weeing and pooing

Hi I am new to the web site but having had a look at the sound advice coming from cat owners everywhere I am hoping someone can help. I have four cats (it's a long story) Amber is five this year. The others are all four. She has never liked the others and I think she is the one who has started weeing and pooing in the house. It was one room in particular but I now shut them out of the room at night. This morning there was a poo in her bed in the kitchen... I put a litter tray in the kitchen this pm and she is a poo and wee in it straight away. So is it her, I am not sure, is she marking what she "owns"? I am at a loss can anyone help me

When a cat begins to eliminate outside of the litter box, it is its way of telling its owner that something is wrong.

You need to determine whether the problem is physical, or behavioral, or both. This means that you must bring Amber to the vet as soon as possible, so that the vet can pinpoint any physical issues that Amber is having. The most common physical reason for urinating outside of the litter box is a urinary tract infection, which is treated with medication. Basically, the cat experiences pain when she urinates, and associates the pain with the litter box rather than the infection itself, and as a result she seeks to avoid using the "painful" litter box. By any chance have you detected blood in the urine or stool? That would be clear evidence of a UTI.

There are many possible behavioral reasons for Ambers behavior, too. She might be stressed. You have four cats; how many litter boxes do you have? The general rule is one box per cat, plus one extra. So, ideally you would have five boxes. Have you changed the litter lately? Have you changed the location of any of the boxes? What are you feeding Amber? Has that changed lately? Are you using Feliway diffusers or the spray, or Rescue Remedy to help calm her?

If you provide forum members with as much detail as possible (including answering these questions), we might be able to zero in on the likely cause(s). And I would imagine that other members who are more knowledgeable than I am about this issue will be along soon with their thoughts. I should also point out that there is an excellent sticky entitled "Inappropriate Peeing Problems Answered" in this forum (third from the top of the list). But I want to emphasize that none of this is a substitute for getting Amber to the vet ASAP. If it's a physical issue it is not going to clear up on its own and UTIs can be quite serious if left untreated for too long.

Thanks for the information Robert. The cats have never had a littler tray in their adult life as they have cat flaps to get in and out. I put a litter tray in the kitchen to see if that would draw her in and Amber went straight to it. She seems to be using it now regularly (not the intention but when the weather gets better I will try and ween her off it) She has not done anything naughty since so I guess that she either does not want to go outside for a reason or she wants to remain in the house to keep territory. I thought that there may be another non family cat giving her hassle but I have not seen anything. She is very lazy and maybe just trying her luck with us. They have infra red collars to keep other cats out and at there is a slight delay sometimes when they go to come in for the door to unlock I wonder if that stresses her and puts her off. I have switched the door lock off for the time being.
There has been no change in food etc and she seems happy in herself infact she is talking alot more recently and is very attention seeking with my husband. I will keep an eye on her (hard not to as she in my face as soon as I get in) and see if she calms down. They have a good diet of wet food and dry. I find that the Royal Canin is the most popular with all of them, infact the Maine Coon food is loved by them all (despite the fact that only two are half breeds and she is a tortoiseshell). She did used to throw up her food alot and although she does so something the Royal Canin is definately better for her. Fingers crossed and thanks again for the advice.