What type of litter are you using and how often do you change it?

Is this new behavior?

Is he declawed?

No

Vet appointment is your first step. If all health is good then it is a matter of finding the right box this includes size, shape and the litter. There are a lot of different litter mats also. Our daughters cat is happy with his enter from the top box and the fourth kind of litter she tried. Our last cat had to have a huge open box we ended up with a contractor concrete mixing pan that we cleaned several times a day. My husbands can went on the toilet no,litter boxes.

My son's male cat hated that walnut litter. My male cat (and me) hated scented litter.

How many cats, how many litter boxes?

Sounds like the box may be too small for him to turn around and maneuver if he's stepping out of it. He may be squeamish about stepping where he just peed . Its not unusual for cats to make burying motions outside the box
including the floor and on the wall. My orange cat does that all the
time, but then he does stop and check and then keeps trying till he gets
it covered correctly.

I would get a bigger box, and just make sure to keep it scooped throughout the day. No make that TWO boxes - uncovered. The larger size could help the problem of him pooping outside the box - if its too small maybe he cant get in a good position. Since its not unusual for cats to prefer separate boxes for #1 and 2 it would be worth trying a second box to see if he'll go in there. If not, take the litter out of the second box and line it with the same plastic that he seems to like to poop on..... and then very gradually get him used to increasing amts of cat litter over the plastic.

If there are other cats in the house let us know cos there could be some tensions between them playing into this.

For more info theres some good cat behavior info out there now - Pam Johnson is one author who really knows cats.
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That sounds great. I'll try that for sure. TY

I'd add at least one more litter box, of a different style (covered/uncovered for example). My cat likes to pee in one box, and poop in the other one, lol.

If he checks out health wise, maybe it's the litter. Have you seen the unscented, paper pellet cat litter?

our male cat , 11 yr old, started doing the same thing. We took him to the vet who found nothing physically wrong and asked if anything had changed at the house. I had been in the hospital..... I did think that there might be something else wrong though. Months later I noticed a round mass on his side. Back to the vets who did blood work...nothing showed. Then he drew fluid out of the mass. It was cancer, a rare form, found in light colored cats (he was a ginger) and the vet said he had never seen it in a cat before.

All of that just to say, even if the vet finds nothing there still could be something.

Lisa made a good point! If everything turns out okay health wise, you should try different litters. Also, try a different litter box (bigger, covered, etc.) and watch how your cat reacts. Also, this article might be helpful if you try to litter train your cat.