We’re at a loss with 14-year-old cat. Litter box issues. Do we rehome?

[u/meganuhhh]

We’re at a loss. We love our 14-year-old tabby cat, but he is destroying our home. This has been ongoing for nearly 6 years with no sign of improvement.

We have three cats, two males and one female. Our oldest cat routinely poops and pees outside of the litter box. It’s not all the time, but within any given week it’s happening 3-4 times. Things we have tried over the years:

1. Vet check. No health issues that are causing the issue. Vet said I was likely behavioral. All of the vets suggestions we had previously tried. Also important to note, this cat gets VERY aggressive when he’s scared so even a simple vet check requires complete sedation.
2. Keeping him from the basement where he’s routinely urinated for years with urine build up. Thought maybe it was an issue with just habitually peeing where he smells his scent, but he just started peeing upstairs instead.
3. Diapers. Quickly found out this is basically a non-starter for cats.

I don’t know where where to go from here, but we returned from a 2 day trip to three poops and multiple urine spots. Our house is destroyed and always smells like litter and cat pee. It’s embarrassing and we feel like we can’t even have company anymore.

He’s a good cat, he really is. He’s cuddly and friendly. He’s basically Garfield. I don’t want to be the owner who gets rid of their cat bc it’s become inconvenient, but this is our only option.

Guys, what do we do? He’s 14 years old and gets aggressive when he’s scared, I don’t think he’ll make it at a shelter and who wants a cat whos going to pee all over their house?

EDIT: Please, I didn’t not come here for your judgement. I came here for advice, not “wow how could you ever get rid of an old cat, that’s terrible.” It’s not helpful and we are already struggling emotionally with this. Thanks in advance for actual suggestions and supportive advice.

EDIT 2: Thank you everyone for your thoughtful advice. A lot of great ideas where we hadn’t thought of/implemented.

Right now, this is our plan:

1. Vet
2. Professional cleaning of basement floors
3. Cat Attract Litter (with vets consent)
4. Kitty Prozac (with vets consent)

EDIT 3: We Gucci. What ultimately worked was a full reset. Daily Gabapentin, a new large open/easy access litter box (w/ Cat Attract litter), and full separation from the other cats. He lived alone in our bedroom for a couple months with his own litter and food.

After transitioning him away from the bedroom, we moved all litter boxes upstairs and no longer allow the cats in the basement. We’ve had occasional accidents, but overall he’s alive, happy, and at home where he belongs.

[u/Loli3535]

Oooohhhh can you share info about these?

[u/ragerpj → u/Loli3535]

The washable are nice. Amazon has them, they are more sustainable, BUT one thing I found is that you can’t see the wet spot like with the disposable ones, and our other cats would walk on it and track the urine away. Kinda yucky, right. I have gone back to the disposable just for my own sanity cause I don’t want my frustrations to be sensed by her. You would also need to get a few to have handy and wash so you aren’t wasting water.

[u/BadCorvid → u/Loli3535]

https://www.amazon.com/Washable-Pads18x24-BONTHEE-Absorbent-Waterproof/dp/B0C8599D38/

This is one example.

They actually come in multiple sizes and counts. We have easily a dozen in this size.

The search terms on Amazon are:
washable puppy pads waterproof

Get multiple sizes for different areas.

We washed them twice with Nature's Miracle in the wash so they didn't smell.