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Why is my cat peeing outside the litter box and spraying everywhere?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Domestic Mediumhair | Male | neutered | 1 year and 5 months old | 9 lbs

My cat has been spraying on our living room curtain but urinating on shoes and dirty clothes in our closet. He also has been pooping inside his litter box but he urinates on the floor while he squats on the entry of the litter box. He also has been urinating in the bathtub drain and scratched the sides as if he was mimicking what he does in the litter box when he covers his feces. What can be the problem here?

4 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Shaneez Wallani, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on February 4th, 2019

Causes of urination outside the box can be urinary tract infection, crystals in the urine, stones in the urinary tract, trauma to the area, or difficulty getting into the litterbox due to pain, or other reasons. It is important that you make an appointment to have Moon seen by your veterinarian as soon as you can to help determine the cause of his behaviour and to start treatment. If you notice his straining to urinate/unable to produce urine, this is a medical emergency and she should be seen by a vet immediately. I highly recommend speaking to your vet about having Moon neutered, as this kind of behaviour can happen in male cats as a form of marking behaviour, and sometimes having them neutered can help reduce or eliminate the marking. It is also possible that Moon is exhibiting signs of stress in his home environment. You can do the following to help make sure Moon’s environmental needs are being met. Cats need at least one litterbox per cat plus one extra to help reduce stress associated with the litterbox. They should be placed in separate rooms, away from the food and water bowls, must be scooped at least daily (preferably multiple times a day)and washed out at least weekly with a mild soap, followed by thorough rinsing. Cats need a lot of space to explore, but keeping them indoors is much safer than letting them outside, due to the risk of injury from cars, wildlife, other animals, etc. The key is providing space (particularly vertical space for climbing, such as cat trees, ledges, and the like) inside the home. Visit http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=T&C=33&S=2 , healthcareforpets.com and https://indoorpet.osu.edu// for tips on stress reduction. Also look into Feliway, a synthetic pheromone that is available in a diffuser and spray form that promotes calm feelings in cats http://www.feliway.com.

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Other Answers

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    Answered By Sara Farmer, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on July 21st, 2018

    Urinating outside the litter box can be a sign of lower urinary tract disease including a urinary tract infection. Other signs include more frequent urination and straining to urinate. If the behavior continues and Spooky urinates outside the box again I would recommend seeing your veterinarian. You should be sure to use an enzyme cleaner like Nature's Miracle to clean the urine spot.

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    Answered By Rebecca, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on May 30th, 2017

    Hi. Sounds like Lucky is having some issues with urination. Spraying is typically marking with urine on an upright surface such as a wall. Frequent urge to urinate such as going in and out of litter box frequently or peeing outside the box may be signs of a urinary tract problem such as inflammation or infection. Male cats can sometimes get blocked by inflammation where they are unable to urinate and this can be a life threatening emergency. I strongly recommend having him evaluated by your veterinarian to rule out medical vs behavioral causes for the change in litter box habits. If he is acting at all sick or painful please get him seen right away. Even if it is behavior such as spraying your vet can help you with resources to try to help modify his behavior.

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    Answered By Dr. Davis

    Veterinarian

    Published on October 16th, 2018

    Since this is abnormal behavior I recommend an exam and urinalysis. Often cats with feline lower urinary tract disease will start going out of the box. They try to tell their owners that there is a problem. Since there have not been other changes or stresses then I think a behavioral problem is less likely. In the meantime I would confine her to a smaller area with her food water and litter. Use a pheromone diffuser also like Feliway which should help her relax. Something may have upset her and she needs to get retrained to using the box again. Once she’s back to using the box regularly and you know there isn’t a medical problem then you can let her free in the house again. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Molly.

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