Peeing outside litter

My 6 wish year old male cat pees just outside the litter box about 2 times a week. Its a covered box that gets cleaned daily. He started this behavior about 4 weeks ago. I took him to vet to see if he had a UTI and associated the box with pain, but he's perfectly healthy. This has become more frequent as the weeks have passed.

He poops In the box normally. I moved the litter to get him away from first area he peed in but this did not change his behavior - pees right outside the new location.

Does anyone have any ideas as to why?

Thanks!

Get him another litter box. There are cats that prefer doing #1 and #2 in separate boxes. 

yayi said:

 
Get him another litter box. There are cats that prefer doing #1 and #2 in separate boxes. 

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This is good advice.  Also make sure to clean where he peed with a good enzyme cleaner.  You also might try spraying where you DON'T want him to pee with a Feliway spray (also called Comfort Zone).  I have an 18+ year old cat who pees sometimes outside the box and the Feliway really helps with this.

Thanks for the advice. Unfortunately it didn't work. I got the second box. Used an entire bottle of enzyme cleaner. Didn't see Feliway but bought the Natures Miracle version and used the entire bottle . Blocked off the original area where he peed but again, he just found a new spot near the litter. I don't know what else to do.

Are both litter boxes covered?

Is he standing in the box and peeing outside or is he squatting outside the box and peeing?

Has anything about his litter box or the room it's in been changed in the last four weeks? Probably not, or you would have mentioned it.

I saw a post somewhere that said too much litter in the box will put a cat off. I know with mine, they like a certain depth - not an inch more or an inch less (they use the ruler just to be sure I get it right!).

I also saw something about the boxes being cleaned too often, but if you only clean it once a day, that can't be too much. I clean our two boxes twice a day - once in the morning and once at night (we have two cats). Touch wood, the only problem we've had with the litter box is when the heavy one tries to balance on the rim and dumps the whole box out on the floor :-0

Reading the earlier reply, I now understand why it's recommended to have three boxes if you have two cats - one for pee and the other for poo unless somebody gets confused in the middle of the night, then all bets are off ;-)

Good luck with you errant boy!

Best regards,

PHarber-Murphy

Thanks for the replies. Let me give his history just to give all facts. My parents had opted him and his sister when kittens. He had some developmental issues and has always been, a tad off. He must be about 50% blind and his coordination was similar to that of a kitten, even when 4-5 years old. A year ago, I got my own apartment and took the pair with me. I had the litter box in the corner of my room for 10 months without issue. Then he started peeing while standing completely outside of it. I moved the box to inside a closet, which did nothing but make cleanup easier since there is tile in the closet.

Both boxes are covered, otherwise my girl would play in them.

My vet suggested taking the door off the covered litter box because the cats could get frightened when the door hits them on the butt on the way in and out. If your box has a door, you might try removing it to see if that helps with the problem. Cats are odd, I know...

Best regards,

PHarber-Murphy