Older cat problems - Is there something I can do to save my cat? Vets, cat experts...

I have an older cat. He has always been very adaptable, he has moved with me five times. He adjusted from being indoor/outdoor to only indoor. Lately though, he has been demonstratiing some never before seen problems -

  1. he is urinating outside the little box, on dirty clothes, hockey equipment (boy was my DH happy abou that) and (we think) in the basement

  2. He leaves the room to run in the basement and meow at the top of his lungs until one of us calls to him?

  3. he is scratching the furniture, he had never had this problem before

Does anyone have any ideas? I am taking him to see the vet this week to see if there anything physical going on.

please don’t suggest anything jokey here, I’ve had this cat since i was fourteen, so i really love him, but with the baby coming in January, I can’t really take a lot of chances if he’s losing his mind.

Thanks in advance…:slight_smile: