Cat Urinating Nightmare - Please HELP!

I too thank you so much for all your efforts to help them.

Are the litter boxes only in the basement?

How many litter boxes do you have?

Great that they are better together. I think that is the key. We need them to both feel comfortable and confident around each other and to feel like they own the house jointly.

If you can't get them to eat near each other move the food back to where they can eat together (even if they can't see each other) and then gradually move the food closer (even with the black cat on the counter). Also during this you can get an old shirt and get their scent on the shirt and place it near where the other cat is eating. We want to associate the other cat (scent) with good things like food.

And try to play with each cat in different areas of the house especially where there might be spraying going on then after play feed treats or a meal. And ask your girlfriend to play and feed the black cat and for you the other cat. We need to keep building their confidence.

If they do start stalking, staring, etc try to distract with something they like (play or food). Everytime they are together without an incident is a positive. 

When you come in the house do you wipe your feet on the mats? Is there a chance that you could be bringing a scent from outside cats in on your feet? I wonder if some outside cats are going near the door.

You may want to purchase a black light and use it alongside the house (on the outside) just to see if anyone is spraying the house. Often that is a source of troubles. Do you know if you have cats in the neighborhood? Most neighborhoods do even if people don't see them so that is why a black light is helpful.

How are they walking around the house? Do they look confident, walking tall with tail straight up? Or lower?

Keep up the good work, I am encouraging by the progress report.  And thank you so much for working with and sticking by them. Love will help them greatly.

Just remembered something else you guys could try as this is so desperate. You could put the whole bunch in a cat hotel/boarding house for about 10 days.

In 2 cases I have heard about where people did this, the group closed ranks, with the new cat (who smells of the same home as they do!) in it. Now they're in a place where all bets are off, no pecking order, only the 'survival' of the group.

In the mean time you also get a chance to do some thorough cleaning. And to get some much needed peace and quiet, recharge your batteries. Cats are quite sensitive to humans being stressed out, so when they come back make sure the whole atmosphere is peaceful, also put a Feliway diffuser in every room.

It's drastic but it seems there is a good chance this will either solve the problems or at least lessen them. Hope this helps.

It takes a LONG time for cats to get used to change, THEY HATE IT! My cats took almost a year to get along, that is to tolerate each other, and only now seem to accept each other two years later. My neutered male, sprayed everywhere for a year. Thank goodness he is now more comfortable and has stopped. As for your cat urinating outside the box in a closed room, she doesn't like something about the box, either the litter itself or there is the smell of another cat in it. I would make sure she has a room to herself to escape to, free from other cats and their smells, and a high place to go when out, like a bed on top the fridge. If you find a place they are regularly using, go to a store that sells carpet or throw rugs and purchase lengths of clear plastic carpet protector runner, where ever you don't want them, turn it 'nub' side up and they will not walk there, it hurts their feet.  Do not let that other cat bully her, stop any stalking with a sharp no, and remove him to a closed room fro a ten minute time out if it persists. No longer or it is cruel. You have to find a good enzyme cleaner, it's the only nothing that really works, and get that black light, just be prepared to find a LOT of spots, it will show every spill you ever made too, especially in  the kitchen and bathroom, it shows organic matter. I just wanted to tell you that eventually peace will come again, it just takes time and a lot of patience. My heart goes out to you, you will be blessed for all your frustration and still loving them. All the luck!

Jeez, more advice that will hurt cats. Could not disagree more. Sorry, I'm not trying to be contrary, just that pain is such a demotivating way of helping cats, especially if they're already in a heap of trouble.

Litter boxes are only in the basement.  It's a one story house with a basement, and the main floor is all hardwood floor so putting a litter box up there results in litter pellets everywhere in a matter of a day.  We have 5 boxes in the basement spread out.  The younger male likes to sit on the basement steps and wait to attack (playfully I think) whoever tries to get out of the basement after using the box.

Also, interesting you questioned an outdoor cat because of the doormat urinating.  Yes there is an outdoor cat that comes around and we have been feeding it on the front porch.  I didn't think this was the issue at all due to all the other urinating but perhaps?

