Hi. Since you were so helpful the last time I had an issue with one of my cats running away, I wanted to seek your advice on something else.
For about the past month, my cat, Cleo, has been peeing on the kitchen counter (and once in my room upstairs). She is about 11 years old, but she doesn't seem to have any other sort of mental defect or sign of senility. She is strong and can comfortably hop up and down from the counter.
A bit about her personality and the household:
Cleo is really a one-cat-per-household type cat, but we have seven. She tolerates being near one of the cats, doesn't care for the others, and gets into a hissing match with one of the others. The kitchen counter is kind of "her" space. She has a food bowl up there and she sleeps there, too.
While we have seven cats, we only have two litterboxes (I know, I know, I know - but we live in a small house). We keep the boxes pretty immaculate. One is upstairs, one is downstairs in the room next to the kitchen.
When I've read about this issue, I've always heard recommendations to take the cat to the vet. Unfortunately, my mother really doesn't believe this is a health issue, so taking her to the vet is unfortunately going to be a last resort, I think.
One idea to help the problem is to get another litterbox, and put it in the kitchen/dining room (there is no wall or door between these two areas). If this is the case, then what we'll do is get a covered litterbox - I was thinking of the Omega Paw Self-Cleaning Litterbox:
Because it would be covered and therefore somewhat more aesthetic. There are various issues with it, though, such as that one of my cats doesn't cover his waste.
I'm wondering if this is a good idea or not. My hesitation is that if she is not using the litterbox because she doesn't like having to pass the other cats who are hanging around there, she might not use this litterbox for the same reason, even if it's in a different space - and she might continue to use "her area" simply because it's "her area" and it is convenient.
Thank you for your help.
For about the past month, my cat, Cleo, has been peeing on the kitchen counter (and once in my room upstairs). She is about 11 years old, but she doesn't seem to have any other sort of mental defect or sign of senility. She is strong and can comfortably hop up and down from the counter.
A bit about her personality and the household:
Cleo is really a one-cat-per-household type cat, but we have seven. She tolerates being near one of the cats, doesn't care for the others, and gets into a hissing match with one of the others. The kitchen counter is kind of "her" space. She has a food bowl up there and she sleeps there, too.
While we have seven cats, we only have two litterboxes (I know, I know, I know - but we live in a small house). We keep the boxes pretty immaculate. One is upstairs, one is downstairs in the room next to the kitchen.
When I've read about this issue, I've always heard recommendations to take the cat to the vet. Unfortunately, my mother really doesn't believe this is a health issue, so taking her to the vet is unfortunately going to be a last resort, I think.
One idea to help the problem is to get another litterbox, and put it in the kitchen/dining room (there is no wall or door between these two areas). If this is the case, then what we'll do is get a covered litterbox - I was thinking of the Omega Paw Self-Cleaning Litterbox:
Because it would be covered and therefore somewhat more aesthetic. There are various issues with it, though, such as that one of my cats doesn't cover his waste.
I'm wondering if this is a good idea or not. My hesitation is that if she is not using the litterbox because she doesn't like having to pass the other cats who are hanging around there, she might not use this litterbox for the same reason, even if it's in a different space - and she might continue to use "her area" simply because it's "her area" and it is convenient.
Thank you for your help.