Cat Peeing And Pooping Everywhere

[xkitteh]

Hello everyone!
I recently joined here I want to ask you for your help and experience with cats rejecting to use the litter box. My 7 year old rescue cat which I have adopted when she was around 3, I had no problems with her using the litter box until.. recently. She is peeing and pooping everywhere.. especially on my blanket, she loves doing that! When I got her I had another cat which passed away but now I have also adopted 2 other rescue kitties which are now around 2 and ever since they're here she started acting differently. I put her in my room with a separate litter box thinking maybe she doesn't like them or something but she is still not using it and pooping on me while I am sleeping LOL... I am tired of washing my blanket, your help will be appreciated.

 

[calicosrspecial]

Hi,

I am sorry to hear this.

SO she started not using the litter box when the other cats came into the house? Do the other cats bully her? Fight with her? How does she walk around? Tail low or tail high, straight up? Does she walk tall or low to the ground? Does she avoid places? Does she go high in teh world (up on cat trees or up on other things) or does she hide under beds?

Did you go through the formal introduction process slowly introducing them through scent first, then sight etc?

It is very important you thoroughly clean the items and area where a cat is going. Here is a link that is helpful: http://www.thecatsite.com/a/how-to-remove-cat-urine

Cats stop using the litter box for two reasons typically. Medical (pain, infection, etc) and Behavioral (territorial insecurity, stress, etc).

I like to rule out medical first so I always get the cat checked out at the vet first.

If the vet visit turns out fine I then look for behavioral causes. It could be outside ferals causing territorial insecurity. It could be territorial insecurity caused by cats coming in and not being properly introduced. It could be general stress. It could be a moved litter box, a different type of litter. A number of things. So we try to rule things out and work on things.

Cats instinct is to cover their scent. When they don't and go outside of a litter box they are saying "this is mine, stay away, I own this". They don't want to do this but they are so insecure they feel they have to to "own" that territory.

So I start working on building confidence. A confident cat will be less territorial insecure. I build confidence through Play, Food, Height, and Love. So I step up play with the cat beginning in the area the cat is going outside of the litter box and then depending on the situation I expand play into other areas of the house. Really good play sessions then I feed either treats or a meal after every play session. This replicates the Hunt, Capture, Kill, Eat instinct of the wild and builds a lot of confidence. Also, make sure the cat has a cat tree to go up on, scratching posts to get her scent on, warm and comfy bedding to feel secure in and to get their scent on. The more territory a cat "owns" with their scent the more confident and territorially secure they will feel. Finally, be as calm and confident around the cat as possible. Cats take on our emotions sop the more calm and confident we are the more they are. Never yell at a cat or punish a cat as it only makes it worse (not saying you do that). Also, let the cat know they are loved. Give treats and good food, give eye kisses, if you can safely get the cat to purr that is great but only if you are not at risk of being hurt in anyway. We just want the cat to feel safe, secure, loved and confident. And we want every interaction among other humans and cats and animals in the house as positive as possible.

I am trying to cover a lot of possibilities as I am not exactly sure of the situation. But the key is to get the cat checked by a Vet first then build their confidence through Play, Food, Height and Love. And to make every encounter as positive as possible.

Please let me know more information on the situation and I will help in any way possible. A cat's instinct is to use a litter box and cover so we have that in our favor. We'll figure this out. Feel free to contact me any time with any information about the situation.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

C calicosrspecial has covered the ground that I would have gone over with you. It does sound very much as if your Problem Kitty is having a territorial crisis with the coming of the two new cats.

If there is no physical cause for this, then try some of the suggestions in the links below for re-introducing the three cats slowly and with great patience so that Problem Kitty feels secure and isn't marking everything she sees!

How To Successfully Introduce Cats: The Ultimate Guide
Introducing Cats To Cats
Six Surefire Strategies To Reduce Stress In Cats (and I'm betting that this is stress-related)

 

[xkitteh]

Hi,

I am sorry to hear this.

