Pissed Off

Over the course of the last week or so, my cat, Louie, has taken to urinating in various parts of the house. This is, needless to say, problematic. It stinks, it's unpredictable, and it's a pain in the ass to clean up. The fact that I have 5 housemates doesn't help. They are understandably upset and are growing impatient with my poor kitty, which only makes him more prone to piss all over the place.

I've tried to pinpoint what it is that may be causing him to "act out." His litter box is clean; I feed him regularly; I'm not away from the house any more or less than I have been for the last 6 months I've lived there; and his interactions with E's cat, Crazy, haven't seemed to change at all.

My housemates are calling for immediate action, but it's not that simple. You can't just say, "Hey, stop doing that!" Well, you can, but it won't do any good. So I'm deliberating over my next move. My best bet is probably to take him to the vet over the weekend, just to rule out any physical causes (like a urinary tract infection), where they will inevitably tell me to see a behaviorist. I have no problem with animal behaviorists in theory, but I doubt my budget can handle any kind of feline medical specialist. My own numerous health problems are generally covered by my insurance. Unfortunately, my insurance doesn't cover the smallest, furriest member of my family, so his medical expenses put a serious dent in my bank account.

Sigh.