cat peeing in house.

Question
I have 3 cats and for many years they have been trained to 'ask'  to go out when they need to pee/poop.  But for the last couple of months one of them,Pig,has started peeing in the house.  There is no blood or discharge in her pee. Pig is a 12 year old spayed female who seems fine otherwise, she's still eating and drinking fine. I wondered if it could be anything relating to her age although her brother still goes out fine.  I don't really want a litter tray back but she's spending so much time outside because  of this,any suggestions would be gratefully received.
 Susan.

Answer
Susan,

At age 12, Pig would be considered geriatric. Like people, older cats may have health issues that come on as they age. The two biggest causes of changes in this type of routine would be medical or behavioral. Remember, I am not a vet, but I would have your vet check her out for a mild uterine tract infection (UTI). For example a bladder infection might make her feel like peeing almost all the time. I would also watch her water consumption. A substantial increase in water consumption could be an early indicator of kidney issues (long before anything would show up in the blood work. Along with the increase of water consumption would be a commensurate increase in peeing.

Behavioral issues that might affect bathroom habits might be a new cat hanging around her territory that would bother her when she was trying to pee, or a two legged or four legged new addition to the household about the time she started peeing inside, or any other of a number of possibilities.  Behavioral issues require a fair bit of detective work and some creativity trying to correct them.

Also, when she pees where she should not, you need to clean the area thoroughly with an enzyme based cleaner specifically for cat stains and cat odors (available at most pet supermarkets). If the spot still smells from her pee, she will tend to think that is a good place to go.

You may finally have to break down and get a litter tray for her.

Please let me know what happens.

Best regards... Norm.