problems going on a few months now. Doesn't hurt to try...