Cat Urinating In Wrong Place

[IMNEMT-B]

Our cat is about 9 y/o and within the last 6 months has decided to start doing his business in one particular corner of our basement. He never had a problem with his box all this time. We have changed litter brands and am now on our 4th litter box. Thinking he might like a new potty. No such luck. We clean the spot in the corner that he seems to have taken a liking too and then place plastic bags down to at least catch what he does. Can someone give me a suggestion on how to get him back into his box and out of the corner. We just put down new carpet last year and this is very upsetting for him to start this. Help.... TIA

 

[TurboK9]

Our cat is about 9 y/o and within the last 6 months has decided to start doing his business in one particular corner of our basement. He never had a problem with his box all this time. We have changed litter brands and am now on our 4th litter box. Thinking he might like a new potty. No such luck. We clean the spot in the corner that he seems to have taken a liking too and then place plastic bags down to at least catch what he does. Can someone give me a suggestion on how to get him back into his box and out of the corner. We just put down new carpet last year and this is very upsetting for him to start this. Help.... TIA

Any way you can keep him out of that area?

Or use one of the various scent products to dissuade him from that corner?

 

[ICit]

have you had a check up with the vet? make sure we dont have any underlying health issues going on. (you may not think he has any... but check the CBC, Chemistry and do a UA... just to make sure we dont have any senior health issues creeping up on him)

 

[Roman]

roman

icit is right. The cat may have a urinary infection that may be causing this. Is he declawed? Sometimes cats that have been declawed start doing this. Can you put a litter box in that corner of the basement? If not, try to keep him out of that area.

 

[High-Def]

Our cat is about 9 y/o and within the last 6 months has decided to start doing his business in one particular corner of our basement. He never had a problem with his box all this time. We have changed litter brands and am now on our 4th litter box. Thinking he might like a new potty. No such luck. We clean the spot in the corner that he seems to have taken a liking too and then place plastic bags down to at least catch what he does. Can someone give me a suggestion on how to get him back into his box and out of the corner. We just put down new carpet last year and this is very upsetting for him to start this. Help.... TIA

I had a cat do the exact same thing replaced the carpet 3 times. Took him to the vet and medically he was ok so after a year of this we had to let him go. The vet said sometimes if a cat is unhappy it will start to do that. I had just had a baby and we figured that's what is was. We adopted him out to a little old lady who loved him. He was an awesome cat and I hated to do it but there's only so much carpet you can replace before you have to do something like give the animal away

 

[ewashkow]

If you take him to the vet, make sure to have them check his gall bladder! I had a 2 year old cat that started not using the litter box. At the first visit, vet didn't find anything wrong. Time passed and I still can't believe I didn't notice but my cat had jaundiced. Took cat back to the vet and the infection had spread to his liver. Put him on meds but after a week on the meds he told me in his own way that he was tired of fighting. It broke my heart but I had to make the decision to put him down.

I was furious with the vet for not discovering what was wrong with my boy when I first brought him in. If they had diagnosed it then as a gall bladder infection he would have gotten on meds and would still be alive.

Please, learn from my mistake and have the vet check your cats gall bladder!

 

[idiganthro]

I agree with others to make sure there is not an underlying medical issue. We recently almost lost a previously healthy male cat to a sudden, complete urinary blockage.
However, it could be behavioral. Any recent changes to your schedule, new person/animal in house, new piece of furniture? Perhaps outside cats are marking and it's making your cat want to mark also? Also, vets recommend having 1 more litter box than the number of cats you have. Maybe he's taken a dislike to his current box and if you put another out there will be another option.
Clean the area well with an enzymic pet cleaner. You can use a black light to make sure he hasn't hit anywhere else. Also, maybe using a calming hormonal spray/plug in might help chill him out. Once we even resorted to an expensive cat litter with an attractant until the issue stopped, and then transitioned back to the normal stuff.
Oh, and cats hate aluminum foil- try laying some over the area once you've cleaned it!
We have had several cats over the years and now have 4 ranging from 5-19, so we've seen alot of wierd cat stuff!

 

[Sherlock]

Sell the cat to a chinese person.

 

[libertytyranny]

Maybe this is a dumb suggestion..but could you move the litter box to that corner?

 

[IMNEMT-B]

Update

I like the idea about aluminum foil in the corner to keep him off. Nothing has changed in our house. The only thing new in the past year was the new carpet. The spot he has chosen to use is the corner of our basement, right behind our bar. Nothing worse than trying to entertain and thinking everyone can smell the urine. I had my daughter clean the area again last night, since he still likes the corner and not the new litter box. I told her to put something big in that corner to block him from going their. I will see if he chooses another spot on the rug or if he finally will use his box. If he continues to use my carpet, he will be sent to the vet next week. Love him lots, but this is getting crazy. Thanks for all the suggestions.

 

[cattitude]

Sometimes older guys can start having trouble getting in/out of the litter box or start to think the box isn't large enough. One of my old guys (he's gone now) started to have a problem so I switched to the large rubbermaid (or whatever brand) containers. Also, I used a puppy pad outside of the box in case he missed. These worked well and I would just change them daily. My boxes aren't on carpet, but on tile in the basement.

Some cats also develop a problem using a litter box because they want one for #1 and one box for #2. Have you tried using two boxes?

I would still recommend having him checked out by a vet just to be sure he's okay.

 

[onelove6366]

You must use a neutralizer to clean thea area. I always recommend Nature's Miracle. Even bleach won't remove all the scent - only neutralizer will do the trick. I use it in a spray bottle to spray on areas on my porch, grill, etc. that the ferals outside that haven't gotten fixed yet spray to deter territory wars.

What kind of littler are you using? If you are using something is scented, materials they don't like, etc. that may be the source of your problem. When you change litters and have picky cats introduce a mix of the new with the old starting with a little new and as you go more new and less old until it's all new.

I only use two litters ever. Swheat Scoop which is a wheat based formula and The World's Best Cat Litter which is corn based. I have never had any issues with litter whatsoever.

Aluminum foil is a great deterent for furniture, counters as well.

I agree to put the litter box in that corner too but definitely rule out the medical aspect first.

Good luck!

I like the idea about aluminum foil in the corner to keep him off. Nothing has changed in our house. The only thing new in the past year was the new carpet. The spot he has chosen to use is the corner of our basement, right behind our bar. Nothing worse than trying to entertain and thinking everyone can smell the urine. I had my daughter clean the area again last night, since he still likes the corner and not the new litter box. I told her to put something big in that corner to block him from going their. I will see if he chooses another spot on the rug or if he finally will use his box. If he continues to use my carpet, he will be sent to the vet next week. Love him lots, but this is getting crazy. Thanks for all the suggestions.