Why has my cat stopped using the litter box?

Question

About a year ago I inherited my grandmas cat, who was 7 years litter box trained. When I got him he started peeing everywhere in the house! Throw rugs seem to be his favorite, but he pees on everything left on the floor, even if its just a few minutes. When i started hanging up my bathroom rugs after getting out of the shower, he just started peeing on the tile floor. I keep his litter box clean, but he just refuses to use it. I was told by a vet that cats never pee where they eat, but he peed on the floor by his food dishes too. Srpaying cat repellant on things doesnt help either, he just pees on top of it. The only place he doesnt pee is my bedroom, the messiest room in the house. The strangest thing is that when I catch him peeing, he is doing it standing on all fours, sort of tilted towards the object hes peeing on, like a dog would.
I was thinking about doing something to make his litter box more appealing, like putting potted cat nip around it. Any other ideas?

A year ago I inherited my grandmas cat, who was 7 years litter box trained. When I got him he started peeing everywhere in the house! Throw rugs seem to be his favorite, but he pees anywhere, even on tile where there's spash back. I keep his litter box clean, but he just wont use it. I was told by a vet that cats never pee where they eat, but he peed on the floor by his food dishes too. Srpaying cat repellant on things doesnt help either, he just pees on top of it. When I catch him peeing, he is doing it standing on all fours, tilted towards the object hes peeing on, like a dog would. He is nuetered, we have more than one litter box, my grandma was never affectionate with him, and he is more affectionate with me than he ever was with anyone. I give him lots of love, he follows me like a dog and sleeps curled up next to me. Puting him outside is not an option, we live in the mountains where there are wild animals that could eat him.

He is nuetered, and putting him outside is not an option. We live in the mountains where there are wild animals who could eat him. I have lost too many cats that way. We do have two litter boxes, and we keep one with a lid on and one with a lid off. He is very big, we thought the problem might be that he couldnt fit comfortably in the lidded boxes, but he still doesnt use either.
My grandma, to be honest, never did much more than feed him, and I was not suprised when she asked us to watch him for a few weeks and never came back to get him. In any case, he was never affectionate with her and he is with me. He follows me around like a dog, waits for me at the door when I come home from work and sleeps curled up next to me. I give him lots of love. He is my baby.
I thought since he used to be an outdoor cat, it might help a little to bring the outdoors inside for him. Perhaps putting some cat grass or something around the box might help make it feel like outside?

Answer 1

Check this out:

http://www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/resources/brochure/Housesoiling.html

Answer 2

You keep saying he so I'm assuming kitty is male, is he neutered? Male cats (as will dogs) mark territory so if it is a new home to him this might have been what started it. Also, he might be upset about something, did he go from being an outdoor cat to an indoor cat who is not allowed outside. That will do it too. There are solutions to that one by the way. Do you have other cats, I mean is he sharing a litter box with anyone? If so try giving him his own. Might be the brand of litter your using, have you tried different ones. Since he has started doing this it will be very difficult to stop it after this length of time. Just keep trying and good luck.

Answer 3

Cats are sensative animals and if he was your grandmothers baby (as most cats owned by the elderly are) then he is probably suffering from the seperation. I know it's been a while, but they can grieve for a long time.

My grandmother had to be put into a nursing home a few years ago and shortly after, her dog passed away due to grieving herself to death.

So the cat could still be grieving and acting out. Try giving the poor baby lots of attention and snuggles and cuddles as much as you can (or as much as it'll let you).

Also, he could be still trying to mark his territory. Are there other cats in the house? Outside? Do you have people come over who have cats and carry their scent over? That could be part of it.

But to be safe, take the kitty to the vet and have it checked for a urinary tract infection. They can become pretty serious. You may need to change his diet to something that caters to that (I know what it is, I'm just not sure right now, maybe Iams.)

Good luck and sorry for the loss of your grandmother.

Answer 4

I wonder if your cat isn't really upset about losing your grandmother & expressing it by peeing on everything in sight. Seperation anxiety in cats seems to get expressed by their pee & poo. Mine has pee'd in our suitcases because he knows we leave him alone when they come out. He also has poo'd a few times to express his anger over a situation on various objects to get our notice.

He also might be marking territory, but after all this time I'd think that he'd pretty much have that covered (sorry for the pun! )

You also might want to try using the brand of litter your grandma used, he might just hate what you've been using.

& take him to a vet he might have a urinary tract infection which is super common in older nuetered male cats. & usually the reason why they pee outside of the box.

I think you should find out from a vet what gets the smell of urine completely out of stuff. Try covering his more favorite pee places with tin foil, cat's don't like splash back anymore than we do.

Try loving him & snuggling him constantly so he feels a bit more reassured. He has also suffered a loss & I bet your home is a bit more busy than grandma's where he probably was the king & center of attention.

Good luck!

Answer 5

This sounds like your cat had/has a urinary tract infection. When a cat has a UTI it is very painfull to go pee. Some cats think that the litter box is causing the pain, so he may think if he goes pee in the box it'll burn and cause him a great deal of pain. First off switch his food to any thing that say's PH balanced or Urinary tract health, then you may need to buy a new different litter box and a different kind of litter (like if you have clumping get regular). Sometimes the damage is already done and the cat will refuse to use the box again. I hope this is useful and it helps your poor kitty use his box again!

Answer 6

Almost for sure urinary tract infection. Cats are very clean and don't normally pee everywhere. It's probably trying to tell you it hurts and needs to be taken to the vet. If it is marking it is very concentrated small spot not a more dilluted puddle of urine. I think this calls for a vet appointment. If it comes up clean, it may be that it needs more than one litter box. Some cats like to pee in one and poop in the other. Or it may not like the litter or placement of the box. But my bet is on the UTI.

Answer 7

I also think it's because the cat is upset and he's marking territory. If he isn't already, get him neutered. If he is... anyway, read this response (the original problem sounds a bit like your question) http://perfectpaws.com/spray.html - and follow the link on litterbox training. There are good articles at perfectpaws.com; there are also some at catsinternational.org and plenty of other places.

Gist is - give him lots of attention so he will overcome the stress from chaning owners. There's nothing you can do about restoring him to his previous owner :-/ so you may need to teach him to enjoy your company and your home.

Good luck!

Answer 8

This cat is not neutered. He is spraying, which means he is marking his territory.

This also may mean that Mr. Cat is angry, lonely, and doesn't understand where his "mommy" is.

TLC, lots of it, and maybe something from grandma's house that he would recognize may be of huge help.

It also may signify a urinary tract infection or worse yet a kidney problem. I urge you to take the cat to a vet for a routine checkup and see what they yell you.

Answer 9

Don't clean the cat box with anything But water....

Is the cat neutered? are there other cats in the house? If so get another cat box...

Perhaps he was a dirty cat when you got him... was he an out door cat? if so allow him out side this is where he prefers to go potty...

Cats are not normally dirty animals - it could be his way of showing how much he misses his previous owner....

Put newspaper around the cat box... he may use this... The cat nip will keep him away from using cat box as cats love kitty nip... it will become a place to play not pee...

Rub his nose in the pee - and put him in the cat box, cats are not stupid he is trying to tell you something....!!

Daisy

Answer 10

This cat is upset at being moved. His behavior is due to that most likely but you should rule out a bladder infection.
Is he declawed?
Declawed cats are famous for this.
I have had no success in resolving this issue myself.
The cats live outside now.

Answer 11

He's old...
Every creature looses control of bodily functions as we age. You need to add more litter boxes to the places that he seems to use most often to relieve himself.
Basically he is marking his territory.