Cat Urinating & Defacating

Please Help....

Within the last few months my 10 year old cat has started urinating and defacating on our carpets, all rooms. My 3.5 year old daughter moved upstairs where the cats domain is; we had a baby in Dec; the family room in the basement was out of commission for a few months due to construction which the cat liked to go to; the house was somewhat in turmoil for awhile; and I changed the litterbox which didn't go over well so I put the old one back again. Now, construction has been done for a couple of months and things are settled down but my cat is still urinating and defacating all over. I've put things back the way they were with the exception of my daughter moving upstairs and the baby of course. We are at our wits end and don't want to have to get rid of the cat but if this continues we may be left with no other choice. We've steam cleaned the carpets and the cat saturates them again which we don't find out until the smell comes back and by then its too late. We haven't been able to catch her "in the act" but she does leave her trail behind. Help please....could it be a physical problem or is it probably just a behavioural problem. Any advice or info will be helpful as I'm in tears over the possibility of getting rid of the cat. Oh...I do have another cat (11 yrs old) and 2 dogs but this didn't start until the baby was born.

It could definately be that your kitty is stressed as to what has been happening in the house.But before you rule that,I would take kitty to the vets and make sure that it is not health related.How is your other cat?Doing the same as the other?

Also there is a product calles Natures Miracle...It is great for odors...For the urine you will need to let the Natures Miracle soak into the carpet.You may need to do it a couple of times...

Others will be her to offer other suggestions.... :)

Your cat is obviously completely stressed out with all the changes,some cats are more easily stressed than others.
When we had company for a week,they stayed in a downstairs guest-room,litterboxes were in the downstairs bathroom,one of my cats decided to pee and poop in our bed on my husbands side :confused:
Anyway,there are people here with more proffesional opinions,but I would leave the cat downstairs with her box for a while and try to keep doors closed to rooms with carpet.
I suspect stress,but in a 10yr old cat it could also be a medical problem,so maybe you should see a vet.
Cats,as you probably know,get excited if you bring in a new piece of furniture and having the whole house turn up-side down,moving her familiar spots would naturally get her completely stressed.
Keep showing her that her "old" litterbox spot is back and things are back to normal,it might take some time and a lot of patience,but I think she will eventually get back to normal.
There are also medications to calm her down,but not something I would recommend,it did not go over well with one of my cats.
Please don't get rid of her,give her a lot of affection and reassurance and show her her world has not turned up-side down and box is back in the old place.

The other cat has gained weight but has always been a heavy cat. She had lost a lot of weight about a year ago which the vet was looking into since it was a drastic weight loss but now she's back to her normal fat self (unfortunately). The cat that is causing the problem has always been good with change. She's never caused any problems (besides being her normal bratty self...lol) which is why this whole thing has come as a shock to me.

We have tried that natures miracle but the urine is so saturated that it didn't work too well. Is that the best product that you're aware of? We are bringing out dogs to the vet on Friday for their heartworm so my husband is going to mention to him about the cat problem to see if it could be physical but what could such a physical problem be that would cause the cat to do this? My throat is constantly sore now due to the amonia and my daughter plays in the family room which is getting just as bad. I'm at my wits end......AUGH!!!

Litterbox problems are very frustrating! As has been said, in a 10 yr old neutered male, there could be other problems that were caused or intensified by the turmoil in the home. Some cats are laid back, but others are very thin skinned and easily stressed to this point. Avoidance of the litterbox is a common reaction to stress. Do NOT punish or scold him in any way for this, even if you do "catch him in the act." This will cause yet MORE stress.

A vet check is the first place to start. If there is nothing physically wrong with him, you need to confine him in a small area with his litterbox to retrain him.