This weekend was a small setback.  After showing some progress as stated in my post above, they got into a huge fight the other night and woke us up in the middle of the night.  I broke it up and there was urine all over the floor from the fight.  Since this incident they have been stalking each other more and more puddles of urine have popped up around the house.  I'm really hoping this is just a temporary setback, it's things like this that make me think they will never be ok with each other.

Sometimes my cat walks around confidently and other times she walks low to the ground, same with the other cat.  This morning the most submissive and least dominant cat of the bunch (which I haven't mentioned yet) was attacking my cat in the basement after she used the litter box.  I don't where that came from suddenly. 

I guess I'll keep pushing forward.

Have you read my relply OsuEngineer about the boarding?

Yes I did read the suggestion and it's quite interesting.   I'm not sure if I could get the girlfriend to agree with this however, and 4 of the cars are hers.  This would be a last resort move, and I don't think I'm ready to give up just yet.

Is there any possible way to get some litter boxes in out of the way places on the first floor? I know the litter can be messy but I think this could really help. The basement has a choke point (the door) and if one is defending or guarding it it can cause problems. I think this could really help as they will then have access even when another cat is by the basement door.

I think the outside cat is causing some territorial insecurity. Any lack of confidence can cause those issues. The inside cats are saying "stay out" this is mine and putting their scent there. Would it be possible to feed the outside cat a bit away? Hopefully the outside cat will not spray by the door.  Do you know if he or she has? Has the outside cat been neutered or spayed? 

Ughhhhhh. Do you have any idea what happened to cause them to fight? Where did the fight happen?

The fact that they are walking around low and with their tail lower tells me they are not yet confident totally. Keep working on building their confidence. And ask your girlfriend to work with the black cat and you with the other cat(s). All the cats need to feel loved and accepted by all humans in the house. And watch when they are together and distract with lay or food. The more the two are together without incidents the more likely they will get along.

Was the black cat looking a little less confident this morning when the least aggressive cat attacked her? I do think this might be because the litter boxes are in the basement only. It makes for a tough situation. The only escape route is up those stairs. And it is tough to have cat shelving on basement stairs (though not impossible).

Please keep building their confidence (play, food, height and love). And try to distract them if you see any stalking etc. Also, please consider adding litter boxes to the first floor. I do think that will help. Finally, try to shift the feeding of the outside cat if at all possible. I think that is the reason you are seeing issues on the mat.

Please let me know if you have any questions. We need their confidence to be built up so that they have no desire to fight. The more secure and safe they feel the better behaved they will be. Hang in there. Anytime the cats are together without an incident it is a positive step in the right direction. 

-There really isn't an out of the way spot in this house.  We've had one on the main floor before and had it right in the main living room (bc there isn't a good place to put it) and it seemed to help a little however we had to sweep the entire house daily.

-I'm not sure if the outside cat is spraying, I suppose it is possible.  Sometimes when we feed it near the front door it hisses (although still acts friendly), because I think it smells our cats.

-I have no idea what caused them to fight but it was in a corner in the kitchen.  Since the fight my cat has definitely shown a decline in confidence, and perhaps that is why the least dominant cat is starting to attack her now as well?  I will continue to try to build her confidence back up, because they have been stalking each other a lot more since the fight.

What's strange is I've had them on the same table pretty much within a foot or two of each other a few times over the last couple weeks without a fight breaking out.  They even ate treats within a couple feet of each other a day before this fight.  I don't know why they keep taking steps back.

It just works that way when reasoning (human brain) is not involved. They are animals, about 1 click away from being wild again, they totally go on instinct, and instinct tells them to be very very cautious.

If there is any way you can get a couple of litter boxes on the first floor I do think it will help. The litter shouldn't get all over too much though ti does get around a bit. There are some things you can put around the litter box to collect some of the litter off their paws. You might want to post on the site what people thinks work best if you decide to go this route.

