My cat pees BUT NOT in the litterbox

Hi,

I have a cat named Pepper who turned 4 a couple of days ago. I've had him for a year and a half ago. The time I got him he was toilet trained and I never had a problem. But this last week or so, he has stopped being peeing in the litter box. He would pee on my knapsack, a luggage bag, some dirty clothes that were in the hamper. Some of the pee landed on some papers and I tried putting the urine-stained papers in this litter box to encourage him to pee back in the litter, but it hasn't work. The strange thing is he knows where Feces go and dumps his feces in the litterbox. My questions to the forum:

1. Why is he suddenly not peeing where he should be?
2. How do I retrain him?

He might have a infection. If he is not fixed then thats the problem. My cat did the same thing except she was pregnant and still I have a problem with her using my laundry room even with another litter box in there! Good Luck I know this can be hell!

Take him to a vet, he could have a UTI which is a serious infection.

The number one reason why cats urinate outside the litter box is illness -- either a urinary tract infection or blockage of the urethra. Please take your cat to the vet and ask the vet to test the cat's urine for signs of infection or crystals.

For some reason, people who write in about this problem are almost always reluctant to take their cat to the vet, but in almost all cases, once they finally do, they find that the cat is peeing in the wrong place due to one of these medical problems. It is important to note that if the inappropriate peeing is due to illness it will not change until the cat is healthy again. AND, the longer it goes untreated the more likely the inappropriate peeing is to become a habit.

In the unlikely case that the vet finds your cat's urine clear of blood, protein, or crystals, please click here to read about how to modify this behavior.

First off,

Thank you everyone who reply to my previous thread of why of my toilet-trained cat all of a sudden stop peeing in the litterbox. I took Pepper to the Vet to check if he had an urinary tract infection. He ended up having a clean bill of health. However, the vet recommended me to buy a second litterbox which I did and sure enough my cat Pepper start peeing in there. He occasionally dumps his feces in my old litterbox, but pretty much, when it come to peeing, he pees in the new litterbox. Although I'm glad to have him pee in any litterbox, I still don't understand his change in behavior. Any cat experts care to help me out?

flellis

Why does a cat doe what he does????? Who knows!

Cats are just like people in that their preferences and likes change across time. Also, it is possible that the old litterbox had absorbed enough odor across time that it was just too stinky for him. The new box doesn't have the lingering smell, so it is more pleasant to use. You might go ahead and throw away the old litter box and let him have two brand new fresh boxes!

P.S. I'm glad the vet gave him a clean bill of health!