Please HELP me

Hi,

Please someone help me before I have a breakdown. I have two cats brother and sister, they are 5 in August. Since I have had them I have had behavioral problems that don't seem to go away. To cut a really really long story short, I have had to re home one with my parents, but I am having problems with that now too. I would also like to add we have had cats in our homes all our lives and have never experienced these issues and cannot resolve them no matter what we do. But we are at a point now where either they behave or they are going to have to given to a cattery for re homing. Its having a really negative effect on my health, I am not exaggerating I am at a point of not being able to cope with them.

The tom is with my parents and they have him in a routine that suits them. In fact I think if they could buy him a throne and a crown they would. He gets up at 7am eats, goes out (wont use the tray in the day) comes in and sleeps till midday when he eats again and then has an afternoon nap, gets up at 5pm for his tea and has a little stroll, comes back in has his supper and goes out until 10pm. He has a little play in the morning and cuddles and pets throughout the day as and when he wants attention. The BIGGEST problem is that when my parents go to bed (they are 77years old), they have to have the house alarm on for security reasons so King Edward is put to bed in the kitchen or conservatory. Now this is where the issue is: They have to cover every item of furniture or worktop with bubble wrap or cardboard as he refuses to sleep in the basket that he sleeps in all day. The cat litter tray is (has to be) cleaned every day, even though he defecates and urinates in the garden in the day he also defecates at night time too. We are talking three to four stools a day!! Now he doesn't cover his presents choosing to stand in them instead an walking it over the furniture on the walls, doors and windows. As you can imagine this isn't what you want to be doing every single morning, before you can make breakfast or at all. I have suggested not giving him the litter box but they are reluctant to do that incase he decides to use furniture as a toilet instead.

How do we stop him from going at night, climbing on the furniture, walking it everywhere?

Cat I kept, was a very well trained cat, in fact I thought it was mute as she never meowed, boy was I wrong!! Now all she does is cry, LOUDLY ALL DAY AND ALL NIGHT!! She cries in the house she cries out the house, she wont come in at night so I have to get up and get her in at 3am because she cries and cries disturbing neighbours. She has her own room but sleeps on top of my Actifry or Microwave which isn't hygienic. Need her to stop and why is she crying like this now?

Also summer is coming and I am dreading it, last year she brought a toad in the garden, killed a racing pigeon, and the garden is constantly scattered with dead gifts, to a point where I wont go out and enjoy the garden because I don't know what I am going to be greeted with and I wont let my children out there as birds and wildlife, especially dead ones, carry many many diseases. She has a collar with seven bells on, sounds like a mini reindeer but can climb to the top of a 30/40 foot tree in seconds.

She has also taken to attacking my 4yr old daughter to the point where she wont walk past her in case she gets hurt.

Any advice on all of these issues would be greatly appreciated

You mention King Edward is a tom. I take that to mean that he is an intact (unneutered) male. The first step would be to have him fixed. The treading poop around at night may well be linked to marking territory...especially as it sounds like it's round the perimeter of the room.

Cat sounds like she's on heat. Again, spaying is the first step. The catawauling won't stop until she is spayed.

With both cats it sounds like a case of hormonal driven behaviour. They (and you) will be happier and healthier after getting fixed. Nothing else will help a huge amount until that is done.

Sorry I should of mentioned they are both already done, have been since I homed them.

How long ago did you separate the cats? Her crying may very well be for her brother.

What exactly is the male cat tracking - feces or litter? His behavior as you describe it sounds pretty normal. Have you tried a different litter to see whether he buries his feces when the litter is different? An abrupt switch isn't recommendable, but a second box with a different litter, e.g., non-clumping if you're using clumping, very fine if you're using coarse, could be temporarily added as a test.

They have been separated for nearly 9 months. He bullied her, wouldn't let her eat, come in the garden if he was there he would attack her, she wasn't allowed to sleep in the same room as him or if she found a comfortable spot he would wait until she moved then make it his spot.

It's faeces that he is walking in, he never covers it, he stratches around it but doesn't cover it, same when he does it in the garden. He prefers the scratch around whilst standing in it method, which is fine if he didn't then didn't leave a trail of it. Is there a way to stop him going at night? We have tried bigger boxes, lid on, lid off, different litter, putting the box outside by the door. He refuses to use it at all when its outside though. And is happy enough with any litter as far as I can tell because he still uses it?
Is it normal for them to go that often?
By the way when he was with me, I never used a litter tray in the house once they were able to go outside they used it outside or the garden. I had a toddler that liked to pick up the cat lit so had to remove it from the house. He never went the toilet at night then

C cills77 Sorry. That wasn't clear in your OP. Ignore my previous post

jcat 's suggestion about the litter is a good one.

With Cat, have you tried playing with her using Da Bird style toys? It might help to drain some of her energy in a non lethal way.

Unfortunately, with established hunters,it's very difficult to stop them hunting when outside. The only surefire way to stop it is to either have her as an indoor only cat or to build a fully enclosed (top and sides) catio for her so she can't get to her prey.

