Cat parents, has this ever happened to you?

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

7. Cat pee should be listed as a WMD

and banned by the Geneva Conventions. The reason it's often bright yellow and a bit sticky (as well as smelly enough to knock birds out of the sky and curl the wallpaper off the walls) is that it's very condensed. Cats evolved as desert creatures who don't have to drink a lot of water, so they often produce relatively small quantities of very strong pee.

Leaving a pile of poo uncovered on some surface is usually a territorial statement. Your kitty is basically saying that he's such a badass that he doesn't have to hide his poo so potential predators won't find him. He's telling the other cat that he's the top cat, and all other cats must hide their poo before him.

As to peeing outside the box, I've learned that (assuming there's no medical problem) this can also be a territorial statement, or, as one of my cats has explained to me, an objection to an uncleaned litter box. Or, if a spot has been peed upon before, the smell might encourage them to go there again. The thing to do is clean up the spot as thoroughly as possible with an enzyme anti-pee product. If the behavior continues, a possible cure is to sequester the offending feline in a small room with a litter box and his/her food dishes. The theory is that because cats don't like to poop and pee where they eat, if they are stuck in a small room they have to use the box to keep their waste away from their food. You will need to keep the cat in the room for about a week (visiting the critter frequently, of course). It sounds strange but years ago I had that problem with a cat, and the vet suggested doing this. I tried it and it worked; the cat, who lived to be 21, never had litter box problems again.