Kittiemom, since you mentioned you're going to be returning to the Vet, can I also suggest (again) that you go to a Vet that specializes in feline care or have your Vet refer you to a specialist.

The fact that the medicine isn't working is a red flag because that can mean that the Vet is probably dealing with unfamilar terrritory. A feline Vet is going to have a lot more experience treating cats than a regular vet because it's their specialty and the chances are much greater that the specialist has treated a cat with similar issues before and will therefore be better prepared to help you with a solution.

Lukkiirish, I have considered that. There's only one cats-only practice in the city and with only two vets, so I've been told that appt are difficult to get. Our vet warned us that the medicine doesn't always work. I've done some research and that appears to be the case. Our vet says he has treated similar conditions but that litter box problems are notoriously difficult. I'll start with having him checked again for a UTI tomorrow. The vet that performed the neuter has a cats-only clinic as part of her hospital, but none of the vets there actually specialize only in cats. I'm curious to see what he does tomorrow at the vet's office. They'll have to keep him caged and it'll be interesting to see if he goes on the floor of the cage.

I did have a thought earlier and am going to try something else. We have extra-large litter boxes and Maverick isn't that large, around 6.5 lbs. We've noticed that he scratches at the sides of the box when covering and are wondering if, even though we have big litter boxes, they aren't big enough. He seems to like to stretch out when he's covering. I'm going to check Wal-mart today and see if maybe some sort of Sterilite box might suit him better. We had another cat that scratched at the side of the box but never went outside it, but it's worth a try. I was thinking that he maybe liked scratching at the side of the box because it's smooth like the floor and maybe he likes that.

The vet also mentioned that it could be that he's just developed this as a bad habit and needs to be retrained. If the UTI check is negative and the bigger or hooded boxes don't work I'll make an appt. with the cats-only clinic. I wish I could figure out what the little fella is trying to tell us.

I bought a large sterilite storage box with a lid for the litter box. Much more room than a regular litter box. They love it. I just keep the lid under the box, in hopes of catching any excess litter.

Try putting some real outside dirt in with the litter and I would suggest that you use the old fashion clay litter not the clumping type . This is the way we cured our cat. The smell of the real dirt which they are born to instinctively know will draw them . Once reestablished we were able to get just the clay litter to work . Many litters are very unappealing to cats , people like that they smell nice people like the ease of clumping , none of those things are appealing to cats and they show their displeasure by avoiding them . Just give it a try . I never went back to the clumping litter I just felt the cat knows what it doesn't like and I don't trust clumping litter health wise . I also use a container that was extra large like a sterilite .

Me too...he uses a big plastic storage box & he still paws the sides. He also pees in his crate when on the way to or from the vet, never in the house. Maybe walk him on a leash and expand his territory to the great outdoors. My cat will do his business in the flower beds when he's outside....

My GF is having cat pee issues. She's trying to use a spare bathroom to train her kitty. She puts the cat in the bathroom with a litter box, food/water...won't let the cat out until she uses the box. The cat thinks it's being treated unfairly....that's the issue I've observed when over there. And....it is!

This is the litter I used . Tidy cat non clumping clay litter .

Tidy cat

As part of the retraining, when he is not going to be crated anymore, confine him to a small room for a while with one of the other cats. They are great imitators. He will regularly be able to watch them use use the litter box and hopefully learn to follow those good habits by example.

I like World's Best. It is a corn cob litter and very soft on the paws.

Lukkiirish gave good advice, get to a feline vet. Make the appt now, even if is a long time, when the date arrives if the problem is cured you can cancel the appt.

I've just heard there can be other causes medically that can cause the problem, not as common of course, but all the same. I just think it's weird how he was doing fine and then all of a sudden he wasn't. Another concern is that he's not consistent with what he's doing, it's almost like he's deficating outside the box when whatever is happening flairs up.

I can only imagine how frustrating it is, cat urine especially is very difficult to get completely cleaned so I really really commend you for sticking with it and trying to figure it out.

Just a thought and if you choose not to, of course I'd understand, but maybe If you post the general area you're in, ie county, parish or even state, maybe someone else from the same vicinity will know of another feline vet in the area.

The American Association of Feline Vets has a find a cat vet search tool:

http://www.catvets.com/cat-owners/find-vets-and-practices

Cystitis from concentrated urine can cause inappropriate feline elimination, important to check sp. gr and pH of urine. UTI can cause cystitis, but not all cystitis is due to a UTI.

How long has the cat been on amitriptyline? It can take a few weeks to really kick in and make a difference. If I'm reading things correctly, it's only been a week? It may just be coincidence that he stopped peeing for the week, or maybe he's going somewhere that you haven't found yet. I would get a black light and look around after dark with the lights out. Check perimeters of your rooms, especially in corners, near windows, and at doors.

I don't think adding a hood to your litter box is going to make a difference and might actually make things worse, given how many cats don't like covers on their boxes.

