Expert: Dear Tabbi - 10/22/2009

Question
Dear Tabbi:
I have 2 cats, boy 9y and girl 2y and they get along great. The girls is very mellow. The boy, Leo, has been concerning me lately when he started peeing (not marking) in odd places like behind the tv, the carpet, the futon, etc. Long story short, he's a big boy, he likes to eat, a bit overweight (17lbs) but always healthy. Some months ago I noticed he started "humping" a pillow and howling every time after either me or my husband leaves the house. He's fixed since he was a kitty but it seems that he has a big libido still :) Someone told me that he could be having some "separation anxiety" but it's hard for me to believe it as he hasn't done that before (at least that obviously and we have gone on trips with no problems). One day I found out he pissed behind the tv, I cleaned it with Nature's Miracle and he forgot about that and went back to his box. Some months after that he started peeing in a rug, and again, I cleaned and he forgot about it and went back to his box. This last time he pissed and pooped in a futon, but he didn't go back to his box, instead he did it in his bed! it seems that he doesn't like to go to his box even though I haven't changed anything and I clean it every single day. There are 3 boxes for 2 cats, all of them in quiet areas. There have no been any changes in the house for over a year. Any idea of how to fix this? I bought a Feliway spray but not sure of how to use it, some people say to use in the box to attract him others say to use it in the spots that I don't want him to soil, so rather confirm it with you. Another detail, sometimes I've found poop in odd places, like for some reason it gets stuck and he ends up dragging it to other places in the house....
Does any of this makes sense to you? Any ideas?
Thank you so Meowch!
Mari


Answer
Marianella,

At 9 years old your cat is approximately 52 years old in human years and at that age things may start going wrong. He may have intestinal or kidney problems. When a cat starts eliminating places other than the litterbox it usually means that the cat has pain when he goes and he associates that pain with the litterbox and he goes elsewhere. You may want to give him a geriatric checkup with a vet that is familiar with geriatric cat care and conditions (not all vets are). He needs the function of his thyroid, kidneys, and liver checked, and also checked for arthritis (which makes it painful to get in and out of a litterbox).

Have you noticed him looking out a specific window? Sometimes his behavior can stem from seeing stray cats outside that stresses him because he can't get to them to defend his territory.

Also some neutered cats that have a strong male mentality, and when they get older, they react to females in heat in the neighborhood even though they are inside cats. They can substitute 'objects' in their affections.

There are a number of reasons it could be for his behavior, and since I cannot put all the information into this reply, I am including some links to good articles about improper elimination. Please read them. They will have good information that you should find helpful in dealing with your male's behavior.
(copy and paste or type the whole links into your address bar)

http://cats.about.com/cs/behavioralissues/a/outsidebox_two.htm
http://www.geocities.com/heartland/pointe/9352/litterboxhelp.html
http://www.apbc.org.uk/article10.htm

And also, being prepared and knowledgeable about older cats will make things easier for the cats and for you. For future reference I am including some very good links about elderly cats. (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

I hope this answer was helpful.

Tabbi