UTIs don't necessarily show blood, large amounts of pee, etc. Basically with peeing inside unexpectedly I would immediately think UTI since that is a major indicator. Take her to the vet and have her checked for that first.

I've used Feliway on a road trip, and it was pretty worthless, although I've heard the plugins are more effective (I used the collar). Until you know why she's doing it, I would also stop giving her house privileges so that you can manage it (keep her in a room or bathroom, and let her out to play when you can watch her during the day), and clean up the pee spots with an enzyme cleaner. If you want to try the Feliway plug-in, it probably wouldn't hurt.

 

I would second the notion that checking for UTI is the place to start. It would be unusual for a female cat to "mark territory" like this.

Anyway, I'd start with that vet visit first, before tackling this as a behavior problem. If its a behavior problem, it may not even be about marking, but something else entirely, such as litter box conflicts or stresses somehow with the cats. Cats can be put off their litterbox if other cats use it, or if other cats wait and pounce-play on cats as they exit, and so forth. Maybe consider what changes may be evolving among all the animals in the house. If this is a behavioral problem, then your answer is probably in the social dynamics of the household.

 

The Feliway isn't likely to do any harm, but I'll add my voice to the vet check vote. Just to be safe, if it is a UTI and its left untreated it could hit her kidneys and do serious damage.

 

Ditto check for a UTI first and foremost.

When did you add all of the kitties, especially the one you suspect is doing the marking?
How many litter boxes do you have?
What TYPE of litter boxes do you have (covered, uncovered)?
What type of litter are you using?
Where do you have the litter boxes?

I used the Sentry Pheromone collar on mine that was doing this and thought it helped (it was cheaper than the Feliway). The Feliway diffusers are great except they have a smaller range of action (which is why I opted for the collar). I got it in Petsmart.

 

Hi everyone,
Thanks for all the replies. I will probably take Bella to the vets tomarrow or as soon as possible if he's not available tomorrow. Just to rule out a UTI. You guys are right I should have had it done already and I will feel unbelievably bad, but also relieved if it is a UTI.
Bella came to us from the SPCA in Feb. this year, Lucky sometime during the winter of last year - he was a foster with a broken hip who ended up staying forever. the two siamese have been here since they were kittens, respectively Cosmic 4 years and Mia 21\2 years. previously we had a persian whom we had to PTS last year due to kidney problems. She was 13 yrs old. Bella was said t be just over a year old when we got her and still in a lot of ways acts like a young cat, very playfull. Lucky probably turned two a month or so ago, his permanent teeth were just erupting last year when we got him. For about two days he actually had two canines on one side.
Bella seemed to be a very self-assured cat, marching into our house the first day like she's lived here her whole life. If Mia spat and growled at ther she just ignored her and continued on her merry way.
There are 4 litter trays in the house, 1 open tray in the scullery, one covered tray witho door removed in my parents' bedroom and 2 one open, one covered again without door -never had one- in my bedroom upstairs.
Cat litter is bob martins fine cat litter, not the very fine, almost sandy one the "Normal" one which is what we've been using for years.
I have noticed a silight tendency on Lucky's part to go and investigate when whe uses the tray in my parents' room so will try and actively discourage that.
I guess the big question now is if the vet rules out a UTI, what then? Where do I start?

 

If its behavioral, you go about solving it by first carefully observing what is going on with all the cats in the household. Try to see how things have been changing between them. I think you'll find your answer there. Try not to jump to conclusions in terms of human-like motivations. Understand that cats are fussy about their litter boxes and small things can upset their routines. I think Holly is asking the right questions in that regard. Make sure you have as many cat boxes as you have cats, plus one extra. Make sure they are in a variety of locations, with plenty of privacy and a sense of "safety" from the other cats.

 

If its behavioral, you go about solving it by first carefully observing what is going on with all the cats in the household. Try to see how things have been changing between them. I think you'll find your answer there. Try not to jump to conclusions in terms of human-like motivations. Understand that cats are fussy about their litter boxes and small things can upset their routines. I think Holly is asking the right questions in that regard. Make sure you have as many cat boxes as you have cats, plus one extra. Make sure they are in a variety of locations, with plenty of privacy and a sense of "safety" from the other cats.

^This absolutely. It took me 2 years to figure out why my cat would poop outside the litterbox every few weeks. I thought it was because she didn't like a dirty litter box (I was cleaning it two-three times a day and she'd still have the occasional accident). After switching to non-clumping on a whim, she doesn't have any more accidents.

 

IS the litter clumping or clay? Scented or unscented?

 

Non clumping, unscented.
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Everyone, thanks a million.
I called my vet yesterday to make an appointment for Bella, but he;s leaving for spain this afternoon and will be away for about two weeks. He is the only vet for about 100km. I did explain the problem to him and he said it sounds more like a behavioursl problem to him. The peeing on the outside of doorways sounds to him like she's trying to keep someone out. So now the games begin... Now I have to try and figure out who does she want to keep out? Mia the other female cat or someone else?
I really hope she has not suddenly taken a dislike to the litter we use, except for crystal cat litter which is prohibitively epensive the kind we use is almost the only kind available. We are trying to watch the other cats so they don't bother her when she does use the litter tray. All the litter trays is cleaned once a day, but will try to convince my DW to scoop them in the afternoons before she leaves for the day.
So far today no puddles have been discovered in odd places, but it's been one of those quiet saterdays. The vet did recommend we give them all some purata to calm everyone a bit, will start on those tomorrow or monday when my uncle, his partner, kids and my Grandmother comes to visit for the week. Then all the animals' stress levels go thru the roof again.

 

Personally I'd still get her tested at a different vet if only to avoid wasting time treating the symptoms if it is a UTI. A vet can't give you qualified behavioral advice any more than a behaviorist can diagnose a UTI...
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For the time being I think its time to lock her in a small space with her own litterbox and see what happens. This is what we do at the shelter when a cat is not using the litterbox in the community room.

Until you can get the cat in for a UTI set her up in her own space, food/water/litterbox/bed/toys etc.

 

Hi, sorry to jump in here. I've been a member for quite awhile. I don't recall if I introduced myself or not at the time I registered, though. If not, I apologize. I don't even recall if I've ever posted. I just check in from time to time and read the other posts.

Anyway, I thought I might be able to contribute to this particular thread. We went through something similar recently with our 12 year old female cat. We thought it was behavioral at first, too. Our 12 year old male cat was going through some serious health issues at the time. We ultimately lost him, but that's another story. We thought our girl's urinating inappropriately was a reaction to all of that. I tried to re-train her and I tried confining her. I experimented with litter types. I added another litterbox, even though I already had three. I've always kept them very clean, but amped that up as well. Nothing worked. I finally made an appointment with the vet. He was pretty sure it was behavioral, too, but wanted to rule out something physical - just in case. He didn't expect to find anything. He tested for UTI and that was negative. The next step was to check for kidney stones/crystals. Bingo! She ended up needing surgery and a change in diet. That was a little over a month ago. We had a couple of accidents right after she came back home but, otherwise, things are much improved. Good luck!

 

A vet can't give you qualified behavioral advice any more than a behaviorist can diagnose a UTI...

While I don't agree with this at all since commonly seen things are easy to diagnose, I agree with all of the general thoughts above. I think your vet was on a rush to go on vacay and didn't want to deal with it right then. Unless something changed around the time this started happening, it does not sound behavioral to me necessarily.

I agree to isolate. The litter choice is good for inappropriate elimination. I bought the Sentry pheromone collar for my cat that was doing this and I think it helped. Make sure to scoop the boxes daily.