Hi everyone.
I have posted about this previously so I apologise in advance for doing so again, I have just ran out of ideas.

My almost 3 year old tom cat (neutered) has stopped using the litter tray again. He goes through spells of this but my previous successful methods of stopping it are not working.

I have 2 other cats (girls aged 2 and 4, both neutered) who are great and never give me any bother.

My tom has recently been peeing on my kitchen worktops and also in the bathtub. He does his number 2s either in the litter tray or outside.
Ive used the same litter all his life, he has access to many (clean) trays, had him at the vet, there are no new cats in the area and he gets on brilliantly with the other cats.

I recently found out that he may have attachment/separation issues as he was taken from him mother at only 6 weeks. I dont know whether this could be relevant.

Does anyone have any other ideas what could be causing this, how I can stop him or anything at all.... im desperate!!

(Last night he was sleeping outside my bedroom door and actually had a litter tray closer to him than the bathroom was but he chose to walk to the bath tub....
As stated upthread, its only ever been peeing he does outwith the tray.... can this be relevant?)

Any help at all is appreciated.
Thank you

Probably not much help but my littlest went through a phase like this but she would just use the bathroom sink to pee in and the bath for pooping. It quickly passed so definitely not as bad as your tom and now she mostly goes outside so it isn't an issue, apart from one recent 'episode' on the bathroom rug - which was further for her to go than the litter tray. I came to the conclusion that she didn't like sharing the litter tray with the other cats. Even though I keep them cleaned out, obviously the other cats scents still linger.

Have you tried a brand new litter tray and trying to keep it solely just for his use in another part of the house? I know that's easier said than done but might be worth a try. Failing that, I'm afraid I have no other ideas

My little one had a period of using the bath to pee.

She did it because her litter was 'on the turn', it was just a bit too used for her even though our other cat was perfectly happy to use it.

We had a chat to our vet who said that cats in general are very clean animals but some are simply more clean than others.


More frequent litter changes was the key for us (every other day).

Also might be worth checking for Cystitis?

He's really upset about something and trying to tell you. I wonder if your tomcat should be a 'lone' pet and the presence of the 'girls' stresses him out.

Thank you for your replies. Ill try a new litter tray which hopefully the girls wont use.
It's weird that he is quite happy to poo in the traus but just not pee....

As for being a 'lone' cat; he is incredibly close to my 2 year old girl. They sleep in the same bed (all squashed up together), he grooms her, they are inseperable. The 4 yr old girl is pretty much a loner and likes her own space but I definitely think that separating my tom cat from his best buddy would upset him.

Thanks again for the responses.... will try the tips youve given me.

I've seen motion activated air sprays used on "My cat from Hell"
A bit pricey Spray deterrant but stratigically placed could be effective.

Its usually recommended that you have 1 more tray than cats - so you should have 4, and also they need to be somewhere away from the main flow of 'traffic' - cats like a bit of privacy when using them. However since he is happy to defecate in the tray it seems more like a territorial/stress issue.

That is pricey! I would think a trip to the vet and getting something on prescription would be cheaper

The extra tray is a good idea, we have 3 trays for 2 cats.

Strangely they use one for number 1s and the other tray for number 2s, the third is uses rarely. Don't know if that's normal or not - whatever makes them happy I suppose 😁