Why is our 5 y/o cat suddenly urinating everywhere but his litter box, and Meowing LOUD for seemingly no reason?

by Eric
(Seattle, WA)

Why is our 5 y/o cat suddenly urinating everywhere but his litter box, and Meowing LOUD for seemingly no reason?

He Meows day and night, if he Meows to go outside, we open the door, and he just stands there, and meows.. We think he is hungry, we give the food, and he doesnt eat, but rather meows..

We are now finding that after 5 years and not one accident , he is urinating on our clothes, the bed, the closet etc... He seems very skittish now, where as before he was very laid back, and mellow..

He still craves attention from us, and he still purrs loud etc.. when we hold/pet him, but honestly he is being handled less and less due to the fact that his behavior is eratic, and also un-hygienic. We love our cat, but we cant keep him this way.. any ideas about why he is acting the way he is?

Thanks Very Much..

E

Answer by Kate
I assume he is neutered, if not then his crying could be calling which is a normal male cat thing to do when they are looking for mates.

Whenever a cats behaviour changes like this there is always a reason ie something has changed that has affected how he feels in his home. ie new people, new animals in the area, new smells etc. The urinating and meowing is his reaction to that change.

Now I don't know if there has been anything which has changed in your area or not, only you will know that. But I suspect that a new cat or other animal has moved in nearby and is scenting your cats outside area. They can smell this and be affected by this from some distance. his urinating is his way of trying to make his home smell more like him etc. The crying is also a sort of warn off cry in the hope that the other cat can hear them. (My own cat will do this from time to time, it's as if they are looking for the other cat)

As for what you can do about it, well your options are limited until your cat gets used to the new smells or change etc. You may want to try and give him some re training in a separate room for a week with his litter tray. this will not only get him used to his tray again but will also help to give him some confidence back in a smaller environment. this can sometimes help. please see my page here about the re training at the bottom of this page https://www.our-happy-cat.com/cat-poo.html

best wishes KTE

Comments for Why is our 5 y/o cat suddenly urinating everywhere but his litter box, and Meowing LOUD for seemingly no reason?

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cat urinating
by: Anonymous

how is your cat now?
Re: Cat Urinating
by: Anonymous

The first port of call is the vet, so I assume that the suggestion was in the absence of the vet finding any problem. Don't shoot down other peoples suggestions when you didn't offer one yourself, bar take the cat to the vet which is blatently obvious.

The fact that the cat is refusing to use the litter box is a sign of territorial marking which suggetst insecurity.
Possible solution to urination.
by: Janice

You can buy a plug in which releases a scent similar to a cats pheromones which makes them fell more secure in their home. It is odourless to humans, I used it when we got a new dog.It's called Feliway Comfort & it worked well in settling my cat. Most vets stock it.

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