Cat keeps urinating on couch

My cat Sparky (about 1 1/2 years old) seems to prefer urinating on the couch instead of the litter box. We've used Nature's Miracle, Best Behavior, contact paper, all the tricks, and he STILL goes up there and pees. He didnt seem to have any problem until maybe a month or two ago. MY wife is ready to get rid of him because it's ruining the couch, but I think he may be sick.

When we first brought him home as a kitten, he had problems using the litter box and would defecate on the couch (a different one btw). That seemed to stop until just recently when he began urinating on the couches. We found that locking him in a room overnight with the litter box seemed to stop things a bit, but once he gets out he just pees on the couch again.

HELP! My wife is about to get rid of him!

Confine him to the bathroom until you narrow the cause, read the article in the top of the BEHAVIOR forum on cat peeing, think very hard about what might have changed in your life or your cat's life when the problem started, and get the smell out of the couch with nature's miracle

Has Sparky been vet checked? Do you notice if he strains while he wees?

A few things have changed. We moved into a new apartment in May, and got all-new leather furniture. That may be cause, but we've moved him about 3 times before and he never had a problem. Also, our son, who just turned 1, has been crawling since about the same time, and for some reason he has a particular fondness for chasing Sparky, although he doesnt pay much attention to the other cats. Also, I've noticed he has developed white patches on his ears, nose, and hind legs. Not bald, or bleeding, or anything, just the fur/skin has turned a white color.

Hi I'm new to this site. I have 4 cats, 3 of which are males, and 2 of which I have dealt with many many urinary problems. I would suggest first that if you haven't taken your cat to the vet, that you should do that. There may be a medical reason he won't use the box (crystals, UTI, etc). When my cat had that problem, the vet and I dealt with it for months and months and we finally figured out the problem - stress!! I never knew a cat could get stressed. But I realized that there were several strays that woudl hang around outside (my cats are indoor only) and look in the windows and KitKat would get very territorial adn stress out and then try to mark his territory on everything around the windows!! Sooo, we started him on ... PROZAC!! Yes, prozac! haha. but, it works. and it's very very cheap. Also, there is a product called Doo Doo Voo Doo that works AMAZINGLY. I tried all those other products - Nature's Miracle, etc. and nothing worked. But Doo Doo Voo Doo is awesome. I don't knwo what's in it, but it works. It doesn't get stains out, just the smell. The website is www.doodoovoodoo.com.

Yes, a vet visit to rule out medical problems seems essential in this case, particularly since the fur is changing colors.

Also, it's possible that your son chased the cat while the cat was trying to use the litter box... even one time would be enough to scare a cat and make it think that the litter box is not a safe place to go. Or it could be general stress from being chased, which can trigger urinary problems like straining, pain, bleeding... and those often make a cat avoid the litter box also.

If the other methods haven't worked, have you tried leaving a plate of dry food on the couch? Cats won't go to the bathroom in places they've established as eating areas.

thanks everyone for all your responses. I took Sparky to the vet this weekend and it turns out he has a pretty bad UTI, so we got antibiotics and he seems to be doing better.

I'm so pleased to hear that you got Sparky to the vets and he's now on the road to recovery!

You might want to get a different litter box too. He may associate the pain of the UTI with the old box.

OK, I'll try that with the litter box if the urination continues. No sense in buying a new one unless it's a problem, right?

BTW Thought I'd share a pic:



Sparky is the orange one, the gray is his brother Jofus

Awww Sparky and Jofus are gorgeous!

So glad you took him to the vet. Kitties usually don't start doing things out of the ordinary unless there is something wrong so it's good that you are getting him treated.