Cat Peeing Everywhere

Hi, I have 4 cats, aged 8, 7 and twins aged almost 2. Over the past couple months, one of them has started peeing on my roommates clothes, my clothes, and on our couch. The roommate moved in around March, and this didn't start until about 2 months ago. All my animals seem to like my roommate, so I dont think they're doing it because they're angry or anything. Ive caught one of them almost peeing in some places, so I think its her thats peeing everywhere. I dont know what to do to stop her. Theres 4 litter boxes spread throughout our small apartment, and they're cleaned daily. I really don't know what to do to get her to stop. I'm tired of everything smelling like cat pee! Does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks!

Hello!  I'm not going to lie; this is a difficult, often multifaceted problem.  The good news is, that we now know more about feline urinary habits than ever. The more cats living in a household, the more likely you are to see urinary problems.  This is because urination site is a huge contributor to social status and signalling within groups of cats.  Cats are not well adapted to social living; even though they form colonies, they don't cooperate much within them in the way that dogs do Eg to sort out territory disagreements.  Rather, they will either fight or avoid one another to keep the peace.  Urination marks out a cats' territory and within a household each cat tends to have their own separate territory where they can hang out / urinate. 'Inappropriate urination' is often seen when cats are torn between urinating where their humans want them to go, and where they should go to keep the social order as a cat.  Cats like to urinate on their own territory but sometimes their territory is squeezed and they go somewhere else, or hold it until they can't any more. I hear why you don't think this explanation likely, but social standing in a household in the cat world is not the same as having confidence with humans; further, cats outwardly don't show social stress in the way that humans and dogs have evolved to do; rather they have evolved to hide it and one of the main signs of it is indeed inappropriate urination.  Cats can look incredibly confident even when they are terrified.  It sounds to me that even if they like your room-mate, the new smell us threatening their territory and they are marking against him.  This leads to the question why it only started a couple if months ago and I would suggest that this might be to do with some social factor between the cats, or an object left in a different place etc. rather than any big obvious trigger to humans.

So what can you do?  First, buy another two litter trays and place one near where the urination is taking place.  The guidelines say one litter tray per cat, plus one, as a minimum.  Some cats like it better if their trays are covered over (containing the smell). The second thing is, to seek feline behavioural advice.  We have lots of articles about this in the blog and Sarah Caney, from iCatcare, is a UK expert in the area so we would strongly recommend looking at this website too.  Sometimes it is the case that too many cats and humans are trying to share a small space, but there may be changes you can make to make things easier.

Finally, the 'almost peeing in some places.'  This may be because you have interrupted / stopped her.  But I just wanted to make sure that you are aware that squatting without producing urine can be a sign of cystitis in cats and if you see cats doing it, it may be an emergency so do contact your vet. I hope this has given you some direction - check out our and Sarah Caney's resources as they are really useful.  Best of luck.

CYSTITIS - bladder inflammation, often caused by social / urinary stress / urine holding.  Can be associated with crystals in the urine / urine pH which vets can test and help to remedy. Short inappropriate wees can progress to a blockage so always report to your vet very quickly and ask when you need to be seen BLOCKAGE - inability to urinate despite attempts.  This is always to be treated as an emergency, particularly in males

CYSTITIS - bladder inflammation, often caused by social / urinary stress / urine holding.  Can be associated with crystals in the urine / urine pH which vets can test and help to remedy. Short inappropriate wees can progress to a blockage so always report to your vet very quickly and ask when you need to be seen BLOCKAGE - inability to urinate despite attempts.  This is always to be treated as an emergency, particularly in males

I have a cute cat that is over 2 years old, lately, I don't understand why it goes to the toilet in the wrong place, because since I was a kid, I have been trained very carefully in the toilet. That change made me really uncomfortable, I took it to the doctor and discovered it had a urinary tract infection. Fortunately, I discovered it early and took it to the vet. Now that my cat has gone to the toilet in the right place, I am very happy that it is cured and back to the way it was before. You can apply the ways that I have tried, hoping your cat will know how to go to the toilet in the right place.

There are many causes and ways to fix your cat going to the toilet in the wrong place, you can refer to https://www.fveap.org/why-is-my-cat-peeing-on-my-bed/

There are many causes and ways to fix your cat going to the toilet in the wrong place, you can refer to. https://www.fveap.org/why-is-my-cat-peeing-on-my-bed/

I think it is now known that most cases of cystitis in cats are not actually due to infection.  Please see VetHelpDirect blog and the other resources I outlined for more information.