Hello -

The problem is one of our four indoors cats.

This cat, Sheba, is a female stray that I adopted and raised as a very
small (<6 weeks) kitten to adulthood. Sheba is now just under 5 years
old, is in apparent good health, and has no other behavioral problems.

This cat is an extremely persistent pee-er outside the box. It is an
intermittent but persistent behavior that we really can't get to the
bottom of.

She does not "mark" vertical or freestanding objects with a spray.
Rather, she always pees on horizontal surfaces on furniture, bedding,
cushions, pillows, futon. It's only a matter of time before she has an
eye for our $800 sofa.

As stated, there is *no* apparent cause of her "accidents". She has no
problems with going to the bathroom otherwise. She gets plenty of
attention and love, and plays quite often. She in turn is extremely
loving and attention-seeking.

We've been using Feliway plugins AND spray. She just soaked a
comforter on an extra bed that I sprayed with Feliway several times
over the last week, where a 1/2 full plugin is right next to the bed
in the wall socket.

One thing of note. When she was a kitten, I tended to keep her in the
basement and the garage for long periods. I later found places she
"marked". And she apparently went into heat at around 9 months and
"did" the bed right before I got her fixed. One thought is that she
got used to semi-wild behaviors as a kitten and will never change.

I am suspecting some sort of medical problem due to its persistence,
but I am open to other interpretations.

What the hell do I do? Resign myself to a house that's an open cat
p*ss toilet? Or keep this one cat in a steel cage because she can't
ever be trusted?

Or has anyone had a cat do this and had a latent problem diagnosed?

As I said, this cat is quite loved and doesn't suffer from lack of
attention.

Thanks!