Surely someone has a cat on here, right? I have a male cat that when he scratches his ears he makes a noise like its possibly hurting him to do it? He is a totally indoor cat never goes out. Surely isn't ear mites? I looked in his ears and other than just general looking ear wax...nothing really. One other thing every once in awhile he will decide he does not want to go in his litter box which I've read could be UTI. Is it fair to assume that both of these problems could be diet related. I've been so busy working on Bruno's dietary needs that I really haven't thought much about the cats.

I had an FIV kitty who would do the same thing and his was yeast infection...which can happen to any cat. I was told by a veterinarian the simplest solution was to use a vinegar/water drop. I used a Q-tip. I did, however, get it diagnosed prior to putting anything in his ears.

Just a thought.

Hard to tell about the ears. If they have a funky odor and the ear wax is dark and abundant, it may be worthwhile to have a vet do a swab to check for an ear infection.

As for the litter box lapses, that could be a number of things, including a UTI. Changing the brand of litter, a new litter box, not cleaning the box out daily, placing the box in a high-traffic area, and bringing a new cat into the house can all lead to a break in training.

Illness not related to a UTI can cause it.

With a UTI, you're going to see your cat making many trips to the box and either producing a small quantity of urine or no urine at all. You'll also see them urinating in unusual places like house plants or on the floor or carpet...they have the urge to go so often they don't even try to make it to the box.

Male cats, due to their extremely narrow urethera, are very prone to UTIs and blockages, which can be a life-threatening situation and needs vet attention ASAP. It's an emergency.

Males, more than females, really should be on a wet diet and should not be fed kibble. After my male's blockage, I put him on a raw diet but a premium canned food is good, too.

There is no odor and the color is just light colored. The going outside the litter box..I don't know. He has gone in my daughters shoes and on the rug by the front door. I can't keep a rug by the front door or he pees on it. The litter is the same, kept clean, and no new cats. He doesn't seem like he is making that many trips to the litter box either. I've been thinking all day that I would get the Honest Kitchen Prowl for both of them and see if that helps. Thanks to both of you for your thoughts!

I've had a lot of cats and only one (a male) was just weird about the litter box. No rhyme or reason, he just occasionally didn't want to use it. It's a PITA.

One other thought is if you have a cat or cats who hang out in your yard your cat may be marking in response to seeing them through windows or smelling them on shoes and the door mat where people have stepped.

Cats really hate the smell of citrus and I've had success using lemon and orange peels to keep them away from certain things, like house plants. Aluminum foil is another thing most cats don't like and sometimes can be used successfully to break them of the habit of peeing on a certain spot.

I think you can't go wrong switching to THK.

I belong to a cat rescue group and have heard everything that Sarah mentioned from the experts in the group.

You may want to check this website for great information on litterbox issues (and other cat issues too).

http://www.catinfo.org/litterbox.htm#Top_reasons_for_a_cat_to_stop_using_his_litter_box

I don't have a comment about the ear scratching.

i hate to have to ask, but he is neutered, correct??

i would have your vet do an ear scrape just to be sure it's not mites. sometimes, if they are really far down n the ear canal, you might not notice anything wrong, but the digging at the ear base, vocalizing does sound an awful lot like ear mites, or like was mentioned, an ear infection.

our cats pick up on things we wouldn't believe...a new cat n the neighborhood, human stress in the home, weird weather....

some cats go of their food, some go outside the box.....what are you using to clean the mess???

Cathy - thanks for the website. I'm going to go there and check it out.

Mallory - he is neutered. Fortunately, he has only peed on the rug and shoes that I know of and those I've just thrown in the washer. Not sure if the smell will completely come out though which is why he could be going back to the rug. I'm going to change the diet up also and see if that helps.

Lori,
Try Natures Miracle on the rug. Works wonders! And put an extra litter box by that area. I have one cat, and we have to keep 4 litterboxes in my basement! She is very particular about how clean they are. If they are the least bit dirty, she will go on the floor. I have to change/or scoop them every 2 days.

I agree with using Nature's Miracle. That stuff is awesome.
And i would also try having another litter box. He could have an issue with using the litter box after he's used it once. Even if you did remove the "offending" items.
I had a male/indoor/neutred cat who also started to go to the bathroom in unusual places and i added another litter box and it solved the problem.
He just seemed to suddenly have an issue with going in the box again after using it once.