At my wit's end with cat weeing everywhere - please help! V long, sorry.

[BionicEmu]

We have 2 cats and a dog (and a toddler and a newborn).

Our eldest cat keeps weeing in places other than his litter tray. DH had this cat before I met him - he's had him for 12 years and he was an adult when he got him, we don't know how old he actually is. Our cats are indoor cats, as the eldest cat only has 3 legs. He's missing a back leg, and sort of drags the remaining back leg behind him, so concrete/gravel etc can cause damage to that leg.

Anyway, for as long as I can remember he has wee'd occasionally around the house. The last couple of years it has gotten steadily worse to the point where he will now do it at least once, and usually several, times a day. His favourite places are in front of the front door, and 4 separate places in the dining room. He also sometimes wee's elsewhere in the house where he's never wee'd before.

A couple of weeks ago he wee'd in the baby gym. To be honest, I saw red and shut the cats in the kitchen while I worked out what to try next. (It's a rather large kitchen, tiled floor, the litter trays are in there.) I thoroughly cleaned and cleaned again all the places where he wee'd. Incidentally, while they were shut in the kitchen he did all his business in the litter trays. This is only ever a wee problem anyway, he's always done all his poos in the trays.

After very thoroughly cleaning, I bought a Feliway plug-in diffuser. After 8 days I let the cats out into the rest of the house again. A few hours later the little sod wee'd in the dining room again - no difference at all. He's even wee'd on the floor directly underneath the Feliway.

I have tried so many things over the years, but nothing's worked. I'm struggling with post-natal depression at the moment, and the cat's really not helping. I dread going into the dining room as I know he'll have wee'd and I'll have to clean it up. Whenever he's in the living room I'm on edge in case I see him start to scratch the floor or settle down to wee. I don't even like friends coming to my house because I know they'll smell it. My psychiatrist even suggested getting rid of the cat as it's stressing me out so much, but he's ours, we're responsible for him.

Off the top of my head, over the years I have tried:
Feliway - no difference
Tin foil - not bothered by it at all
Citrus peel - no effect
Putting food bowls down where he's been weeing - was tricky as I had to secure it from the dog, but I managed it. The cat just wee'd next to the bowl, except on 2 occasions where he ate the food then wee'd actually in the empty bowl.
Staying in the dining room all day and put him in the litter tray every time I saw him crouch down to wee - no long-term effect.
I'm sure there are other things, but I can't remember right now.

Sorry this is so long. I'm really desperate. Please, please, any suggestions more than welcome. I just can't live like this any more.

[cozietoesie]

This is the one with three legs and a draggy remaining back leg? What does the vet say about his disability and peeing/pooing?

[BionicEmu]

Yes, sorry it's the cat with the missing leg. I think that rather got lost in all my waffling!

The vet said he can't see why the missing leg would cause him any problems. We've been several times to different vets over the years to try & get help! He'd lost it before DH had him, he was told the poor cat had been hit by a car.

He has been neutered, but (& I don't know if it's relevant or not) he's not able to spray. I mean, I'm not sure if he's meaning to just wee on the floor or if he's trying to spray - due to the missing back leg he can't lift his back end up enough to point horizontally to spray on a wall.

[cozietoesie]

He likely wouldn't want to spray unless he's anxious about something. Not impossible for neutered cats to spray of course but they usually don't in my experience - if everything is rolling along fine.

Odd that he can poo fine in his tray though. I have to think that the problem is partly due to the other animals. Did his weeing over the place (although less frequent) coincide by any chance with the other cat and or dog arriving?

[Areyoumadorisitme]

We have two 12yo cats. One does go through phases of weeing around the house, usually if it is cold or wet outside. Once she starts she does it loads for a week or two. The vet has checked her and there is nothing wrong with her, it is laziness.

We have put a stairgate on the kitchen as she can't jump it but the other cat who never wees in the house can. So non-weeing cat gets total freedom. Like you we have a fairly big kitchen with litter tray and beds in there plus cat flap.

She wees indoors a lot less if stuck in the kitchen and it means if she does do anything it is easy to clean off the tiled floor rather than carpet. As I said though she doesn't like toileting on hard floors!

My suggestion isn't a solution but perhaps a way of making it less painful.

Good luck.

[Karbea]

I've got 4 cats and I've had a similar problem with two of mine, the only way I've gotten around it is to keep the weeing two in the kitchen, they are able to go out via the flap and we have a large kitchen with a sofa etc in it where they hang out. The other two go wherever they want no problem. We just have to remember to keep the door shut.
They actually don't wee in the kitchen in this scenario but as soon as they were given freedom they'd wee everywhere and anywhere.