Question for cat owners...

[Evelien]

I've been reading that a lot... putting them in a small room with just the litter box. But... they're young and extremely energetic. I think they'd go MAD. O.o

[victoriavictrix]

Urinary infection or FUD. Have them checked by a vet. They may be trying to tell you that they HURT to pee. Cats normally do not do this unless there is something very wrong.

[Evelien]

We've been to the vet three times the past four weeks, for regular checkups and injections and stuff, but we never asked about this because I didn't think it would be a medical thing... We'll be going to the vet this week again anyway, for the second set of injections... I think we'll go this Tuesday, I'll ask her about this too.

[DollyKim]

My Cat From Hell on Animal Planet would second the vet and very clean litter boxes, maybe even one for each cat. If it's the same places over and over they could be scent marking which can be helped when they get spayed.

[Linteia]

The thing that caught my attention was you said you changed their litter brand. Did they start/increase their out-of-box peeing after that or before? Cats can be insanely picky and if they don't like the feel of the litter in their feet they will go anywhere but in the box unless they have to (i.e. getting caught).

[Evelien]

Yeah, I know.. But the peeing was worse before I changed the litter brand. They used the litter box by themselves pretty much right from the start though, no problem, they know what it's for and where to find it...

[victoriavictrix]

We've been to the vet three times the past four weeks, for regular checkups and injections and stuff, but we never asked about this because I didn't think it would be a medical thing... We'll be going to the vet this week again anyway, for the second set of injections... I think we'll go this Tuesday, I'll ask her about this too.

It is extremely easy for cats to get urinary infections and they almost never show any other symptom. But they cannot help themselves (as any human who's had one will tell you!) as soon as they have to pee even a little bit, it HURTS and they HAVE to go!

FUD is more common in male neutered cats; it's bladder stones, and requires a special diet and a lot of vigilance. I would be more inclined to think (unless you have insanely mineralized water where you live) that it is a urinary tract infection.

[AlmySidaKay]

We had this problem back when I lived with my parents, and we had to separate them for almost a week each with their own separate litter boxes in different rooms of the house. After that they seemed to not have a problem again.

[paladinari]

I'm not sure if I missed this, but are they boy cats or girl cats? You would probably want to check with your vet, but I think that unfixed male cats are more likely to pee around as a territory thing, and I think female cats might also do something equivalent. It may be possible they're trying to say, "This is my chair!" "This is my cushion!" "This is my person!" (you)

[quidam]

I second a check for UTI. They can develop them fast and it can spread from cat to cat.

Past that, some cats are very picky when it comes to their choice of toilette. Try different litters, litter pans (come prefer closed others prefer open), and locations for the pans. Most cats prefer non-scented litter. Make sure to be keeping it at least 3 inches deep.
Completely change the litter at least once a week. Wash out the pans with a vinegar solution to keep the ammonia smell from soaking into the plastic. Even if you can't smell it, cats have a much stronger sense of smell.

Make sure to scoop the boxes out at least once a day. Cats don't like dirty litter any more than you would like an unflushed toilette.

Those ideas usually take care of most issues. Another thing that could cause issues would be unaltered cats that might me outside of your house causing them stress.

Good luck