Why would a desexed male cat urinate on clothing but do his poo in the litter tray?

Question

I have 2 desexed male cats. My nearly 2 year old cat constantly urinates on clothes that are on the floor, or in the washing basket, he even has on our lounge! He uses the tray for his poo. How can I stop this from happening especailly cos we dont actually catch him. It is driving us mad. The younger cat does not have the same problem. It has been happening for a long time. Any advice on how we can stop this would be great. i do try to ensure that there is no clothes on teh floor, but it will be just about anywhere, in the back of my husbands work ute, on his work chairs and ropes. PLEASE HELP!!

I have 2 trays that get cleaned every morning.

Answer 1

Hi there...generally when a cat inappropriately soils around the home on particular things, etc it is indicative of a lower urinary tract disorder. Consider having your cat evaluated and treated respectively. The longer the habit continues the more likely it will become habitual and more difficult to stop even after treatment. It's also important to treat the soiled areas with an enzyme cleaning solution to completely eliminate the odours as cats return to those areas to resoil. Consider using Nature's Miracle Just for Cats (not the plain Nature's Miracle) which is found worldwide at most pet stores. It works by soaking the areas affected thoroughly and then allowing to air dry rather than blotting dry. Repeated applications are very necessary for heavily soiled area. More on Nature's Miracle Just for Cats: http://www.petsmart.com/global/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524441775019&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302025596&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=2534374302023690&bmUID=1167132360710&itemNo=0&Ntt=nature%27s+miracle+just+for+cats&In=All&previousText=nature%27s+miracle+just+for+cats&N=2

More on lower urinary tract disorders: http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_feline_lower_urinary_tract_dis.html

More on why cats soil inappropriately by Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine for Feline Health: http://www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/brochures/Housesoiling.html
House soiling is the most common behavior problem reported by cat owners. It includes urination and/or defecation outside the litter box, as well as urine spraying.

Why do cats eliminate outside of the litter box?
One common misconception is that cats soil in inappropriate places for revenge. It is tempting to conclude, "He defecated on the living room carpet to punish me for leaving him for the weekend." But this kind of calculation requires sophisticated cognitive abilities that cats aren't believed to possess. Furthermore, this conclusion assumes that cats view their urine and feces as distasteful, when in fact they do not. It is only we humans who view it that way.

Medical Problems
So why do cats urinate or defecate on your bed or carpet? Medical problems are one possibility. Inflammation of the urinary tract may cause painful or frequent urination, inability to urinate, bloody urine, and crying during urination. An affected cat is likely to eliminate outside the litter box if he comes to associate the box with painful urination, or if he has an increased urgency to urinate. In addition, kidney, liver, and thyroid diseases often lead to increased drinking and urination. Inflammation of the colon or rectum, intestinal tract tumors, intestinal parasites, and other gastrointestinal conditions may cause painful defecation, increased frequency or urgency to defecate, and decreased control of defecation. Age-related diseases that interfere with a cat's mobility (for example, arthritis, nervous system disorders, or muscular diseases), or with his cognitive functions can also influence his ability to get to the litter box in time. In short, any medical condition that interferes with a cat's normal elimination behavior can lead to house soiling.

Litter Box Aversions
Behavioral problems, such as litter box aversions, inappropriate site preferences, or urine spraying can also lead to house soiling. An aversion implies that there is something about the litter box that your cat finds unsavory. It could be the box, the litter, the location of the box, or all three.

Answer 2

Both male and female cats can and will urinate on or around strange places. This is generally done because they are trying to communicate something that they are seriously displeased with.

This can be anything from lack of attention to a serious health concern. Though, in my experience, my cats have engaged in that behavior when they were feeling ill. It was there way of letting me know that something was seriously wrong. And urinating is something that will not go un-noticed. Problem is, you are seeing it for a behavior issue and not a cat cry for help.

I would take your cat to the vet and have him checked out. Get a blood panel done to look for any signs of something more serious. This could even be as simple as a urinary tract infection, or as serious as kidney issues.

