Expert: Dear Tabbi - 8/24/2009

Question
My 6 yr. old male neutered (declawed) cat who I adopted 4 yrs. ago along with his brother sprayed in my storage room the week he arrived and over the years he has been known to pee a puddle in our closet and storage room at times.  He was a very nervous cat and bit people, but we have overcome that problem - he never bites and is quite affectionate now - a yr ago we added a dog to our home and this cat likes him - but in the last month he has peed in several areas of our home destroying hundreds of dollars of stuff!  And he also vomits his entire breakfast because he eats too fast - this happens once a week at least - so we have tried different foods and only give him a small amount often to overcome this problem.  We did go away for a few days and leave the cats home alone with food and water but we've done this before and no problems.  This peeing is just getting worse and worse - he leaves a puddle in every room and we are on the brink of giving him away...do you have any suggestions?
Lori

Answer
Lori,

It sounds like he may have a urinary tract infection or urinary crystals. They are common. Both are painful and the cats associate that pain with the litterbox and go elsewhere. It can be cured with medication if caught in time. If not treated it can cause a complete blockage which can be fatal to male cats.

The vomiting may be caused by worms.

Since there are many reason for the cat's behavior, I am including some links to good articles about improper elimination. They will have good information that you should find helpful.
(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,

here is a 'recipe' for cat urine odor removal:

1 quart of 3% hydrogen peroxide
1/4 cup baking soda
1 teaspoon of liquid soap

(3% hydrogen peroxide can be bought at most grocery and drug stores in pint and quart bottles).

Gently mix all ingredients in a non-metal container. Do not mix or shake vigorously!

The mixture is best used when fresh but can be stored. Do not keep mixture in an airtight container.  Have a VERY loose lid as baking soda and hydrogen peroxide when mixed together will release oxygen and an airtight container will explode. You can mix and keep it in large spray bottle (Home Depot, etc.) but a plastic liter or 2-liter soda bottle works just a well.

Always test for color-fastness. Hydrogen peroxide is a bleaching agent in stronger concentrations and can lighten materials that are not color-fast.

I would check to make sure it's not a medical issue before dealing with it as a behavior problem.

Tabbi