It sounds as though she has started to treat your 4 year old as big prey/toy. If you're able to get your little one to make slow,calm confident movements around Cat it may help. I know that may be nigh on impossible with a little one, but it's all I can think of. You could try teaching her to play with Cat with a toy like I mentioned above. That might redirect Cat's prey drive to a suitable target.

Hope things get better soon.

My cat is 14 years old and has NEVER covered his feces, some cats don't. It sounds like his litter box isn't getting cleaned out enough if he is walking in what is in there. The box should be scooped out at LEAST once a day, twice is better. I keep a small box of baggies nearby to make it easier. I would bet your female is missing her brother, but 9 months is too long to be crying. She may just be lonely now. Good luck, I pray that you find a solution to your problems, please keep us up to date!

Cat litter trays do need to be cleaned out often - I do mine twice a day. If you really don't want her to go at night then work out how long it is after feeding that she goes - most cats are pretty regular on this if they are healthy, and adjust feeding times accordingly.

My dad cleans the litter box every day, he only uses it to urinate during the day, and faeces in the garden, then at night he goes the toilet in the tray, which is fine, if he didn't stand in it and wipe it around the everything he comes into contact with. So it's either figure out how to stop him standing in it or stop him using it at night. His last meal is 7pm but he then goes out (so may find scraps?) then at some point between putting him to bed around 10pm and morning he is going the toilet. I very rarely fed them after tea time, he is a very very greedy man too, constantly wanting food and he can't tolerate biscuits so for his weight it's 4 pouches a day? We have never had a male before or the problems we are encountering now so at a loss.

Would it be possible to keep him in from 7pm? That way he might defecate before your parents go to bed,and so he can be left with a clean tray overnight.

Would an electric litterbox help? Has a human tried to "teach" him how to cover his poo? Sounds a little crazy but put a paw over his and literally show him how it's done. I did that with mine and he caught on--but he was a kitten, and had never used a litterbox before, so maybe he enjoyed being taught lol.
How deep is the litter in the box? Enough for him to actually scratch at without hitting the bottom?

Yikes. I really woukdnt appreciate a cat leaving poo all over either. It's a wonder he doesn't clean his paw sooner--most cats detest stuff clinging to their paws.

The other qurstion is--does the poo stink bad? If I feed my cat cheap canned (this is extremely rare) he will not cover his poo either--I think I just stinks too much.

Has the male cat been seen by a vet? Not sure if I'm alone here, but having 3-4 bowel movements a day doesn't seem normal to me for a healthy adult cat.     Are they solid, soft, or loose (diarrhea)? Also, "constantly wanting food" would raise a red flag for me as well if he's getting plenty already. 

Just my two cents. It may or may not be contributing to the problem, but it was something that stuck out at me as I read through this thread.

Can't say it's smells all that pleasant, but not sure if it's foul?
Yes it's definitley deep enough for him to cover, he has got arthritis in one leg from an injury when he was with his previous owner.
Yes so it's not a nice thing to be greeted with and having to clean every morning before you can start your day.
He has issues with certain food, doesn't tend to stay in his stomach for too long, so we tend to stick with the one he can eat. My mum did try him on different brands some cheaper some more expensive, don't think she believed me, but now she does [emoji]128586[/emoji].
He's a nightmare for eating what he's caught too.
I will suggest everything everyone has very kindly mentioned. I'm not sure if he actually waits for 'privacy' to go the toilet. My parents are at their wits end with him, said if he doesn't settle at night time soon then I will have to look for another home for him. He can't come back here because of the situation with his sister.

What do electric cat litter trays do exactly? They are pretty expensive to buy and maintain, so would need to really know the pros and cons and if it would eliminate the problem

goholistic no problem for adding to the thread. I think it's unusual too. He sees the vet regularly, is wormed and flea treatment on time. I buy the worming cream, with him eating his catch I make sure he is treated for everything.

I mentioned to the vet several times about his greedy ways, I cointed once how long it took him to empty his bowl...10seconds!!! Then pushed the other cat out of her bowl and ate hers too. He once at a frozen steak and chicken breast (through the wrapper) that I had out for next day's tea. He even stole lettuce from my little ones sandwich as she went to take a bite.
Vet said it will be because he was brought up with 14 other cats and had to fight for his food and that he's just greedy. I didn't know he was going as often as he does, but since he was homed with my parents I get a full itinerary, occasionally they are loose but majority of the time they are normal stools for a cat

Just a suggestion, but maybe a dietary switch could help solve the poop problem. Cats fed a raw diet tend to have smaller and drier poop that doesn't stink as badly and is less likely to be stepped in and tracked around. I've been feeding mine raw since they were 4 months and the litter box has been much more manageable. Once they adjusted, it was like night and day. I did notice that back when they ate regular cat food, they seemed really repulsed by their own smell. The tom would just poop and run away, leaving his sister to furiously cover it up and cry at me to clean the box. Now they both use the same box and cover normally. 

Feeding raw might also encourage them to actually consume what they catch instead of leaving it to rot in your garden. Might be worth a shot.