Dear Sinéad, Siouxsie and Thomas:
We have a little male cat named Toby. We brought him home last June, at 10 months old. We chose him at the shelter because of his friendly and warm demeanor. We have two young children who wanted a pet and Toby seemed to fit our family perfectly. He has been sweet, friendly, cuddly, and loves to hang out with us all (none of that loner stuff).

He is playful too, and loves the children, having lots of patience for them, even when they have been a little rough.

All of a sudden Toby has taken to peeing on everything. We caught him going on the bed, the laundry, a bean bag, and even the floor. This has all been in the past week. I have been through the internet like crazy trying to figure out what is wrong with him. There have been absolutely NO changes in our household, and he is not acting sick or different other than the urinating. His litter box is clean, and we are treating him the same as always. We really don't want to have to give Toby up. He has been a joy to have around and we all love him, but working full time, having two young children, and a cat who pees everywhere is much too stressful. My next step is to take him to the vet, but could there be any other reason for this??

Thank you in advance for any help you could provide.

~Claudia

Sinéad: Well, Claudia, you've done all the right things to figure out what could be causing Toby's inappropriate urination. We think we might be able to give you a few other pointers, too.

Siouxsie: You don't mention whether or not Toby is neutered. We suspect he is, since you adopted him from an animal shelter at 10 months old. But one of the primary causes of inappropriate urination in male cats is territorial issues brought on by sexual maturity.

Thomas: So, of course, our first advice would be to make sure he's neutered. Also, it's very rare, but some cats do have undescended testicles. If Toby had an undescended testicle and the vets who did his neutering didn't look around to find and remove it, he may still have some male hormones in his blood. If his urine is extremely pungent, or if he sprays, this could indicate the presence of an undescended testicle.

Sinéad: There is a difference between urinating and spraying. Cats of both genders squat when they urinate, and any stains from urination will be on horizontal surfaces (floors, beds. etc.) Cats that spray do so by backing up against a vertical surface and sending a jet of urine toward that surface. Spray stains can be seen on walls or as stains that run downward on vertical surfaces.

Siouxsie: There's really no way to know for sure whether both of Toby's testicles were removed during the neutering unless you can get access to the medical records from the procedure.

Thomas: However, there are other reasons that cats urinate outside the litterbox. You've mentioned that you are going to take him to the veterinarian. That's a good first step. Even though he doesn't appear to have discomfort when peeing, it's a good idea to double-check. Urinary tract problems can quickly become life-threatening in male cats.

Sinéad: If his checkup yields a clean bill of health, it's time to start doing some more detective work.

Siouxsie: The first question to ask is, is there anything in common about the locations Toby is urinating? For example, does he urinate near doors or windows? If so, it could be that he is reacting to the presence of another cat or another animal near your home.

Thomas: Is he urinating where one of the children had an "accident" at some time? If so, he may be trying to cover up the smell of someone else's urine with his own.

Sinéad: The other possibility is that his behavior might be related to anxiety about being left alone. Shelter cats can sometimes develop anxiety about being left by themselves, especially if their history includes being abandoned for long periods of time.

Siouxsie: The good news is that these problems can be solved. It will take patience and some elbow grease on your part, but we believe you can help Toby and keep him in your house.

Thomas: If Toby's urination is caused by anxiety -- whether it's due to other animals in the neighborhood or worries about being left alone -- there is a product that can help Toby feel calmer and make him less inclined to urinate inappropriately. Feliway, a feline "happy cat" pheromone analogue, has been used with great success to treat inappropriate urination.

Sinéad: Mama's even used Feliway with us, and our veterinarian uses it in her office to help us feel less stressed out about getting checkups and shots. Feliway is available through veterinarians and online at Cat Faeries and Drs. Foster and Smith. Pet superstores and some independent pet stores might also carry this product.

Siouxsie: One of the other things you'll want to do is to clean the areas where Toby has urinated with an enzymatic cleaner. This will eliminate the remnants of Toby's urine smell -- and anyone else's urine smell that may be hanging around -- and make him less inclined to "freshen up" his scent marks. Nature's Miracle and Anti-Icky-Poo are two such cleaners that come highly recommended.

Thomas: Here's another tip for removing urine stains and odor that Mama found a long time ago at a rental housing website. She's used this technique before and says it works very well:

You can see cat urine with a black light fluorescent light, then clean and deodorize it by spraying the area with a mist of vinegar. When seen in black light, cat urine that has been sprayed on walls shows up as a yellowish splatter and drips. Spray the mist of vinegar on the walls wherever the urine shows and let it dissolve. Also spray around the baseboards and let it drip into the carpet just like the urine likely did. Don't saturate the carpet, though. Repeat a few times as necessary to get the carpet just wet enough to penetrate. You can also use a cloth rag saturated in a bucket of vinegar. Dab it on spots the light reveals on walls, floors and the carpet.

Sinéad: Another thing you can do, at least for the places on the floor where Toby likes to pee, is to put large, heavy objects on top of the unwanted toilet location. Large planters filled with cat grass, as well as trunks, cube tables or ottomans, can deny Toby access to the spots in the carpet where he wants to pee.

Siouxsie: Of course, this may backfire and result in Toby using a nearby spot on the carpet as his toilet ... but this technique is worth a try.

Thomas: We hope this helps, Claudia. It's not very pleasant to have a cat that pees where he's not supposed to. Cats surrendered to animal shelters because of behavior problems don't stand a very good chance of being successfully re-homed, so we hope you will try some of our tips and they'll bring back the loving, kind, and well-behaved cat your family loves so much.

Sinéad: Also, if you haven't done so already, please take a look through the Paws and Effect archives. We've written a number of columns on inappropriate litterbox behavior in the past, and you may find some other information or books in these columns, too.

Got a question? Need some advice? E-mail Sinéad and Siouxsie at advice@paws-and-effect.com. None of the advice in this column is meant to be a substitute for regular veterinary care.