10 month old male peeing outside of litter box?

[emmaleesmith90]

Well we raised this cat from birth, he was a bottle baby. So he is our baby. But about 3 months ago we moved into a new house and he adapted perfectly. No problems whatsoever, he loved it from the start. Well about two months ago he started being much more vocal. I mean he just wonders around the house now, meowing/cooing at nothing. ALL THE TIME. And he recently started peeing in the corner behind our bed. He also tried to pee on the couch. My boyfriend caught him squatting, about to pee, so he yelled at him and he meowed and ran to his litter box and peed there instead. He isn't fixed. Do you think maybe he is calling for a mate and trying to mark his territory? How should I get him to stop? I want to stop this behavior before it becomes routine. I'm pregnant and due in two weeks and I don't think I can handle a cat peeing everyone and a newborn.

Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you!

 

[2Cats4everLoved]

Its too bad this started happening.

Do you know if there were animals in the house before you moved in.

Does he seem to be in pain.

Is he showing signs of confusion.

How much bigger is the house compared to where you were.

If it's not a medical issue, you may need to put litter boxes around for him until he settles in.  They have those portable small ones available in the  super markets.

When was the last time he saw a vet?

I know others will have some great advice for you regarding this matter.  Hang in there, Help is on the way.

It could be he's marking his territory since he's not fixed.

 

[talkingpeanut]

He needs to see a vet to rule out medical issues, and then he needs to be neutered.

 

[orange&white]

It's possible that he is spray marking territory, not actually peeing.  Spray has that stronger "cat odor" than just urine.  He's an adolescent coming into his sexual maturity.  Neutering will likely fix the problem.  The other thought is that if it looks like he is actually squatting and straining to pee, he could have a blockage or some medical problem with his urinary tract.

 

[emmaleesmith90]

Okay I will call my vet. But he was literally just there for his rabies shot. And he's been in many times before that, due to being a bottle baby he has had several vet visits. I don't think it is a medical issue, he doesn't seem to strain to pee.

He doesn't seem to be in any pain or show any signs of confusion. I don't know if the previous owners had animals or not and the house is not much bigger than the one we were at before. He actually has 3 litter boxes to himself, he is the only cat we have. And we have them all in a room that is not accessible to the dog because he loves to munch on kitty poop. [emoji]128580[/emoji] So he has plenty of places to use the restroom. The house is not that big and only one story.

 

[orange&white]

Are you planning to have him neutered?  Now would be a good time. 

There may be a cat in heat somewhere in your neighborhood.  That would explain the yowling all the time...and the spraying.

 

[emmaleesmith90]

Yes we definitely want to get him neutered. But we are kind of tight on money right now, due to some unforeseen financial issues. So it will have to wait until we can afford it. This "yowling" has been going on for about 2 months now. I'm not sure if it is just his personality or not. I mean he ALWAYS does it. Even before he jumps onto something, runs away (he has crazy amounts of energy), when he's just walking around the house.

 

[orange&white]

My city has a low cost clinic which does spays/neuters for $69.  They also have free days about once a week with a mobile clinic, where they do free spay/neuter for people who have financial problems.  I'm not even certain if people have to provide any proof of economic hardship, or if it's on the honor system.

Does your city have anything like that?

 

[emmaleesmith90]

No my mom said it's around $50 here to get it done, but we really don't have the extra money right now. It will have to wait a few more paychecks.

He has been acting weird last night and this morning. He walked up to me, ribs his head and his body on my leg when I'm sitting down (which is normal for him) but then he backs his butt up to me and starts shaking his tail... so you think he is trying to spray on me?

 

[emmaleesmith90]

I live in a small town, so there are only two vets. The only free things they do is at the TSC every once in a while, they'll give out free rabies shots. There's no way to get your animal neutered for free here. The dog pound used to give out a coupon to make it a little easier, but they quit doing that.

 

[orange&white]

No my mom said it's around $50 here to get it done, but we really don't have the extra money right now. It will have to wait a few more paychecks.

He has been acting weird last night and this morning. He walked up to me, ribs his head and his body on my leg when I'm sitting down (which is normal for him) but then he backs his butt up to me and starts shaking his tail... so you think he is trying to spray on me?

​Well, the backing up and tail shaking is a spraying posture, but you would definitely know if he sprayed you.  It would be highly unusual for a cat to directly spray a human.

If a cat gets mature enough to start spraying/marking behavior then there is a higher probability that he will continue spraying his entire life, even after he after he is neutered.  It's really best to get them fixed before they start spraying, so the sooner the better.  You don't want it to turn into a life-long habit with him.

 

[emmaleesmith90]

Well my suspicions were confirmed. He just sprayed on my boyfriends legs and got it on our bed too. I'm making an appointment for as soon as I can. I'll find a way to get the money. I don't want to have to get rid of him, but I am not having a cat that sprays on us.

 

[talkingpeanut]

Well my suspicions were confirmed. He just sprayed on my boyfriends legs and got it on our bed too. I'm making an appointment for as soon as I can. I'll find a way to get the money. I don't want to have to get rid of him, but I am not having a cat that sprays on us.

Getting him neutered is the best thing to do. Please set him up to succeed. He can't improve his behavior until hormones aren't running his body.

 

[orange&white]

Huh.  I've never heard of a cat spraying people before.  Your kitty sure is feeling his oats.  Having him neutered quickly will hopefully nip this in the bud (pun intended).

 

[emmaleesmith90]

Well we have an appointment for Thursday. Hopefully it stops this behavior. He has been getting fairly aggressive with strangers too, which is odd. Like they don't even have to go to him. The cat will run at people and hiss and smack.

I love him so much, he is never aggressive with me or my boyfriend. He's my baby. He just doesn't like when people come over. I really hope he doesn't start this aggressive behavior towards the baby, I'm due in two weeks. If he starts that I won't have a choice but to find him a new home.

 

[talkingpeanut]

Well we have an appointment for Thursday. Hopefully it stops this behavior. He has been getting fairly aggressive with strangers too, which is odd. Like they don't even have to go to him. The cat will run at people and hiss and smack.

I love him so much, he is never aggressive with me or my boyfriend. He's my baby. He just doesn't like when people come over. I really hope he doesn't start this aggressive behavior towards the baby, I'm due in two weeks. If he starts that I won't have a choice but to find him a new home.

Again, hormones are running the show right now. He can't fix it. He'll also need a month after surgery for the hormones to leave his system.

Set him up for success. Keep him away from strangers and the baby until he's calmed down.