SO she started not using the litter box when the other cats came into the house? Do the other cats bully her? Fight with her? How does she walk around? Tail low or tail high, straight up? Does she walk tall or low to the ground? Does she avoid places? Does she go high in teh world (up on cat trees or up on other things) or does she hide under beds?

Did you go through the formal introduction process slowly introducing them through scent first, then sight etc?

It is very important you thoroughly clean the items and area where a cat is going. Here is a link that is helpful: http://www.thecatsite.com/a/how-to-remove-cat-urine

Cats stop using the litter box for two reasons typically. Medical (pain, infection, etc) and Behavioral (territorial insecurity, stress, etc).

I like to rule out medical first so I always get the cat checked out at the vet first.

If the vet visit turns out fine I then look for behavioral causes. It could be outside ferals causing territorial insecurity. It could be territorial insecurity caused by cats coming in and not being properly introduced. It could be general stress. It could be a moved litter box, a different type of litter. A number of things. So we try to rule things out and work on things.

Cats instinct is to cover their scent. When they don't and go outside of a litter box they are saying "this is mine, stay away, I own this". They don't want to do this but they are so insecure they feel they have to to "own" that territory.

So I start working on building confidence. A confident cat will be less territorial insecure. I build confidence through Play, Food, Height, and Love. So I step up play with the cat beginning in the area the cat is going outside of the litter box and then depending on the situation I expand play into other areas of the house. Really good play sessions then I feed either treats or a meal after every play session. This replicates the Hunt, Capture, Kill, Eat instinct of the wild and builds a lot of confidence. Also, make sure the cat has a cat tree to go up on, scratching posts to get her scent on, warm and comfy bedding to feel secure in and to get their scent on. The more territory a cat "owns" with their scent the more confident and territorially secure they will feel. Finally, be as calm and confident around the cat as possible. Cats take on our emotions sop the more calm and confident we are the more they are. Never yell at a cat or punish a cat as it only makes it worse (not saying you do that). Also, let the cat know they are loved. Give treats and good food, give eye kisses, if you can safely get the cat to purr that is great but only if you are not at risk of being hurt in anyway. We just want the cat to feel safe, secure, loved and confident. And we want every interaction among other humans and cats and animals in the house as positive as possible.

I am trying to cover a lot of possibilities as I am not exactly sure of the situation. But the key is to get the cat checked by a Vet first then build their confidence through Play, Food, Height and Love. And to make every encounter as positive as possible.

Please let me know more information on the situation and I will help in any way possible. A cat's instinct is to use a litter box and cover so we have that in our favor. We'll figure this out. Feel free to contact me any time with any information about the situation.

Thank you for replying! We did introduce them first by scent (one of them was around a month old and the other around 2 months) we adopted them like 6 months apart but she gave the same reaction each time = instant walk away. She didn't like them from the beginning. She doesn't walk low to the ground, she walks like she always did, like a normal cat.
She doesn't like the other two cats at all, she hisses at them constantly, even when she sees them sleeping which is why she wants to stay in my room with the door shut and I don't let the other cats come in to not stress her and as I have mentioned, I also put a litter box in my room so she doesn't have to share it with them but she still prefers my blanket.. I try my best to make her happy, I give her tons of love/petting (constantly whenever I am seated like watching TV, studying or on the computer) I never even yelled at her when she pooped and peed on places she shouldn't, she is usually a calm cat, she has never bitten or scratched me and she follows me all around wherever I go so, I guess she knows I love her.. but I don't understand this behavior of hers. Now that I remember, she also used to pee/poop on the bathroom floor before the new kitties, but did that like 3-4 times. I guess she is spoiled?? I took her to the vet and everything seems to be okay, she doesn't have a problem other than one of her kidneys being shrunk but she had that before I rescued her because she was in a horrible condition, no water supply, her uterus and ovaries were super infected, so we had to remove them all, I am beginning to wonder if we are missing anything. This is really stressing

 

[xkitteh]

C calicosrspecial has covered the ground that I would have gone over with you. It does sound very much as if your Problem Kitty is having a territorial crisis with the coming of the two new cats.

If there is no physical cause for this, then try some of the suggestions in the links below for re-introducing the three cats slowly and with great patience so that Problem Kitty feels secure and isn't marking everything she sees!

