Hi everyone, I'm seeking your help with an issue I'm having about my cat. I have an 11-12 year old male cat (got him from a rescue so I'm unsure of his exact age). I know he lived in a foster home for at least a couple months before I adopted him, then he lived at home with me with 2 other female cats for about 10 years plus the 3 other humans in my family. A little over one year ago I moved and I brought him with me, so just he and I were living together. My boyfriend also has a male cat (3 years old) and over the year we have been dating I will occasionally bring my cat over to his place and the two will be together.
Beginning about 3 months ago, my cat started to pee outside the litter box at my apartment. It occurred in the same room the box was in, but on the wall next to it. I immediately bought another box for my apartment, some Feliway in the form of a room diffuser, and made sure I was cleaning the boxes every day. The peeing happened maybe 3-4 times in my own home, but I thought I had solved the issue with those adjustments. Additionally, this happened at least once after I had left him alone at home for 3 days, and I thought it could be due to anxiety.
I brought my cat over to my boyfriend's home 3 weeks ago and I've left him there as my work schedule allows for many days off in a row and I just travel back and forth between my apartment for work and then my boyfriend's place on my off days. My cat hates the car (he needs drugs for car rides) so I do this to avoid subjecting him to 2 car rides per week. I figure that he can just stay in one home until my work schedule changes again. I am planning on bringing him back to my place again at the end of this week.
Unfortunately, my cat has now urinated on a chair at my boyfriend's place I think twice, and on my boyfriend's shorts. The chair he pees on is his favorite chair and it is covered in blankets he likes to sleep on, including a blanket that I brought from my apartment. I brought more Feliway into my boyfriend's home and I have of course laundered all of the items he urinated on. I am concerned that the peeing is due to separation anxiety again, as I don't live at my boyfriend's place and will often "disappear" for days at a time when I am back in my city for work. My cat and my boyfriend's cat coexist just fine, neither are extremely playful and they don't fight very often. He never had an issue with the previous cats he lived with and never had problems peeing outside the litter box in his previous homes.
I am wondering all of your thoughts on what could be causing this. I have explained my situation to my vet and she did not think it was any physical issue. He does not seem to show any signs of distress other than when I leave him in my own home for days at a time if I am gone but I don't think the length of time away would warrant a car ride to my boyfriend's (Otherwise, my cat may as well just live there as my boyfriend does not travel to me at this time). Usually when I return he is very vocal and follows me around. I am concerned because I never had this issue in the 10-11 years that I have owned this cat until now. I am also concerned because my boyfriend and his cat will be moving in with me in 2 months and I would like to find a solution before this becomes the rest of my time with my kitty.
Thank you all very much for your help! Any recommendations about changes or products I could buy or anything is welcome. I appreciate it.
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from Pets https://www.reddit.com/r/Pets/comments/dnojh6/cat_peeing_outside_the_litter_box_after_11_years/
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