The outside cat doesn't have to be spraying. It could just be that the inside cats smell the outside cat and then mark to let the outside cat know it is their territory. I would play with them and give treats by the front door. Building their confidence there will help them feel more territorially confident. I know it isn't aesthetically attractive but have a cat tree (height) there could help as well.

Loss of confidence does equal more likely to be attacked sadly. My guess is the black cat was cornered and there was no escape route other than "through" the other cat. Hopefully the black cat can find other areas to hang out with more escape routes. You may want to consider adding cat trees, cat shelving etc. Places they can go high, have multiple escape routes and comfy places to hang out. There are some ways to make it blend in a bit with the home decor. The less likely they are cornered and can escape combined with added confidence the more likely they will not fight.

That is great they were eating together. That is a great step forward. Trust takes a little while to build so there are steps back at times. But the fact they are eating near each other tells me this can and most likely will work. I think what happened is a cat panicked by being cornered and had to fight it out. It sadly happens. But keep building confidence and associating each of them with good things (food, play) and if possible try to give them places to hang out with escape routes and I think that will help a lot.

Hang in there, I think you are making good progress. 

Update...

So the fighting and stalking between my cat and my girlfriends cat has definitely been drastically reduced, they are able to be closer than ever before and even able to lay on the same couch (although a few feet away from each other) at this point.  This is all great but, the urinating has not stopped.  It seems this issue was only one of many that is causing them to urinate.

My cat is still urinating on the doormats (although the outside cat has not been around for weeks and doormats have been washed).  She is also urinating on the tile in front of the fireplace nearly every single day.  Now the younger male cat is urinating there too, I presume because he can smell it.

I notice every single time my cat or my girlfriends cat uses the litter box, the younger male is ALWAYS waiting on the basement stairs to attack them (not sure if its playful or territorial) when they come back up.  Even the smaller least dominate cat has begun to do this as well and start attacking my cat and my girlfriends other cat.  My only guess is this is why they do not go to the basement.  Even if the stairs are clear they will walk up them keeping a low & scared posture.

I guess this is the next problem I need to solve, but I'm not sure how to go about it?  We are both pretty adamant about keeping the boxes in the basement.

I guess you answered your own question. By keeping the litter boxes in the basement you keep the cycle going with the peeing in the house.

I would first move the litter boxes to where all the cats have completely free access to them. Also have one for each cat minimum. Take the lids off the litter boxes and place them where whoever is in them can see who is coming. This way you have taken all the stress off of using the litter box.

If this solves the peeing problem than you can make the choice, have litter boxes all around the house (I do) or have the cats pee all over. If this doesn't solve the problem post back here so we can work this problem out. But stress over getting to/from and using the litter box will almost for certain create the kind of problem that you're having with your cats.

The litter box access hurdle is also not helping the blending of the group and working out the new pecking order I'm afraid.

We do have a box for each cat and none of them have lids. 

I guess it's a question of how to stop the other two cats from sitting on the steps waiting to attack. 

This sounds far -fetched but I thought about turning the laundry chute in the master closet into a mini staircase/ramp for the cats to have another entry/exit point from the basement.

I think one of the issues is the access to the boxes downstairs. If there is a way to get more entry/exit points it could be helpful.

The fact the cats are not walking confidently up and down the stairs is a major tell that that is one of the problems. 

I think you have a pretty good idea about the issue, now the question is how to solve it. The easiest would be multiple boxes on the first floor spread around with continued confidence building and thorough cleaning. But another entry/exit into the basement might be worth a try.

I still think there may have been some spraying and residual scent marking near that front door. I would black light all around there and thoroughly clean any marks you see. If that is not it then we can try to figure out what may be causing it.

I think you have a good handle on the situation. Hopefully we can figure out the solution.

It is great that they are fighting less and sitting on the same couch. Major progress. Well done. Keep building their confidence as it will help in other aspects as well. When they can walk up and down those stairs with their tails high I think the other cat will not be attacking them anymore. But it does take some time.

Hang in there and keep up the good work!!

As always we are here for you anytime to help. Good luck.