Why can't he just pee?

My dear Cute Cat has started peeing inside. It is not like he is marking territory by horizontally spraying a wall (as you know, he became an 'it' over a year ago now), but instead, plainly sitting down in my bed emptying his bladder.

I have spent many hours reading about this problems in various forums, talking to others with cats, etc. Finally, after extensive empirical studies by excluding various changes in Cute Cat's environment, my current bet is on that he is frustrated for not getting to be outside more. My solution has been to deprive him of outside visits for the time beeing. He is always very agitated and annoyed when coming in, having met lots of other cats outside (he hates them all). By not letting him go out at all, I hoped to regain default state in him, letting him realise that he is an indoors cat, and always will be. I expected him to continue peeing for a while, maybe even more now since he wasn't allowed outside at all. He kept on peeing infrequently, and I was under the impression that he had gotten me to understand the problem, and hopefully I had found a way that in the end would come to solve the issue.

My aunt (she's a nurse) gave me these urine sticks that you can dip into the urine and check for various things in the urine, like proteins, leukocytes, pH etc. He kept on peeing, and once after producing a puddle on my bed (this is the place he always goes) I dipped several of these sticks into the urine and they came back positive for protein and leukocytes. I was surprised, since I had already to myself excluded that he was ill, since he was happy, didn't seem to feel any pain, and no apparent changes in other behaviour. But after the sticks-thing, eventhough I realise they are not exact, I decided to take him to the vet.

We were there yesterday morning. We decided that the best thing was to get a urine sample from him, since you can tell and exclude so many things from a simple urine sample. I decided to first try to collect the urine on my own, trying to spare him (and my worriedness, and wallet) staying a whole day at the veterinary clinic and finally getting drugged down and extracted from urine by a huge needle through the belly. The nice vet woman gave me several ideas how to get him to pee in a place where I could collect the urine.

I went home, optimistic. I emptied and cleaned out his toilet box, and put in some small pieces of paper, hoping he would pee in the box still. I also removed the top sheets from the bed, exposing the thick plastic covering that has been in place for the last few weeks, hoping (for once) that he would actually pee on the bed (i.e. the plastic).

I went to the vet at 9.30 am, and now 3.45 am the follwing day (i.e. almost 24 hours after he last went to the toilet) he still hasn't gone. He is just keeping it in! He has peed normally before, so I try not to worry about his total lack of peeing, but still. Why is he being so annoyingly stubborn?! I have put him into the box several times, but he just walks out. How long can he hold it in for? How often does a cat pee normally (I would think at least twice a day)?

I am starting to stress about it still. Apparently, since I am not sleeping at 4 am in the morning. At 7.30 (3.5 hours from now) I have a deadline at the vet. Either I go there with Cute Cat's urine sample, or I go there dropping off Cute Cat for the day.

I don't want to drop him off. Him being in a strange place a whole day. Some evil people showing up in the end, with needles, drugging him down and extracting his urine. Why can't he understand that it is really better for him to go to his toilet box now, and pee!

I can't believe I have spent a whole day just sitting at home waiting for my cat to pee (the sample needs to be chilled instantly). What a non-productive day. But it was an attempt at least. I still have one trick up my sleeve, which I will try to fool Cute Cat with one last time before 7.30. I will fill the box up with his sand again, hoping it will feel familiar to him again, he will dig his whole, and once he starts peeing, I'll be there with a little cup collecting it.

Fool proof, right?