- Joined
- Jul 30, 2016
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Hi Everyone,
Three years ago, we adopted an 8 year old alpha male cat (Rocky). A year after that, we adopted a 10 year old female cat (River) who is very timid and afraid. Both cats were declawed. We were living in a small apartment at the time, and River spent almost all of her time hiding while Rocky would hiss and attack her whenever she came out. River developed some bad habits (peeing on clothes, spraying, peeing in the bathroom next to the litter box). Since then, we have moved into a much larger two story house. River is much more social, but Rocky still attacks her regularly, especially if we are giving her attention instead of him. Rocky's aggressive behavior seems very unpredictable at times, because they can be asleep next to each other one moment and he can be chasing her into a closet the next while she lets out a terrified growl. River appears to have a look of constant fear in her eyes and she is often looking to see what Rocky is doing. River also continues to pee next to the litter box. We set up one litter box on each floor to try to give them each their own, but it didn't work. Rocky seems to want to dominate both litter boxes. I've seen him use one and then immediately go downstairs and use the other one.
As an experiment, we moved River to the unfinished part of the basement (the basement has two parts: a finished part and an unfinished part) and kept the door shut so Rocky couldn't get in. I swapped the upstairs and downstairs litter boxes. River peed next to the litter box again, so I moved that litter box out and replaced it with a brand new, unused one. Since that time, River has used the litter box correctly each time. This finding suggests to me that Rocky "claimed" the existing litter boxes so River didn't want to step into his territory. There is not a medical problem or a lack of knowledge on how to use a litter box- it's just a social dominance issue that caused her litter box problem. Is that what it sounds like to you?
River seems to be doing well in the basement because now Rocky isn't allowed in there anymore. Rocky will wait outside the basement door indefinitely while I'm in there, though. When I open the door, he tries to scurry in as quickly as he can. Does he miss River, or does he want to dominate that territory?
I'm also concerned because it feels like River is locked in a smaller space (she previously explored about 1000 square feet of the house, but the unfinished basement is probably only 400 square feet). She also has less opportunities to seek out human interaction because we aren't down there as much. I just really can't have her peeing upstairs because I have really nice hardwood floors. We just tiled the bathroom because she destroyed the hardwood floor there, and the floorboards and subfloor were completely soaked with urine. I don't want to spend thousands of dollars replacing the floor if she starts peeing somewhere else.
One thing I am considering doing is buying a really tall pet gate (Rocky is extremely athletic) to block the stairs to the basement. That way, I can keep them separated but River will also be able to explore the finished part of the basement, which essentially doubles the square footage of her living space and gives her more access to social interaction (I spend a lot of time in that part of the house). I am kind of worried about that because the finished part of the basement is carpeted and I don't want her to pee on that. However, if she is separated from Rocky via gate, that shouldn't be a problem, right? If her peeing problem is a social dominance issue, then hopefully she'll have no need to pee anywhere but her litter box.
Overall, do you think my assessment of this situation and my ideas for solutions make sense? Is there any way to reintegrate her to the upstairs or do you think I should keep them separated? I want her to live the best life possible without peeing on the floors, so I really want to find the best way to do that.
Thanks so much!
Three years ago, we adopted an 8 year old alpha male cat (Rocky). A year after that, we adopted a 10 year old female cat (River) who is very timid and afraid. Both cats were declawed. We were living in a small apartment at the time, and River spent almost all of her time hiding while Rocky would hiss and attack her whenever she came out. River developed some bad habits (peeing on clothes, spraying, peeing in the bathroom next to the litter box). Since then, we have moved into a much larger two story house. River is much more social, but Rocky still attacks her regularly, especially if we are giving her attention instead of him. Rocky's aggressive behavior seems very unpredictable at times, because they can be asleep next to each other one moment and he can be chasing her into a closet the next while she lets out a terrified growl. River appears to have a look of constant fear in her eyes and she is often looking to see what Rocky is doing. River also continues to pee next to the litter box. We set up one litter box on each floor to try to give them each their own, but it didn't work. Rocky seems to want to dominate both litter boxes. I've seen him use one and then immediately go downstairs and use the other one.
As an experiment, we moved River to the unfinished part of the basement (the basement has two parts: a finished part and an unfinished part) and kept the door shut so Rocky couldn't get in. I swapped the upstairs and downstairs litter boxes. River peed next to the litter box again, so I moved that litter box out and replaced it with a brand new, unused one. Since that time, River has used the litter box correctly each time. This finding suggests to me that Rocky "claimed" the existing litter boxes so River didn't want to step into his territory. There is not a medical problem or a lack of knowledge on how to use a litter box- it's just a social dominance issue that caused her litter box problem. Is that what it sounds like to you?
River seems to be doing well in the basement because now Rocky isn't allowed in there anymore. Rocky will wait outside the basement door indefinitely while I'm in there, though. When I open the door, he tries to scurry in as quickly as he can. Does he miss River, or does he want to dominate that territory?
I'm also concerned because it feels like River is locked in a smaller space (she previously explored about 1000 square feet of the house, but the unfinished basement is probably only 400 square feet). She also has less opportunities to seek out human interaction because we aren't down there as much. I just really can't have her peeing upstairs because I have really nice hardwood floors. We just tiled the bathroom because she destroyed the hardwood floor there, and the floorboards and subfloor were completely soaked with urine. I don't want to spend thousands of dollars replacing the floor if she starts peeing somewhere else.
One thing I am considering doing is buying a really tall pet gate (Rocky is extremely athletic) to block the stairs to the basement. That way, I can keep them separated but River will also be able to explore the finished part of the basement, which essentially doubles the square footage of her living space and gives her more access to social interaction (I spend a lot of time in that part of the house). I am kind of worried about that because the finished part of the basement is carpeted and I don't want her to pee on that. However, if she is separated from Rocky via gate, that shouldn't be a problem, right? If her peeing problem is a social dominance issue, then hopefully she'll have no need to pee anywhere but her litter box.
Overall, do you think my assessment of this situation and my ideas for solutions make sense? Is there any way to reintegrate her to the upstairs or do you think I should keep them separated? I want her to live the best life possible without peeing on the floors, so I really want to find the best way to do that.
Thanks so much!
