great cat - bad habit

I am in need of serious help! I have 5 cats. Pepperpot & Sugarly are 5 & 1/2, Excalibur is 4, Merlin is 3 and Striker in 9 mths. Pepperpot & Sugarly are female, and the other are male - all are fixed & declawed. We got Striker about 7 mths ago. There have been no changes in our household. For the past 2 months Sugarly has been urinating & defecating in a variety of places in the house. It is never the same place. It has been the couch, my bed, the carpet in at leat 3 different rooms. She still occasionally uses her box, but an accident happens at least every one to two days. I am at my wits end. The vet has not been the most helpful - just stated we can put her on medication (she is not an easy cat to get meds in). She is a very timid cat and knows that she is doing wrong as she hides after doing her business. Does anyone have any ideas out there? Help!!

Did the vet test her for urinary tract problems or for irritable bowel symptoms. One of my cats did the exact same thing and even behaved in the same way you are describing...it turned out that she was quite sick. Once she was treated with antibiotics for infection and prednisone for the bowel inflammation, the inappropriate pottying went away!

I would take her to a different vet for a second opinion....especially if no tests were run.

If she has a clean bill of health, it is likely that someone is beating her up when she's on the litter box. So, put another box in an out of the way place for her. Make sure the box is set up so that she can see the comings and goings of the other cats (so she can escape if necessary). You can sit it on the floor surrounded by low potted plants...tall enough to hide the box, but low enough that she can see over them while she is doing her thing. Do not put the box in a closet or other place where she can be easily ambushed. Feeling safe will be key!

Good luck!

The declawing may be a problem - is the litter hurting her paws?
Just a thought.......

It's not the litter. She has been declawed for 5 yrs and there has been no change in the litter we use. We are bringing back to the Vet this week (the good vet at the animal hospital). Hopefully he may be able to rule some things out.

I sure hope so!
Sandi told me about a product called nok-out and it works fantastic at removing odors.

she's going to get some tests done today. Hopefully we can find a medical cause & treat it. She is my most gentle cat.

ok. Sugarly is back from the vet. It is not medical. It is behavioral. They have put her on Amotryptolyne (SP?), which in human's is an anti depressant. I hope this works.