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Written by Wendy Christensen
Q: I have a problem with a 12-year-old female tabby. It has been this way for years now so I don't think anything can be done at this age. We have just put up with it after a while. I did have 2 cats with one litter box. The other cat was a male. I no longer have him but the problem continues with the female. She will not use the litter box for No. 2 business. She will pee in it but uses the bathroom mat for the other. Doesn't matter if the litter box is fresh and clean or not. (Usually not a problem to pick up - we have gotten used to putting on the light first!)
Do you think this comes from having to use the litter box when the male has been in it? I used to have to keep it very clean or she wouldn't use it at all. She did use it properly in the beginning but a couple years later started this problem.
Any ideas! It would be nice if I could turn this around.
A: I always recommend providing at least one litter box per cat, plus one extra. This goes for "only cats," too. Why? Many cats prefer to urinate and defecate in separate boxes. You first move should be to provide a second litter box. Place it either near the first one, or temporarily on the mat she's been using. That may very well solve your problem.
The problem may have started because she was reluctant to share facilities with the other cat. In addition, she seems to be a very fastidious feline (a "clean freak.") It's pretty common, really. Add a second box and see what happens. Be sure to praise her lavishly when she uses it -- and keep both boxes very clean.
Q: I've been fostering Garfield for the past two weeks because he needs socialization. He came into the shelter in February and has been in two foster homes before mine and has been adopted out twice and returned. The first time was because he was being bullied by another cat and didn't use the litter box for three days and the second time was because he wouldn't come out from under the bed.
Since Garfield has been here he has made great progress to be social with me, my husband and my cats. Every day he gets a little better. At first I would let him out and about until I found that he was urinating outside of the box. I thought it might be a medical problem until I saw him spray. He has been checked out and has no medical problems. Now he is confined to his room, (a spare bedroom) and with no problems. If I let him roam the house unsupervised without the other cats around then he sprays.
I can tell that he has been an outdoor cat and at least an indoor/outdoor. My guess is that his previous owners didn't have a litter box and allowed him to go outside. I don't have that luxury since he is a foster. What are the steps that I should take to stop him from spraying?
A: Garfield's experiences have taught him that other cats are bad news. When he's in private quarters, he's fine. But when he has to interact with other cats and share a territory, he's spooked. In his mind, the sensible and wise thing to do is to be proactive: to claim HIS piece of turf before any of the other cats can challenge him, or start to bully him. So, he sprays, marking significant landmarks in the territory with his personal scent, saying in effect to the other cats, "This is mine."
Spraying (backing up to a wall or vertical surface and spraying a stream of urine backwards) is not an elimination-related behavior. It has nothing to do with the litter box, or with normal urination, even though it employs the same "medium." It's communication, and it's aimed at other cats. It's turf-marking.
(Marking, a behavior with similar causes, is when a cat deposits a small amount (even just a few drops) of concentrated urine on a horizontal surface (usually an elevated surface, like a kitchen counter), again to claim turf and leave his personal scent for other cats to smell.)
(If he's leaving large puddles of urine on the floor, THAT"S "outside the box" thinking. Different problem entirely. That IS elimination-related.)
In his previous short-term homes, the problems he had (hiding under the bed, not using litter box because of a bully) were caused or aggravated by the behavior of other cats. Even if the cats he's living with now are perfect ladies and gentlemen, he's still going to be inclined to think the worst of them, and take steps -- spraying -- to make his "mark" early and often.
This is a case in which I'd suggest talking to a veterinarian about putting Garfield on a short course of a behavior-modification medication. These drugs can help a cat feel less stressed, less unsure and less threatened by whatever it is in his environment that's bugging him. He'll feel calmer and less nervous as he gets to know, over time, that not all other cats are bullies or threats to him. Ask your veterinarian for advice on whether such a medication would be a good option for Garfield, and which specific drug to use.
Herding Cats at Home - August 2004 2
Herding Cats at Home - August 2004 3
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