It's possible that your cat is just VERY angry with you, but this would generally stop within a reasonable amount of time. Chances are, your cat is not feeling very well.
Generally, this behavior will not stop untill you find the root problem for why your cat is trying to alert you.

Answer 3

my mother had the same problem with her cat khan! i would like to ask how long you have had your other cat, because my mother introduced another cat into the house, and he started the same thing, within weeks of the other cat being there.

i think you will find your cat is marking his territory, he is urinating on your clothes because he cat smell the other cat and doesnt like it and maybe also the furniture. You my think they get on well even sleep together, but looks like they are fighting for territory.

there is hope yet thou, you can buy from your vet a spray call fellway, cats hate it and hopefully it will stop the problem but you have to spray the areas which he is doing it, so clothes could be a problem.

i hope this is help full

Answer 4

First of all take the cat to the Vet to make sure there isn't some health problem.
He might have a UTI.

Also once he's peed on something unless you throughly clean it he's going to keep going back...get something called Natures Miracle and use that to clean the spots he's used...I'm not sure if it would damage the cloths to wash them in that...but I'd check the label on the bottle and if it says it's safe for that kind of fabric then but some in the water when you wash your clothes.

You say you've never caught him, how are you sure that they both aren't doing it?

Answer 5

Hi I had the same problem with one of my kittens, luckily it was just in the laundrey basket and stopped when I kept it covered.... I 've read a couple of Vicky Hall books, she's a cat psychologist (!!) I think she says when cats pee on carpet/clothes, it's just because they find it comfy - it's warm and fluffy!!
Also, it can be a comfort thing e.g. if the cat was scared one day and pee'd on clothes and felt better afterwards, it will always pee on clothes to have that nice comforting feeling!
Anyway, I digress - you will have to hide all your clothes for a while, also try a different type of litter in one tray?

Answer 6

Some cats are picky, they need a fresh litter box to pee in, also if he can smell cat pee on anything he will continue to go on it, so either throw things away or but an enzyme based cleaner available at just about any pet store, it can completely remove the cat pee smell, it make take more than 1 treatment, I used Nature's Miracle and it worked quite well. Plus it didn't cost too much.

Answer 7

has it started since the arrival of the younger male?
this is not unusual with two males. he is demonstrating his dominance.

i have two sibling males. max the dominant wont use the litter if paddy has used it. i have other cats as well, but these two vie for dominance

it is also not untypical for a cat to use two litter trays anyway, one for wet and another for solids. additional trays in corners might help. then. i have 11 litter trays around the place. quite a chore changing them every day.

have you tried plug in feliway pharamone diffusers. they do sometimes work in calming down cats.

Answer 8

I have two castrated make cats and they pee on clothes/bags/stuff left on the floor - oddly enough only my boyfriends stuff not mine! This is a territory thing so either, lock up your laundry and don't leave stuff on the floor! OR - go to the vet and make sure the cat was completely neutered - sometimes some testicular tissue can be left in place making boy cat hormones race around your kitty and making him behave like a full on boy cat!

Answer 9

He's marking his territory because you have TWO male cats, and when I say territory I mean you. He's spraying your clothes to mark you as his. If you have him fixed then I'd say ask your vet. As for clothes. Keep all closet doors shut, get a hamper that doesn't have holes in it & has a lid so that if he does spray it doesn't get on your clothes. Basically it's like child proofing your home.

Answer 10

Is "desexed" a way of trying to say nicely that his bits were cut off in some barbaric attempt to tame an animal ?

hopefully its revenge. Good on him

Using disassociation words like "desexed" does not detract from the fact that you are responsible for inflict great pain and lifelong problems to this animal

Have a nice day !

Answer 11

The alpha male cat is showing his alphaness in your house. What you can use is an endorphin chemical that gets sprayed and it makes the area 'neutral' rather than an 'alpha male' zone. Also, he's trying to prove his alpha status to the other cat.