Pee-poo/new pet question not thoroughly covered in sticky

When we first brought our new four month old kitten home, it was like we died and went to new-kitty heaven. Right out of the carrier he was running around the house playing like he had lived here his whole life (we were expecting him to hide for the first 24 hours like the others did). Since he was so obviously comfortable, we went against his breeder's wishes and my better judgement and forewent the 1-2 wks acclimation period in isolation.

However, a little less than a week in, we noticed that he had become so nervous around his new 2 year old kitty sister (she was aggressive toward him at first, but by then was more curious and wanting to play), that he had become too nervous to use the potty because she would follow him there and they'd have a stare-down growling match while he was trying to go.

It seemed like he started to hold it until we got home and then would squat on the sofa near us (poo and pee) as soon as we got home. We immediately decided to regress, set him up his own litter box & food trays in the bedroom, and began isolating him there during the day as of today. But... what did he do as soon as we got home? You guessed it.

Perhaps it's too soon to know if it will work, and perhaps when he is fixed it will help. Until then I guess I'm just looking for a little support during this frustrating time... especially since I'm afraid I may have made a HUGE mistake in being so confident that he would acclimate so easily.

Maybe tomorrow you could leave him out and then isolate him with his litter box when you get home until he uses his box? Maybe that is the time he has to go. Mine usually go at the same time like clock work, but they are older.

I was going to say to continue isolating him again and then when you get home come and sit with him in the room until he goes if he hadn't already and then let him out maybe with close supervision.

Definately withough a doubt neuter him. At 4 months he is close to sexual maturity and could start spraying any day. Then you will have a whole new set of problems, you will be unhappy and so will he and your house will smell awful soaked with pee. And that problem isn't always simple to break. No reason at all to have even waited this long to do it. Definately look into that. If you need some help finding low cost clinics we can probably help. Just tell us where you live!

Well, the breeder said that her vet didn't recommend neuter until the cat is at least four pounds, and as of a week and a half ago he was only 3.5. I already have an email in to our vet asking about an appointment, that's not an issue. In fact, we're planning to do it Friday.

Anyway he's isolated again today and we'll likely keep it that way for a while. Things look promising early, as he used the potty this morning even with his sister sitting right in front of him eyeballing him. We had an interesting evening last night, too... yesterday's isolation seems to have made him a bit more bold. We'll take it slow, though, of course. I'm hoping he'll be a little more laid back towards her once he's had his little boy operation.

Ugh, I can really relate to what you're going through. We've had a lot of problems with our 3yo Maine coon in this area. His problem was a little different than your kitty's, but I know how you feel! I would suggest full isolation, keeping him wherever his litter box is for a few days, if not longer, and not letting him out at all until he starts to go in the right place consistently. Keep him away from the other cats, and buy some Natures Miracle to clean up the places he's already gone potty outside of his box. NM is one of the few cleaners that will completely get rid of a smell... the other stuff will take care of it so that WE can't smell it, but not enough so that THEY can't smell it... and if they can smell it, it will only encourage them to continue going there. Do other cats use his litter box? Our MC used to refuse to use a litter box twice, whether it was him who used it the first time or another cat. So we got him a much bigger litter box (a 33 x 19 inch tupperware container) and he's perfectly happy with it. I still have to clean it out twice each day, but at least he's using it!

Hope this helps.