Older cat with bathroom issues

We have a fourteen year old cat that has quit using his litter box on several occasions over the last year. He urinates in certain spots in the living room at least 3 to 4 times a week. This behavior seems to stop in the summer when he is able to go out in the yard. As well today he had a bowel movement in the hallway right outside my home office. His litter box is in the basement & was cleaned yesterday. He does not have a problem going up & down stairs. My husband thinks it is an age issue and time to consider putting him down. I think it is a behavior problem. Up until two years ago we had two cats. We had to put our older cat down at 18. I don't know why he has suddenly started these very bad habits. We have some very young grandchildren so we cannot put up with this bad behavior.

My kitty has two litter boxes and are checked and if needs be emptied 3 times a day. I work full time too but in the morning, when i get home and before i go to bed. I wonder if your kitty is as fussy as mine as he just won't go in a dirty box, not that I can blame him! Just a thought. It sounds as though he has been with you for a while though and has never had probs with box before. Have you had him checked out by a vet? I have to say, the vet would def be my first port of call, just to see if it is a medical issue first. If it isn't then I wuld move on to trying to work out the behaviour issue. Also, a fourteen year old cat can still have some very good years left, i feel that putting him down would be unkind especially since the problem hasn't really been investigated. I hope you manage to work out the problem

Firstly, I would have a second litter box, preferrably on another level. As the above poster says, I would then have him vet-checked to ensure the problem is not medical. You will also have to use a good enzyme cleaner to clean the spots where kitty has gone so that the smell is erased completely or he may continue to "visit" those spots. A good black light can show you where those spots are.

He is a senior kitty and may have some difficulty going up and down stairs, hence the litter boxes on more than one level. A good rule of thumb is 1 litter box per cat plus 1 extra. Sometimes they don't like to pee and poo in the same box. You could also add some cat attract litter to see if that helps at all.

You say you have young grandchildren around so there is also the possibility he is doing this because of stress. Do the grandchildren force their attention upon him? Maybe when the grandchildren are around he needs to be confined to a quiet, placid environment with his litter, food and water.