Is he spraying (territorial) or squatting (frequently not territorial)? Do you have other cats? Some cats really need to be the only one in the house. I know of several cats that were moved to homes where they were the only cat and the inappropriate elimination stopped.

Lastly, here is a good article that makes some possibly worthwhile suggestions:

Peeing Cats

I have this fountain for my cat and he loves it. It has really increased the amount of water he drinks. I don't use the filters anymore, I just change the water a couple of times a week. https://www.amazon.com/PetSafe-Drinkwell-Platinum-Pet-Fountain/dp/B000L3XYZ4/ref=sr_1_5?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1475433530&sr=1-5&keywords=cat+water+fountain

If they don't drink enough water it will give them the cystitis.

One of my fears with crating him was it would upset him. That's why I haven't done it yet and am still hesitant. I don't want to punish him or make him feel like he's being punished, but I'm hoping to retrain him to understand that the box is the only option. Perhaps if we got something big enough to put his littermate/best buddy Indy in with him. But then I feel like that would be unfair to Indy.

He's been on the amitriptyline for three weeks now. He seemed better after two weeks and we thought it had kicked in. One of us checks the perimeter of the rooms every morning when we get up and then we we get home at night. Maybe we should give it a little longer and expect that relapses are possible.

I don't think he'll like the hood either given the fact that I'm thinking he'd like a bigger box. I figured it was worth a try since there are plenty of other boxes available. I'm beginning to grasp at straws. We've tried different types of litter, including the special "cat attract" stuff, added even more boxes, tried paying special attention to him, praising him when we do see him use the box, etc. Anything that we thought might help.

He isn't spraying, thankfully. Nor is he using soft surfaces like furniture. We have hardwood and tile floors so cleanup is at least easier than if we had carpet.

We do have other cats - four of them. One is his littermate. The others all came from the same place and they all grew up together as small kittens. He's definitely used to being around lots of other cats and is very well socialized.

I agree with trying some outside dirt (I'd mix a bit with real sand) and see if that makes a difference.

Before I would put him in a crate, please try the water fountain I put a link to above. It really increased the amount of water my male cat drank. It is something about the waterfall effect. If he has cystitis (like kidney stones in a human) it hurts when he pees. If he associates the litter box with pain, he will avoid it. You might think that drinking more water would make it worse, but it has the opposite effect. More water dilutes the urine and melts the crystals and takes away the pain.

We have fountains for both our dog and our cats, their water consumption doubled when we switched.

How do you keep those clean and how often do you scrub them? Can the tank go in the dishwasher?

I think the ones I've seen did not have a large enough hole to get your hand in to clean so it concerned me how to keep the water really fresh.

As far as confining them to a room, we'd always start new cats out in the bathroom, as it cleans well if there are any issues.

We do have other cats - four of them. One is his littermate. The others all came from the same place and they all grew up together as small kittens. He's definitely used to being around lots of other cats and is very well socialized.

Even though a cat does well with other cats, it can still be a territorial thing. My business partner had a cat that seemed to love taking care of all the foster kittens she took in over the years. He would groom the babies, and the other three permanent, resident cats, as well as hang out and sleep with them. He also peed all over the house. After trying everything else, she ended up rehoming him to a friend with no other pets in the house and the peeing outside the box stopped.

I agree with trying a larger box. I use 30 gallon Rubbermaid or Sterilite containers and they seem plenty large.

I also have a peeing cat, so I get what you're going through. We have tried everything, too., including the things mentioned in the article I linked above. Our compromise has been to replace our carpet, which seems to have cut down the frequency, but he still does pee on the hard surfaces. When we aren't home, we keep him sequestered in one part of the house that is easy to clean. When we are home and can keep an eye on him I let him have run of the house but I still spend a lot of time following him around making sure he is behaving. We also put those puppy training pads on the floor around our litter boxes, as that is frequently where he chooses to urinate. It's definitely a headache, so I feel for you!

The general rule of thumb is to have one litterbox per cat plus one. If you have 4 cats, that is 5 litterboxes, that need to be kept clean.

I got my water bowl with a water fall and a filter at Walmart in the pet department my little dog loves it . It can be totally taken apart like 3 big sections and washed . I change the filter every few months and wash it with bleach every week or so , in between I use dish soap. It's very nice , quiet , and cheap .

We have the recommended number of litter boxes, which are scooped twice daily. I used the search tool for the cat vet and it turns out that our former vet is on the list. She doesn't see just cats, so I guess I wouldn't have really thought about her as a cat specialist. I will probably schedule and appointment with her for a second opinion. She's actually the vet who performed Maverick's neuter so his current records are there.

Maverick has gone all day without an accident after a big one this morning. I've walked him over to his box several times and he didn't go. Finally when we got back from dinner I brought him to the box and he actually used it.

I'll try the fountain as well as some of the other suggestions.

Mine is the same brand as the first one but mine is round . I saw a cute one special for cats here that has a green from spewing the water into the bowl . Dirt ! Try it .

Pet fountains

So cute .

