My outdoor cat suddenly pees inside. Is it anxiety or a health issue?

It maybe a urinary infection. If this goes untreated it can lead to an obstruction and acute kidney failure. I would have your vet make sure there is no medical reason such as that causing it. If all is normal it is behavioral. Just because nothing new has happened inside, does not mean something new is not happening outside. There may a new cat or other animal that is stressing yours or scaring yours and you will have to look into identifying that and removing it

Have Meow Meow examined by your veterinarian to diagnose medical causes for the inappropriate urination. A urine sample can be collected and submitted for urinalysis and urine culture to rule out UTI or stones. Once medical causes are ruled out, you can focus on behavioral issues. Provide an additional litterbox in a neutral area of the home. Consider different brands, types and depths of litters. You can also use a litterbox attractant to get him back into the box. Thoroughly clean soiled areas with an enzymatic cleaner such as Nature's Miracle. To decrease any anxiety he may experience when other animals come over, you can try a pheromone product such as Feliway spray or plug in diffuser. A small animal repellant can also be used along the border of your property. You can buy a liquid or powder form in most hardware stores or home improvement stores.

It sounds like you have a tough situation on your hands! When a cat who was previously litter trained starts going to the bathroom in the house, it can be a sign of a medical illness. Given that Furble is a senior cat, I would have her seen by a vet for a physical exam, geriatric blood panel, and urinalysis. These test will help identify if there is a medical problem behind this behavior, and can treat her for it. If a medical cause is ruled out, then I would discuss with the vet about using anti-anxiety drugs on Furble. It could be that she is getting very stressed out about the interactions with the new cat and dog, and that's leading her to go to the bathroom everywhere. The vet can prescribe medications for her, and there are a few things you can do at home. You can get Feliway, which is a plug in diffuser that releases pheromones into the home. These pheromones help cats with anxiety. You can can also get her a Sentry calming collar. This collar release pheromones as well when in contact with her skin.

This definitely sounds like a behavior problem and that your cat is acting out because of your recent move and having to be alone during the day. The first thing I would do would be to not allow her to sleep in the same room as you. This way she will not be able to urinate on you at all. I know this will be difficult but if you do this along with some other tactics I'll lay out below it will hopefully alleviate the problem. Try adding pheromone diffusers around the house. These can help relieve any stress your cat may be having. Add an additional litter box to the room you usually sleep in. Even though Jane will not be in your bedroom at night for a couple weeks it will help her get used to the idea that there is a litter box in there she can use as opposed to going on your feet. Finally, you may want to consider a visit to the vet just to rule out any underlying issue like a urinary tract infection. It is unlikely since she's only have the specific episodes of going outside the box but I would check to make sure. You may also want to talk to your vet about a daily, long term anti-anxiety medication (like fluoxetine) if her anxiety is not improving over time. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck!

I'm glad to see that Pippin has been neutered because this eliminates that possibility of hormone-fueled behavioral changes and aggression. Behavioral changes in cats can occur at any point in time, and could be related to anxiety or stressful situations (even rearranging furniture or introducing new people to the home can be stressful to cats). Without a lot more information and observing Pippin's behaviors, I can't precisely tell you why these changes are occurring. It may be best to consult a veterinary behaviorist in your home so that they can observe everything firsthand. You can also try using calming pheromone collars or diffusers (Feliway is one example), and discussing the use of anxiety medication with Pippin's vet. I hope that all goes well!

Causes of urination outside the box can be urinary tract infection, crystals in the urine, stones in the urinary tract, trauma to the area, or difficulty getting into the litterbox due to pain, or other reasons. It is important that you make an appointment to have Moon seen by your veterinarian as soon as you can to help determine the cause of his behaviour and to start treatment. If you notice his straining to urinate/unable to produce urine, this is a medical emergency and she should be seen by a vet immediately. I highly recommend speaking to your vet about having Moon neutered, as this kind of behaviour can happen in male cats as a form of marking behaviour, and sometimes having them neutered can help reduce or eliminate the marking. It is also possible that Moon is exhibiting signs of stress in his home environment. You can do the following to help make sure Moon’s environmental needs are being met. Cats need at least one litterbox per cat plus one extra to help reduce stress associated with the litterbox. They should be placed in separate rooms, away from the food and water bowls, must be scooped at least daily (preferably multiple times a day)and washed out at least weekly with a mild soap, followed by thorough rinsing. Cats need a lot of space to explore, but keeping them indoors is much safer than letting them outside, due to the risk of injury from cars, wildlife, other animals, etc. The key is providing space (particularly vertical space for climbing, such as cat trees, ledges, and the like) inside the home. Visit http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=T&C=33&S=2 , healthcareforpets.com and https://indoorpet.osu.edu// for tips on stress reduction. Also look into Feliway, a synthetic pheromone that is available in a diffuser and spray form that promotes calm feelings in cats http://www.feliway.com.

If this is a recent behavior change for Cuddles, the first step would be to have him examined by a vet as soon as you are able to - there are a number of medical problems that can cause accidents outside the litter box, so your vet may recommend basic blood work and other testing to check for any evidence of a problem. If everything comes back normal, then it is likely that the issue is behavioral. Having accidents like this is often a stress or anxiety-related behavior in cats - if there have been any recent changes in the household, such as a new pet or a new baby, a move to a new house, or a guest staying with you, these could all be reasons for him to be pottying in inappropriate places. There may also be something about the litter box that he finds objectionable - he may not like the type of litter provided, or the location of the box. It can sometimes take some detective work to pinpoint the problem in cases like this, so if you're still stumped, I would consider making an appointment with a veterinary behaviorist - he/she can meet your cat in person and do an in-depth evaluation to help diagnose the problem and develop a plan to treat it. In the meantime, you can try a Feliway diffuser in the house or a natural calming supplement such as Composure to see if this helps.