why is he doing this??

My 8 month old neutered kitty Gibbons has been spraying and urinating on things in my house. Usually not random things- usually things that 'smell like us'. By that I mean our dirty laundry in the clothes basket by the washer, blankets, and today my sons pillow that was left in the living room. He has been banned from the porch because he sprayed out there- that I can understand because thats where the previous tenants put the litterbox for their cats and he can probably still smell it out there. He has sprayed things in the past previous to getting neutered at 6 months- like my husbands amp cover and the bookcase , but the behavior stopped until recently. Hes been checked for UTI, and is clear. I'm at my wits end with him- I hate having my things smell like cat pee- even if they can just be washed. Why is he doing this and how can I stop him??

btw- forgot to mention his litterbox is always clean, so its not that either.

Click here for a lengthy thread on stopping inappropriate urination.

Melissa, in addition to trying the Feliway and aluminum foil, I suggest you try purchasing several litterboxes and placing them in different areas of the house. You can even try different litter in each one to see if he has a preference.

The Feliway is expensive, but it seems to work.

Also, do you use an enzyme cleaner to fix the messes? You really have to SOAK the area - if on the carpet, it has got to be soaked down to the floorboards. You let it sit for 10 minutes then blot up the excess. The enzyme cleaners help break down the stuff that causes the smell. The smell must be completely gone to help prevent him from wanting to use the place again.

FYI: Our kitty Tuxedo has UTI problems. He tests negative for infections, but his bladder gets inflamed nonetheless. Did the vet do an x-ray AND an ultrasound? The x-ray can determine if the bladder wall is inflamed, and the ultrasound can sometimes detect small crystals that may not appear in his urine. He is on a strict diet of Hills Science Diet c/d-s hard food and wet food. This seems to work, when he gets NO access to other food at all and NO treats of any kind. We mix his kibble into the other cats' treats. It picks up the smell and he thinks he's getting a treat.

My vet said the research now shows that a cat should not be neutered before they are 9 months of age. Cats that are, are much more likely to begin spraying, etc. This has proven true with our cats. The ones done at 6 months all have urinary problems. The ones that were done after the 9-month date has never had a problem. Never will I allow any cat to be neutered before 9 months from now on.

Has he been checked for a urinary tract infection? I would have him checked out medically before assuming it's behavioral.

we had that same problem with two of our male cats. the older one would just go to the bathroom on anythign soft like clothes, beanbags, balnkets, pillows, etc... our younger one would just spray where ever he felt like and i think i remember reading somewhere that it's just a way of marking their territory. they can smell your scent on the stuff and they don't like it. if there's a female cat in the house that's more than likely a major reason why he's doing that. did the vet say anythign or suggest anything that might make him stop?

Theres no female kitty in the house- just his older male buddy Onyx. He seems to have stopped peeing on things in the last few days- and yes UTI was ruled out from the start. I make sure to keep anything resembling cloth off of the floor and have kept him out of the bedrooms. Heres hoping that removes the temptation for him.