My cat pees in the house on the tile floor

by Larry
(Pennsylvania)

I have 4 cats. All use the outside or the litter box except one! He is almost 1 year old and is neutered.

He is outside 85% of the day, but pees in the house on the tile floor whenever it suits him. What can I do? I don't want to get rid of him but I can't continue on with this.

My thoughts:

I'm sorry to hear that your cat is having problems, Larry. Sometimes cats mark on floors, so it's important to determine whether or not this is marking behavior.

If he's feeling threatened by the other cats (or something else), he may be marking in order to feel more secure. For the moment, I'll assume that it's not marking, though...

Inappropriate urination is often a sign of a medical problem, including a urinary tract infection, or bladder or kidney problems.

Has he been to the vet recently?

One of the disadvantages when your cats spend a lot of time outside and eliminate/urinate outside is that it's difficult to get a fix on what their normal routine is. You can't easily monitor their urine output because what goes on in the litter box is only part of the story.

For that reason (and others), it's probably even more important that a cat that spends a lot of time outside be checked by a vet frequently.

So I'd get him to the vet as you can't solve this if he's got internal plumbing problems.

Assuming he checks out OK, I'd look at possible behavioral causes, including his relationship with the other cats.

Some cats can develop a preference for eliminating on hard surfaces (so a box with less litter in it might help), or a preference for urinating in one box and defecating in another.

On that note, I'd make sure you have enough litter boxes in the house. The one-plus-one rule says that with 4 cats, there should be 5 boxes. Sometimes, however, adding just one more box can do the trick.

With cats that are used to eliminating outside, sometimes adding a little grass to the litter box helps. You can also try a product called Cat Attract.

If stress is causing his problem (often a major factor in these situations), Feliway may help to reduce that stress. Increasing exercise/play sessions and the amount of attention you give him may help as well.

I would also be sure that you're making the best use of vertical space and hiding spaces in the house so that each cat has a place to call their own.

Another tactic is to place a litter box right on the spot he's using. If he's developed a location preference, he might use it. If that happens, you then can begin moving the box, an inch a day, to your preferred location.

If that doesn't work, confinement in a smallish space/single room can be an effective retraining method if needed.

I hope that helps. Please let us know how he makes out.
-Kurt