Newly rescued 3 y/o cat suddenly peeing/pooping on couch despite using litter box—looking for advice + reassurance
Hi all — looking for advice (and honestly reassurance because I’m a bit stressed).
We rescued a 3-year-old cat about 6 days ago. We live in a ~600–700 sq ft apartment, so when we brought him home we gave him access to the whole space right away. He seemed curious but overall comfortable. He’s extremely social/people-obsessed, very cuddly, playful, and not acting particularly stressed.
For the first few days, he was using the litter box normally.
Around day 4, we started noticing he had both pee and poop accidents on the couch, even though he was still also using the litter box. We deep cleaned the couch and added a water-resistant blanket over it, and we also switched out the litter.
Today (day 6), it happened again (pee on the couch) while we were home.
We’re now planning to restrict him to the bathroom only for a bit per rescue guidance to reset habits.
A few additional details:
He is neutered (recently, within the last few weeks)
He was found on the street but is extremely friendly, so they think he may have been surrendered
We took him to the vet yesterday for a shot and submitted a stool sample (no results yet)
He is still using the litter box in between accidents
We love him a lot already and don’t feel like he’s “acting stressed,” but obviously something is going on and we want to fix it early.
Looking for:
Any advice on how to break this couch habit
Tips for fully removing urine smell from a couch (we’re worried it’s lingering)
Whether this is more likely behavioral vs medical vs adjustment
Any similar experiences (honestly would help me feel less alone right now)
I’m a bit shocked because I always assumed cats instinctively stick to the litter box, but clearly something is off here.
Thanks in advance 💛