Very glad to see that you've found a vet who specializes in feline medicine and the fact that she has your kitty's history is a bonus. My fingers are crossed that she's able to help and there's a simple solution.

We bought 2 of these from Amazon, but they have it for the same price, 39.99 at Petco where they also carry the filters for them. Not as cute as the froggy one but we've been really happy with them so far.

Fountains do need to be cleaned fairly often. We bought some brushes made specifically for our model and clean the motor every 2 weeks as recommended.

Petsafe Water Fountain

lukkiirish...that's the one we have. It uses a charcoal filter we clean once a week. Drinkwell Platinum

I found the one I have it's at kohl's for $25 . It has the little charcoal filters .

Well, this morning I checked the house and found no problems. Then I looked up from washing my hands in the kitchen to see Maverick scratching at the dining room floor. I walked him over to the litter box and he hopped in and urinated. A few minutes later I walked back into the kitchen when the coffee was done and he was scratching at the floor there; he'd just pooped. Frustrating after I just redirected him to the box. If we can get him to pee in the box we can live with the pooping on the floor. Not what we'd like, but it's easily cleaned.

I'll call this morning and make an appt. with our former vet. Hopefully she'll be in next weekend or I can get an early morning appt. this week. I don't mind going to her for a second opinion. She's an excellent vet, but there're several reasons we don't use her anymore.

Have you tried Dr. Elsey's Attract cat litter? Ive had good results with my cat since I started using it.

Yes, we tried the cat attract litter shortly after this started. I was very hopeful because I'd heard a lot of good things about it. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to make any difference; Maverick continued to use the floor. I haven't tried it again in combo with the amitripyline. Will try that again also.

One of the vets from our former practice is to call me today. Our vet from there is unavailable until Thurs. That is one thing that I do find frustrating here. The vets don't seem to consistently work on certain days. I really prefer if I have a relationship with a vet that they see my pet consistently. It's very frustrating have to explain a situation again to someone different. I certainly understand that they'd want to rotate on weekends, but this is during the week too.

It doesn't work very well to see different vets at the hospital, in my experience. I wonder if he could be having trouble or pain climbing into the litter box. Older cats can stray from their good habits because of arthritis. I'd also try cutting the door down so he doesn't have to lift his legs or hop. Maybe even try a flat lid or tray for a while. I'd scatter a few around the house with different litters including soft Yesterday's News paper litter. Well, I'd actually have him confined until he learned how to use the box!

I'm sorry I can't offer advice other than what was offered. I do sympathize with you because in my lifetime of 15 cats, I have had this problem with two or three of them. It's totally frustrating, I know. One cat who's no longer living was a constant peeing out side the box, which is worse, I agree. In desperation, one summer day I took her in our carriage house with TWO litter pans, her toys, food and water and no other cats to bother her. This is a huge 2 and 1/2 car place which was empty. When I'd go out there would be piles of poop right beside the litter boxes. She wasn't being bullied, was vet checked, so I never figured it out. When you find out, let us know for reference. My current three are okay.

kittiemom - we no longer have cats, but when we did there were 2 who would only go if the box had a cover - they liked their privacy. Also the male cats did like to scratch the sides of the box.

We only had one cat who would not go in the litter box - and it happened suddenly. It coincided with the arrival of another cat who jumped on her in the litter box. We finally had them happily using their litter boxes again (one per cat) and then it happened again. We then had issues with the innocent cat and the litter box until the cat-jumping cat passed away. I hope this will not be the case with your cat. The jumping cat was not nasty, he just thought it was funny. However, I could certainly understand why the innocent party was not amused and she was also deaf which did not help. She found other places to go, the worst being in half of a melon on the counter.

I don't blame you for being frustrated, I've experienced similar circumstances and felt the same way. Even so, I'd still probably wait until Thursday to see the vet you need to see. You've already gone this long a day or two more shouldn't hurt, right?

ETA: I love your style Nicole :c)

Our vet wasn't available for an appt, just to talk on the phone on Thurs. I told the front desk that I would talk to one of the others if they were available sooner. After explaining everything again, she suggested confining him in a very small room with bed, litter box, food, water, and toys. At this point that's our plan. She says we're doing everything right. She also says that it sounds behavioral and that he seems confused because he will use the box when redirected and sometimes on his own.

He pooped on the floor yesterday but didn't pee. Same last night and today. This morning I noticed him walking into the hall and followed him. He started scratching near a door and was facing it. I turned him around and didn't even have to guide him to the box. He saw it and immediately trotted over to it and peed. He'd literally walked right by it when he went into the hall.

We'll wait a few days to confine him. Hurricane Matthew is almost certainly going to affect us. Some areas nearby are already urging evacuation. I don't want to get him started with training and then have to interrupt if Matthew doesn't weaken as predicted. That might confuse him more.

Has anyone checked his vision ? I had one of my cats go blind and we didn't know it . He would walk by things too. He liked to stay in the closet where it was dark and safe and would come out more at night . We found out he had very limited vision and light hurt his eyes .