How To Successfully Introduce Cats: The Ultimate Guide
Introducing Cats To Cats
Six Surefire Strategies To Reduce Stress In Cats (and I'm betting that this is stress-related)

Thank you, I will have a look at them

 

[Elfilou]

Sounds like she is "over-claiming" the room she is in because that is her entire world now. That's not enough. I would work on introducing her in with the other cats so she can own more territory and not be so overprotective of her room.

Try site swapping, maybe? Take the kittens into "her" room and let her into their territory. Do this once a day for maybe an hour and see how she reacts.

Also start feeding mealtimes at opposite sides of the door. Two cats eating at one side of the door, and her at the other.

Every time she sees those cats, good things should happen. That's the only way she can start having positive association with them and start becoming less territorially insecure

 

[calicosrspecial]

Thank you for the additional information.

Elfilou give great advice.

There are a number of things.

Let's start with the litter and litter box. Did you change the litter? Or did you change the type/size of the litter box? Is the location as "private" as the previous location? Some cats like a litter box in a more private location. How often is she using the litter box? Does she cover after going? Even moving a litter box can cause issues.

Proper cleaning is incredibly important. Are you using the proper cleaning solutions? There are many great suggestions in a this thread. Urine Marking Brian007 has a an especially helpful post in there.

We really need to go through the formal introduction process. Here are some links to it:

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/the-ultimate-yet-simplified-guide-to-introducing-cats

A Simple Little Trick to Use During New Cat Introductions

Cat Care

http://jacksongalaxy.com/2010/10/01/cat-to-cat-introductions/

It is a process that can take a month or a year. It just depends. As Elfilou says we need to make positive associations and to let the existing cat know that they are not a threat. I can help you through the introduction process.

It is VERY positive that she walks around like normal. That is a good sign. And it is great that you are giving her a lot of love. Getting her to feel secure is very important.

Please keep an eye on her body language and the way she acts. If she acts confident and normal (and hissing at new cats is normal) then I wonder if we are missing something on health (especially since she has had health issues in the past).

How are her bowel movements? Are they normal compared to what they were before or have they changed in consistency, etc? Is she going more often, less often, or the same as before? Do they look or smell different?

This is detective work, we need to look at everything, analyze everything and eliminate things.

You do mention that this is stressful and I know, it absolutely is. Cats do take on our emotions so it is very important to try to control our stress as much as possible. She could be picking up on the stress and feeling more stressed and therefore going outside of the box.

I also really want to step up play in the room she is in. As Efilou mentions, taking territory away from her could have increased her stress. I always have the new cats in a room and gradually expand their territory. Taking territory away from a cat can be very stressful. Territory is really important to a cat (that is why they mark to say "this is mine"). When we take territory away they can fear more territory being taken away. So they mark.

The fact she is pooping and peeing outside suggests that it could be a litter, litter box (size, location) or health (paw, internal pain) issue. It still could be a territorial issue so we need to step up play with her in that room (if we keep her in your room) and after play feed.

I really want to do a proper introduction between them. It is really important. And I want to consider (if possible) giving her (the resident existing cat) as much of her old territory as possible and having the new cats in a room and going through the introduction process.

And working on building her confidence through play. REALLY important. No downside to doing this.

Also trying to be as calm and confident around her as possible.

Proper cleaning. Finding the best litter, litter box, and placement.

I would ask the vet if there could be an health issue that could be causing this. Typically it is a pain or discomfort of some kind.

Any additional information you can provide could be very helpful.

It is normal for a resident/existing cat to hiss at new cats. It is their territory being "invaded" so they are cautious about what might happen. It is also great that she walks about the same as before (which suggests her confidence isn't too diminished). And that she gets a lot of love.

But there are many questions and things that do not add up. So it is not clear. So we need to start working on eliminating things.

It sounds territorial and many things point to that but some don't (like he consistent body language).

Don't worry, we will get through this. I will be with you every step of the way. Please feel free to post anything anytime and share as much info as possible. Let's keep investigating and working on things and see what works.