He is peeing everywhere!

[malinkonija]

I have been a cat lover since I know for my own existence and was always surrounded by cats since early childhood. This type of cat behavior I am dealing with, is definitely something new, and it's pretty complicated in terms of possible triggers.

Anyway my lovely little boy who is now 8 months old (Scottish fold) is peeing everywhere around the house. And I mean literally everywhere, every room - every corner.

When he came into our home, he met an older cat (she is now 8 y.o. and she was found in the streets as a kitten) and she is a very smart little kitty that is not using a litter box, but a toilet, and we never trained her to use it, she just started using it by herself. He was obviously very confused seeing her doing that so he started peeing next to the toilet even though the litter box was 50cm away. Then he moved those peeing places step by step to many other new places all around the house.

I bought the cleaning spray with enzymes which is supposedly good for removing the odours completely, I was even counting hours and putting him in the litter box every 3-4 hours and then when he pees I give him a treat that he loves, the litter box is always clean and it's a big box, he is not experiencing any stress, he is just like this from the very beginning, he is a happy and healthy cat but I am becoming a pretty stressed out owner. I had a major surgery lately and I find myself babysitting my little furry baby too much and I am cleaning and bending over too much which I shouldn't been doing.

Please advise, I am pretty desperate about how to teach him the right thing...

Wishing you all a happy New Year

[Ruth B]

Firstly I assume he is neutered at 8 months old, if not that is the first thing to get done.

Secondly have you tried different styles of litter trays and different litters, it could be for some reason he has taken a dislike to the ones he has.

Thirdly I would suggest you invest in a black light torch so you can check fully where he has been.

On to causes. From what I understand, a cat that is peeing everywhere is most likely marking territory, going around claim that the place is his. I would say that something has upset him, whether it is something outside, or he feels he is competing with the other cat for dominance is hard to say. Some things that might be worth trying.
Lots more litter trays, one in each room preferably, so he has somewhere to go so he can say 'this room belongs to me'
Scent soakers. Lots of beds for him that will absorb his scent scattered through out the house and move them around so every room has his scent in it.
If you can play with him lots to build his confidence and make him feel like he owns the room, particularly if he gives off any signs of being insecure in particular rooms.
finally if necessary go back to stage 1 introductions. Set him up a base camp in one room and keep him in there with everything he needs and plenty of beds. Feed both cats on either side of the door so he starts to associate the other cats scent with nice things, not too close to start with, then slowly decreasing the distance until they are on each side of the door, then open the door a little while they are eating so they have sight contact and can associate the scents with the sight. Once they are doing that slowly expand the base camp to include the rest of the house, moving any of the his beds in to the new areas so that his scent spreads out. Just because they aren't physically fighting doesn't mean they aren't feeling that the other cat is a competitor in their territory.

i would also suggest reading some of Vicky Halls books, like Cat Confidential, she is a UK based Cat Behaviourist, and finding some of Jackson Galaxy's My Cat from Hell videos on Youtube both of which commonly deal with cats peeing where they shouldn't and they can offer professional opinions on what causes it, you might find something that sounds familier with the various case studies.

[malinkonija]

Thank you, this was very informative!