Why are my cats peeing everywhere?

by Adriana Hughson
(Kentucky)

I have four cats. Three are male and one is a female. Two males are fixed and one male and the female are not. They have grown up together.

For a short period the two males were separated from the unfixed male and female. I have brought them back together. It's been a month now and they all are peeing right outside the litter box and they occasionally poop outside the litter box.

I clean the cat box regularly and I’ve sprayed vinegar and other agents to delete the odor but no matter what I do, they continue to pee right outside the cat box. Does any one know why?

They have previously never done this. The female is the mother to the unfixed male and the female and one of the fixed males are siblings.

My thoughts: I'm sorry to hear your cats are having troubles. I'm assuming all cats have been health checked. If one or more cats is sick and triggered the domino effect, you'll need to address the health issue.

That said, cats are very territorial, and they need to work out the hierarchy. Sometimes when cats are separated for a time, it's necessary to do a "reset." Keep them in separate areas of the house and then reintroduce them slowly.

If these were my cats, I'd try splitting them up into two groups for a time, and following this cat-to-cat introduction process.

I'd also like to have multiple litter boxes for four cats (ideally, five litter boxes). The litter box might seem too crowded to them now, or one or more of them might be box guarding. Getting everyone fixed will likely help with territorial related issues as well.

The moral to the story is, if your cats are away from each for a time and bringing them back together quickly causes problems, divide them up again and slow things down.

I hope that helps and please let us know how it goes.
-Kurt