Help - cat pissing everywhere

[LuLuBai]

My cat is around 14 and is litter trained, but lately he has taken to pissing in random places all the time.

He used to like sleeping on our bed at night but took to pissing on the carpet at the foot of the bed when the need took him.

We have now confined him (using baby stairgates which he seems too lazy to leap over) to an area of the kitchen at night. Last night the b***d pissed on my handbag. He pisses by the front door quite regularly too and occasionally in other random places. He once pooed in the laundry basket but on the whole it is just pee.

It is not urinary infection (he's had that in the past and gets regularly checked for relapses). I think maybe he is unhappy. I confess to not making much fuss of him these days. Pregnant and with a hectic toddler I am usually too exhausted to find much time for him. But to be honet he's always preferred DH to me anyway. At the moment DH works away from home about half the week, so perhaps the cat is feeling neglected.

Any tips for stopping him peeing in random places, and any ideas on how to rid things of the smell of cat wee.

I know a few cats who have done this when nearing the end of their days. If he's not jumping stair gates he's probably on the way out.

It's a terrible thing for an owner to have to deal with. Can he have a litter tray back in the house?

My friend just saw the whole thing through then had to replace carpets.

My elderly cat started weeing by the front door and on things towards the end of his life - it was a kidney tumour

To get the smell out, the pet accident spray is top, with a top off of Febreeze antibac

It might be the start of senility - I have an 18 year old cat who was very clean then started just pooing on the doormat - vets for a check and healthwise he was fine and this is what the vet suggested. It started about 2 years ago when he was about 16.

If you have biological washing powder/liquid this gets rid of the smell on anything he has peed on. If the smell lingers (to their noses) they will go back to that area.

To stop him doing it - they hate the feel of tin foil under their paws, so put that down where he goes. But it is difficult if he just goes to random places. I have heard orange peel works too - they dislike the citrus smell.

Also it may be worth getting a feliway diffuser for the kitchen if that is where he sleeps - it is cat hormones (I think!) that calms them - it may help if it is behavourial. Google it, lots of cat sites selll and probably your vet too. It's a little plug in, like one of those air fresheners.

Would suggest cat litter tray if you can. My neurotic cat -only 4 and peed and pooed about sometimes. Now has tray at back door and uses it well. Agree could be old age.

Hi - thanks everyone. We have felliway, but it doesn't seem to have any impact on him. And he does have a litter tray in the kitchen which he knows how to use.

I think ClaireDeLoon may have a point. He may well be becoming senile. We took him for a full MOT at the vet a few weeks ago and he didn't have any kidney issues and none of his other health issues were worsening (arthritis, poor eye-sight, high blood pressure etc).

I'll try orange peel in all the corners and try making a bit more of a fuss of him and see how we get on. Feeling pretty guilty as I can't bring myself to feel much love for him at the moment.