Expert: Dear Tabbi - 1/21/2009

Question
I have a 9 yr old neutered cat who is peeing everywhere in our house from boots to clothes to blankets etc. anything he can find. He has been checked by a vet a has a cleaned bill of health . Please advise me on what could be going on!!!

Answer
Heidi,

Your cat is approximately 52 years old in human years. From age 7 on cats can develop a number of aging problems. I would find a vet that specializes in geriatric cat care and their conditions. Not all vets do which can be detrimental to your cat if your vet doesn't know what to looks for or test for in an older cat. I'm not saying that your vet isn't knowledgeable, but an elderly cat needs an elderly cat vet.

The most common reason for that behavior is a urinary tract infection or urinary crystals. Was he checked for those? They are painful when they pee and the cat will associate that pain with the litterbox and go elsewhere. If a male cat becomes completely blocked it  is fatal. He may also have kidney problems. He needs an "older cat checkup" to check the function of his liver, his kidneys, and his thyroid. As a cat ages, it should be done every 6 months. Cats also develop arthritis which can make it painful to get in and out of a litter box. That is another reason for cats peeing in other places.

If it is not a medical problem for sure, then he may be reacting to the smell of a female in heat (even though he is neutered). He also may see stray cats outside from a window, and he is marking his territory because he can't go outside to defend it.

It may also be related to stress. As a cat gets older he doesn't take stress as well as a younger cat can. Have there been any changes in the household? New pets, someone move in or out? Have you been gone more or not paying as much attention to him as you did before? Sometimes you need to be a detective to figure out why a cat is upset or what is causing him stress.

It is impossible to tell you for sure over the internet what is causing his inappropriate elimination since I don't know your cat or what is going on in his environment, but those are some possible reasons for his behavior. I hope the information is helpful to you.

Being prepared and knowledgeable about elderly cats will make things easier for the cat and for you. For future reference I am including some good links about elderly cats that I hope you find informative: (Copy and paste, or type, the whole links into your address bar)

http://www.sniksnak.com/resources/geriatric.html

http://www.messybeast.com/towards-end.htm

http://www.2ndchance.info/oldcat.htm

Tabbi