My cat has started peeing on EVERYTHING!

[Katy Seffers]

My boyfriend and I have two cats (Lardy and Shithead) that we raised from kittens. They're almost two years old now and they've always been very happy and well-cared for. But recently, Shithead has started peeing everywhere except her litterbox, whenever we leave or at night when we're asleep. She'll pee on the bed, our clothes (often poops in the dirty laundry basket), our shoes, backpacks, etc. Anything we happen to leave within her reach. Twice she's jumped on the bed in the middle of the night for the sole purpose of peeing on ME.
When leave for work or go to sleep, as much as we hate to do it, we have to lock the two in the bathroom with their food and litter just to keep her from destroying everything.


The litterbox is kept very clean and is scooped two or three times a day. Nothing in our house has changed, why is she suddenly urinating everywhere except where she's supposed to? Like ON ME?!??!

Anytime we're around her she's the same loving sweetie pie she's always been, but we just have no idea what's going wrong once we leave. It is quite a hassle.




She hasn't been spayed yet, and we were wondering if that might help... chill her out, or something? Haha. My boyfriend is about ready to strangle this cat! We're totally at a loss as to how to deal with it. Does anyone know what could be going on? Any advice is much appreciated.



Thanks!

[Samantha Sutton]

My cat shoes sometimes poop when the litter box has not changed, I mean the litter is changed. The boxes wiped out with hot water. Every year I buy them new boxes. Because the smell stays in the older boxes. Which I have to do this year.
Sam

[Hedgewitch]

Spaying will help a lot!

[Peter A Rosanova]

I love that... every issue ends up with chop the cats block off.... this isn't always the case and it's not always FUS and it won't be FUS this time either.... the symptoms included Pooping in the laundry basket.... this usually means something has changed or hasn't changed.... Sam pointed out a real good idea... u can always clean the litter box but not always get it clean.... i have 4 litter boxes i bleach 3 at a time for up to a month each and rotate them out after spraying them with natural lemon i used to have the problem with a female and male and when i started doing this they stopped doing thier duties in places that were not appropriate... also instead of leaving clothes in a pile anywhere us a hamper.... if theres less areas they can dig around in like thier litter box chances are they won't dig in it anymore... Keep your cats happy and you keep your home healthy. Also when i say change i mean with cats even a varying temperature can set them off on a trip... i love my cats and my dog 5/1 and i see this happen all the time through the year... my cats love to sit on the AC vents and if it's not on they pee around the house til it is.... until we can learn to read thier minds or understand 100% of what they are saying they only have late night caterwahls and peeing to let us know thier unhappy.

[calico51]

Peter why do you spray your litter boxes with natural lemon? Do you rinse this off before using them?

[Belles]

Take her to a vet.. then give her a nice name. Maybe you're giving your cats a complex.

[Katy]

I have to say I was also intrigued by the name, Shithead. Although I'm not sure that is the problem here :) I would definitely try cleaning out the litterbox with soap and water (don't use vinegar or ammonia since that will make the cat not want to go in) or try buying a new one. I wasn't sure from your post but do you have at least one other litterbox? I also agree with Shaya that it could be something that you can't even see. I would watch her other behaviors because it doesn't sound like anything in her environment has changed dramatically so she is obviously trying to tell you something more subtle. Good luck with both your cat and keeping your boyfriend from strangling the cat!

[Belles]

LOL, well, if there is any truth to the notion that pets understand and can have emotional complexes.. lol, maybe she's sending the message. Who knows. It might be worth a try.

Seriously, I'd definitely do the vet first and rule out any possible physical problems..

[calico51]

I may be repeating some of the suggestions already given but I would first take her to the vet to see if it is a URI or urinary crystals. Don't let the vet give her cortisone and antibiotic just for the heck of it. Cortisone does serious damage to a cat. Get her spayed. If you don't intend to mate her it is actually very bad to keep a female cat unspayed. Cats don't have periods, the urterus will build up "eggs" and they will remain there until she is mated, if not mated they remain and very often become cysts and can turn cancerous. The older she gets the harder the surger is on her so do it now.
You need more than one litter box and maybe a different type litter. Try a differnt type in another box, they say one box for each cat plus one, so three would be best. Have you tried Feliway or rescue remedy? But number one get her a checkup and get her and the other cat spayed now. She will continue to go into heat if you don't. Please let us know what you find out at the vet and I'm sure you will get more comments after the vet rules out any physical problems. If at all possible don't let the vet vaccinate her when she is being spayed, too much at one time for her system. I personally don't vaccinate at all anymore, but that is a whole other story. Good luck, you can't live like that and the cat is trying to tell you something is not right. Cats respond to names ending in "e", give her a loving name, cats understand our language much better than most of us understand their language. Hope this helps.

[calico51]

I forgot one thing, is the litterbox covered on top? Many cats don't like covered boxes and they retain the odor inside the box area making it a smelly place for the cat. I only use open litter boxes.

[Michael William Shea]

You should always spay and neuter a cat, due to increasing you cats chance of getting cancer. I believe that this could be a medical thing, such as a urinary tract infection. Cats do not usually pee everywhere, unless they have an infection. Your bed is soft, so is your lap, and because it hurts them a softer area besides there litter box can help them release it. I would have your cat checked immediately. You can also increase litter boxes, a cat should always have there own litter box.

[miss chiff]

spay your cat, she sounds like she's marking territory and is probably very frustrated by being in heat and not being impregnated. there are already too many homeless kits, pups, cats and dogs in the world...do her a favor, spay her...and it is true, her chances of mammary cancer are greatly increased if she's left unspayed.