Why Is My Cat Suddenly Peeing Outside the Litter Box?

When I brought my cat home, it was only two months old.
I got it everything a cat needs, including a nice litter box.
Everything was fine. The only problem was that my cat would not pee in the litter box. Instead, it would leave “marks” in the corner, on the sofa, on the bed and on the chair, causing me a terrible headache for a while.
Then I did a lot of research and took it to the vet, and finally solved the problem of my cat peeing outside the litter box.
In this article I'll list some possible reasons. If your cat is behaving the same way, you might want to read on.

1. Get a physical exam

Urinary tract inflammation, diabetes, and kidney disease are three common diseases that can cause cats to urinate randomly. Go to a pet hospital for an examination to see if the cat is urinating randomly because of disease.
If there is a disease that causes cats to urinate, then take care of the disease and the problem of peeing outside the litter box will be solved.

2. Clean up the smell thoroughly

All areas should be cleaned of smells:
Bedding, clothes, etc. : soak with deodorant first, then wash with washing machine , air dry.
Floors or walls: Thoroughly remove odors with household cleaners, disinfectants.
Carpets, mattresses, upholstery, etc. : clean with special pet deodorant.
Once the smell is gone, spray orange peel water on the area where your cat often urinates. Most cats hate this smell.

3. Find out the true meaning of urination

If a cat raises one of its hind legs and spits a small amount of urine against a wall, this behavior is not the same as if the cat were squatting in a large amount of urine.
The first spews a small amount of urine to mark one's territory and warn the intruder. The latter is a normal need to urinate.

One way to deal with this is to have your cat spayed or neutered so that the condition will rarely occur.
Another approach is to find out what makes the cat feel threatened, let it feel safe in its home and have no enemies, so that the cat will naturally stop marking its territory.

4. Resolving territorial issues

This problem occurs when there are multiple cats in the house.
With more than one cat in the house, males are the most territorial and mark their territory the most.
Spaying and neutering all cats without a breeding program is recommended, not only to solve the problem of peeing, but also to avoid many reproductive problems, and cats that are spayed and neutered generally live nearly twice as long and are healthier.

Giving each cat a separate area to live in, if possible, can also solve the territorial problem.

Alternatively, install some high and low cat scratchers, set up multiple cat action routes, cats can hide their boxes, nests, etc., can avoid direct cat conflict.
If all else fails, consider using fluoxetine (an antidepressant and anxiety medication) and consult the vet for specific recommendations.

5. Provide more litter boxes

If you rule out cats not marking territory, look at how many litter boxes your cat has available.
Cats can be very picky about litter boxes that already contain urine and feces, especially if it's not their own.
Provide your cat with multiple litter boxes, and the cat will find the one it likes to use.

6. Clean the litter box regularly

Cats are very clean creatures, they prefer a clean litter box, and a dirty litter box will definitely force your cat to urinate somewhere else.
The litter box should be cleaned at least once a day. Give the litter box a thorough scrub once 2 weeks.
If you find it troublesome to clean the litter box, you might as well try the Litter Genie pail and Lionpapa refills combo. You don’t need to pay much for it, a 4-pack Lionpapa litter genie refill can last 8 months for a cat, and it’s only $19.99 (discounted price) now.