Hi Pepe's Mom,
I am going through the same thing with my Charlie right now. He's also a one year old male. When he came to live with me back in November, he always used his litter box and never gave me a problem. He just recently started peeing in my bathtub and pooping in my plants. Sometimes this behavior is the result of some major change at home, such as a new roommate or a new pet. Nothing at all has changed at my house, so I am very confused. I am trying discipline, but sometimes I don't actually catch him in the act. The strange thing is that he DOES use his litterbox when he wants to. I keep his litter box very clean, and I have even tried changing the brand of litter I use. This made the problem worse, as he refused to use the litterbox at all. I have been told that this is fairly normal for cats of this age, but you have to let them know that this is not acceptable behavior, so DO discipline him. If he pees on the floor, clean the area and then soak the area with Club Soda. This is supposed to help remove the odor so that they don't go in the same place again. I did this when Charlie peed on my kitchen floor and he hasn't gone there again.
Unfortunately, I don't have too many answers for you, as I am struggling with the same problem.
My main reason for posting, though, was to warn you against those sprays that they sell to keep pets from going where they're not supposed to. I bought one of those sprays for around my plants so Charlie wouldn't poop there, and he got sick from it. I sprayed it on Monday night, and Tuesday he vomited twice in the morning, then again in the afternoon. (these were not hairballs) I was up all night with him Tuesday and stayed with him all day yesterday. He wasn't eating and he was very lethargic. I was freaking out because his vet was closed for the holiday. Yesterday afternoon he started slowly getting better and last night he was eating again. I can't tell you 100% that the spray was the cause of this, but I am almost positive. In any case, I just wanted to tell you this in case you were considering using those sprays.
Good luck with this, and please let me know if something works for you. I'll do the same.


[ July 05, 2001: Message edited by: thelmalu99 ]