Q: Our nine year old neutered male American Short Hair has been urinating on our furniture and clothes. We don't know what to do. We took him to the vet recently and they suggested we put him on Prozac......We are at our wits end. The litter box is always clean....he just did it this morning. I was out for about 30min. I return to find a huge urine stain on our new couch. We realy hope you can help us with our problem. Thank you, David.
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A:  It's good that you ruled out a medical problem by taking him to the vet.  Now you can  try to find out exactly why he's urinating out of the box, so you can fix the problem!

First of all, it is certainly worth getting a second litterbox for him.  I'd also try a different style (one that is covered, or not covered) and if that doesn't do it, a different location, maybe more private or more accessible.  If that doesn't work, trying different kinds of litter at different depths (most cats prefer only an inch or so of litter).  Keeping it clean like you are doing is important too. This can take a little time to try all the possibilities, but if you've had him for nine years, certainly worth it! 

Sometimes a change in the household (a new pet or visitor for example) can upset a cat and cause them to stop using the litterbox. This would be:

A.) URINATING DUE TO NEW SMELLS
Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for cats to become insecure about something, and develop the need to mark (urinate on) new smells, be that a bag of groceries, a sweater worn out and put down, a new couch.  Did you have a visitor, did someone move in next door, did you change laundry detergent? Sometimes an upset in a routine can trigger this insecurity and marking. 

If this is the case, medication from your vet might help until he gets used to the change (a few months) or confident his old routine is established.  Personally I would try a homeopathic cure first: a liquid called Rescue Remedy that is available in most health food stores (it's for people too), some pet stores and here at the PHS store.  Put a dropperful in their water dish (you cannot overdose them) and a few drops on his food.  The effect is immediate.

If he only does it while you are gone, he may need to get bathroom time (lock him in the bathroom with a litter box, food, water and a bed) even if you only go out for five minutes. 

B) URINATING IN THE SAME PLACE, OUT OF THE BOX
What are you cleaning up with?  If the old urine smell is not removed, he may continue to go on that spot. The only thing that really works is a biological laundry detergent with water.  Clean all the areas where your cat has gone and then rub a soft cloth over his cheeks, then rub the cloth where he went to the bathroom. This spread the cat's pheromones and scent onto that surface, and should stop your cat from feeling the need to put them there himself.  Also check out Feliaway http://www.sunherald.com/living/docs/petdoc1120.htm and http://www.peteducation.com/behavior/urinespray.htm for more info.

Do let us know how it goes!

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