This is a fairly new problem. He would occasionally not go in the box if it wasn't clean but I've caught him just peeing on the couch and lazy boy for no apparent reason.

He's declawed and he's always been in the house. It took him YEARS before he'd even step foot outside. I guess my real problem is that he trusts me and I don't know if I can bring myself to be disloyal to my cat. And yes, I know how pathetic that sounds.

It means you care. I was really worried when we needed to rehome a dog that we had gotten from a rescue shelter. She was soooo timid and she trusted me, followed me around, preferred me over everyone else. We found her a good home, with a family that adores poodles (she was a poodle mix) and she settled in very well, befriended one of their dogs and started playing shortly after she moved in. She is now much happier than she was with us, and we know she was well loved in our home, but she needed another dog to connect with, and only by going to their home did that happen. I soon got over my guilt.

The hard thing is going to be finding anyone that wants a cat that goes all over the house.

also... Sis, I once had a declawed older cat. We did put her outside and she lived 2 more years with no problems. She grew to LOVE being outdoors and then would refuse to come inside at all! (We'd let her in at night and if it stormed).
After a while she was outside all of the time.

We had declawed cats when I was growing up, that loved being outdoors, and became great mousers with no claws. They were good!! Perhaps someone could have the cat be an outdoor cat, with a barn, outbuilding, shed... with a cat door, or the ability to come in and out as it pleased because there was no door.

Do you have a cat door? If not, and the cat goes somewhere there is one, you might have to teach it how to use it.

Sis, I've been watching a show on tv called "My Cat from H*ll." I'm not a big cat lover, but I find this show fascinating! I tape it so ds and I can watch it together. Last week the cat guy visited a couple who had a cat that had some issues, one of them was peeing outside of the box. The owner felt like the cat was peeing outside of the box out of spite. Cat guy, Jackson, says that cats don't pee out of spite. Turns out that the cat was declawed. Jackson says that the regular kitty litter hurts the paws of declawed cats. He recommended a particular litter that is finer in texture. The owner switched litters and the cat was back to going in the box.

Here's a post about the kind of litter Jackson recommended.

It's called Cat Attract. Jackson posted this on Saturday during the live airing on the west coast of My Cat From H*ll. Visit www.preciouscat.com and check it out. Jackson's post was from July 14th. Hope this helps!

Wow Neesa that is very interesting. That thought never would have crossed my mind.

We've had to rehome a few of our dogs simply because they didn't blend with our family. They are so much happier with the families they do fit with.

Sis, I know what you mean about your cat trusting you. 12 years is a long time. You did say it just started. I think a vet visit is definitely in order to rule out any health problems. Prayerfully a little studying along with medical care will rectify the situation and if not in the end you have to do what's best for your family.

Congrats on the hardwood floors!

_________________
“The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread.”
― Mother Teresa

That show is like watching Super Nanny! Loi! Sheesh! Those cats are out of control!