Cat peeing outside box from stress

by Amanda
(Pa)

I took in a stray cat about two months ago. He’s been an angel until we got a new roof put on. I was at work when it was being put on so I could not see how he reacted.

A few days after the roof was done, he started peeing in the hallway. I took him to the vet and ruled out illness.

I bought a second litter box and put it over the spot he pees. I bought a calming collar and have used Nature's Miracle to clean the mess.

This morning he peed in the same spot in the hallway (before I put the litter box there), and tonight he peed just a few feet from the litter box in the hallway.

He will poop in the litter box that is in the spare room which was the original spot for the litter box. I am a first time cat owner and not sure how to fix this and get him back on track.

He is neutered and was when I got him. I tried changing the litter also.

My thoughts: I'm sorry to hear your new cat is having problems. Did the vet do a urinalysis? With some of our readers' cats, stress has led to painful urination, which has led to associating urinating in the litter box with pain.

When a cat pees near or right next to a litter box, it can mean there's something about the box the cat doesn't like. Maybe the box doesn't feel safe, or maybe that box equals pain.

You can try litter box retraining, but if your cat currently won't use either litter box to urinate in, that may indicate a medical problem that has not yet been detected, or is intermittent.

I would note that sometimes the association of pain with the litter box remains after the pain is gone. In that case, isolation retraining may help to get your cat back on track.

Please let us know how it goes with your kitty.
-Kurt