inappropriate peeing

Hello I have a senior cat estimated to be in mid teens.  (I adopted him as a stray 7 years ago) When I first got him they estimated his age to be LATE teens but after some medical help they thought he might be younger and I have had him 7 years now.  He is a typical old cat and by that I mean he is frail looking, walks a little stiff, and spends most of his time sleeping. 

All things considered he eats and drinks well and doesn't complain to much.  Anyways I recently moved and I thought all was going well until he started to urinate on our couch in the basement.  I found out he was doing this when I caught him.  Typically if you walk in on him in his box he howls at you and will stop.  This night though he saw me looking at him he just turned and started to pee all over the couch. It was as if he didn't even realize I was there. I quickly stopped him and took him to his box.  I made sure to get everything possible in the wash so the smell didn't provoke him further.  He doesn't seem to be spraying because he actually squats just like he would in his box.  

The next day I went back down there and found out he had since urinated ALL over my childs bean bag chair. Today I put a sentry pheromone collar on him to see if it helps calm him down. 

In the past he has peed in closets a few times but it was never a DAILY issue.  Every time I caught him going outside the box I took him in for blood/urine tests and I always get told that considering his age he is in great health.  Hes come clean for any organ failure, uti, and diabetes.  The vets were never overly worried and told me that inappropriate elimination was just something that came with having an old cat.  This I completely understand but I am wondering if I am so how provoking him or doing something wrong?

My question is what do I do to stop this behavior? I'm giving the calming collar a try since it has work in the past so time will tell on that.  I also have his bed/food in the basement next to his litter box as well. ( he typically likes to sleep in the basement but has access to the entire house) I have his area blocked off with a baby gate (hole cut in it so he doesn't have to jump) that way the dog can't bug him.  We are gone during the day at work so the house is always quiet for him.  I also go home on break to feed him lunch if he is up. 

I should also mention that he is deaf, his hearing has gotten worse over the years.  He also has no teeth I had to have those all pulled when I adopted him since they were rotten.  He is neutered and he typically eats 2-4 cans of food a day.  He gets to eat whenever he wants since he is so thin.  

When our previous cat, Delilah, reached her twenties she started having accidents like this. Sometimes her behaviour was dementia-like in that she didn't seem to know what she was doing. Other times it was more like she woke too late to even attempt to get to her litter box so she just puddled wherever she was sitting and then would become quite distressed. We seriously considered purchasing cat diapers for her but instead largely solved the problem by restricting her to a couple of rooms and putting a litter tray in both rooms and a third in the doorway between them. That way she was never far from a tray and so she made more of an effort. We didn't want to stop her sleeping in her favourite chair so we covered it in a washable, waterproof cover. It was a balancing act between not wanting to live in a house that smelt of cat pee and accepting that she was an old lady and accidents were going to happen. Managing the environment, rather than trying to control her behaviour worked better for us and because she didn't get so stressed if we didn't make a fuss, she became less prone to have the accidents in the first place. There's no one size fits all answer but we successfully managed Delilah's problem for three years until she finally passed in her 23rd year. What we did do, before we made all the waterproof covers, was replace all the cushions and stuff she had soiled as although we couldn't smell anything on them after cleaning, we suspected that she might and in her confusion might take the scent to be an indication that it was an appropriate place to pee after all. I hope that helps.

Are you SURE he doesn't have a UTI?  This is often how what happens when they have one, and I hate to say this, but it is NOT a common behavior for this to happen with elderly cats.  Once in awhile, maybe, but not often.  And a UTI can come on very quickly. 

Also, just tossing the clothes in the wash does NOT get rid of the smell to the cat.  You need to clean all effected areas with an enzymatic cleaner made specifically for that issue.  Remember, cats have a much greater capacity for scents than we do. 

I would take him to the Vet to rule out a UTI, and while there, discuss possible dementia.  Is he showing any other signs?  If not, then i would post something in the Behavior Forum to see what they have to say.  That's where the experts are in this arena , although maybe there's something in this article that will help you out:  http://www.thecatsite.com/a/how-to-solve-litterbox-problems-in-cats-the-ultimate-guide

I just recently moved with my kitty several months ago, and we had a smooth transition which I attribute to just one thing: Feliway. 

I've moved five times with him, and ALWAYS had an issue with peeing. This past time, I used Feliway and NO pee anywhere. I bought both the spray and the plugins. You may be wondering if it'll work after the fact, and I think it just might. Reason is, I kept using Feliway for up to 3 months after we moved, and just stopped using it about 6 weeks ago and so far so good. And while the pheromone collars generally work well, you could add Feliway to have extra oomph; have it spread around the area more. I sprayed the Feliway on rags and went around the house wiping it anywhere that cats would naturally rub on, like corners of walls and furniture. Everything. Had to reapply every week or so. I kept the plugins in favored rooms because they are so darn expensive to have around the entire house!

What's funny is our dog actually did worse with moving than the cat did, and it used to be the other way around. Hopefully, its just a psychological thing and not a physical thing, and that your kitty soon feels better no matter what the issue.

Emm

Try a second box. I have 2 cats & we have 3 boxes for them. Cats like options!