2 girls and a boy...Insanity

I recently took in an adult male, all fixed and with shots. He hung around the house outside for year, he just showed up one day and I started feeding him. My smaller teenaged female Mona had the most interaction with him (Kitty Boy) prior to us taking him in. Cybil on the other, the older female could have caredless about him and had almost no prior interaction with him but I know the girls could smell him on our clothes.

He spent recovery time on the inclosed pourch for a week and a half before we let him in. I thought that the girls would have been cool with it, but its been a nice tango with the Mona and KittyBoy. I did catch him tormenting Cybil and a immediatly smack his furry ass and told him NO!

Now Cybil retreats to the office where she perches on a trunk, which is fine. Here and there she will join us in the living room but she doesnt roam the house like she did. Cybil is also not eating right, I have them all eat together at the same time and she will eat for 2min and run off to the office.

I have to take Cybil and Kitty Boy to the basement so I can make sure they are useing the their bathroom like they are suppost to. I can clean the bax before I goto work and when I return there are only Mona droppings to be found. So, by that I can tell that a couple of felines are not useing the bathroom for some reason or another. When I take them down there, they use it...

I am concerened for Cybil who is acting the weirdest, will she come around or continue to retreat to the office?
KittyBoy is younger and male, does that intemidate her in someway?

Mona is holding her own, she plays that "Im up higher then you game" with Kitty Boy..But, when they seem like they are playing, Mona sounds like he is beating the crap out of her and he isnt really...will this pass?

I love my babies, I saved them all from the street. I do put the smack down when they get carried away or are caught on the kitchen counter. Kitty Boy also has this problem of eating the girls food, literally annoying them to the point that Cybil isnt not eating all of her meals. Over all he has only had a couple of accidents, but he is not going unless I take him to the litter pans and Cybil had an accident in the hallway. So I have been taking her down as well...

Sounds to me that you need more litter boxes.The rule of thumb here is # of boxes plus 1.Meaning you have three cats, you should have atleat 3 boxes, but 4 is better.
You may have to let Cybil eat in another room away for the ofther two until she eats all she wants.Also, you may need to re-introduce them to one another

You smacked him? You mean figuratively, I hope?

Hitting your cat makes you the enemy and the problem. That won't teach him anything except you are the one that brings pain.

As long as your cats are all fixed and THAT isn't the reason they are ganging up on each other, then sometimes you have to just let them duke it out and decide who's boss amongst themselves. As long as there is no blood shed they should be fine.

I smack them on the hind-end (not violently, enough to show them that what they did was wrong and when they do right they are rewarded) when they are out of line, KittyBoy and I reconciled an he was back on my lap an hour or so later.

I have rewarded him when he does use the litter boxes and shown him much affection for his compliance, but I still have to escourt him and Cybil to the boxes. I can not allow him to continue taking a dump by the front door when he knows where the boxes are and that it is wrong to take a dump anywhere else other then the litter boxes. The next step is to lock him in the basement with the boxes, he would also be taking his meals down there until he learnes to use the litter boxes like he is suppost to.

The boxing matches are beging to subside now, hopefully harmony and normalism will be returning soon. I did take cybil to the vet and she had a slight fever, but she may also have some mild anxiety. Hopefully I will not have to put her on kitty-paxil. Couple more weeks and we will see for sure...Mona, oddly enough, has become a little more affectionate. Taking naps on me even while KittyBoy is napping near me, competing for affection it seems...even though they are all treated equally and loved termendously.

Bottom line here you DO NOT hit cats. You don't tap them, smack them, nothing. They will fear you and you will cause more problems than you know what to do with. I take great offense with your line

"I love my babies, I saved them all from the street. I do put the smack down when they get carried away or are caught on the kitchen counter."

You are doing the wrong thing with these cats if you are hitting them at all. I implore you to stop. This could very well be why you have poop on the floor and not in a litter pan.

There is a sticky thread in behavior about pooping issues, I suggest you read it. I also strongly suggest you take the cat that is pooping on the floor to the vet to be checked out.

Your cat that hides in the room, feed her in the room she is hiding in. Do not expect her to bend to your rules and your conditions. She is clearly telling you that she is uncomfortable in a room with so many cats. If she doesn't eat, you will have a health issue on your hand that could be very expensive.

Read Wendy Christensen's book Outwitting Cats or Pamela Johnson Bennett's Think Like a Cat.

I have to agree with Hissy, your methods will not work. No cat will behave better from the use of corporal punishment....it only will make things worse.

Since you've been hitting your cats, expect any changes you desire to take 3 times as long now that they don't trust you. Cats never forget, but they may forgive.

Be kind and understanding, it will pay off 100 fold over hitting.

You have made it sound as though I am abusive to my Kitties, which I am not at all. KittyBoy does not fear me, avoid me at all or use the bathroom on the furniture or anywhere else other then the litterbox, he has been doing very well. I only had to tap his behind a couple times to show him, to teach him, I have had no more incidents either.

I also need to point out that I am a member of PETA, so animal abuse of any kind is not tolerated and I am not capable of such a thing. As some of you read this, you probly otherwise because I have tapped their behinds a couple of times. But, what little disciplin I have used, has worked and with no backlash or regrets. I think its a matter of how it is used and the manner which it is used in...

Cybil, I have been very easy with. She is older, so I try to be extra special to her and give her meals where she is the most comfortable. She is coming around very well, has been lap sitting and spending more time in the living room with the rest of us. Her tolerance for KittyBoy gets better daily.

Mona, I have learned is the big instigater, not KittyBoy. She has put her paw firmly in KittyBoys behind, I watched her ambush KittyBoy and give him a big smack down. I couldnt believe my eyes. Mona weights almost half of KittyBoys weight, which is 12.5pounds, she iaround 7 or 8.5...just a lil' Kitty.

As for being kind, I am extremely kind to my felines. They know how much I love them, they are spoiled rotten...

All my felines have been to the Vet and are all very healthy. The pooping incident was KittyBoy who was acustomed to his litter box that was on the pourch during his recovery. He came in, the door gets shut of course and he gets as close to where the litter box was as he could, which just happened to be in front of the door. I also rewarded KittyBoy when he used the litter Box with treats and alot of affection on his way back from useing the litterbox....Which strongly over powered the 2 little Tap/Taps he received.

Cybil had stress issues, she did not get any little tap/taps..I just started taking here down to use the litter box. She only had one incident and I have not had anymore from her since. She also had a slight fever which the Vet gave her something to help with that.

If I did not show KittyBoy what was right and what was wrong, I dont think he would have learned. Unlike Mona, who took to the litter boxes immediatly after she came in. But, I can also imagine the anxiety he must have had, so I reinforced his good deeds with rewards. When he does bad things, I let him know they are bad and if Cats have a good memory then he will always know to use the litter boxes, because I have shown him that its a goodthing...

DO NOT HIT CATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It will give them mental problems and will NOT work. Cats do not understand this method of discipline and it will only make them fear you. I dont understand this philoshophy of violence to cure problems in our society. It isnt right to strike a child or a an animal for ANY reason.

I always tapped my cats on the behind VERY LIGHTLY when they did something worng. But they never had any behavioral problems. Ever. I can see why some peopl are saying to not to hit them, that it causes problems. but some things work for some, and for other cats, they cannot be smacked or tapped. I think some cats learn not to do things when you tap them and say no. It worked for me, and obviously worked for Katillac.