Hello all,
I'm new here, this is my first post, and since I'm sure you guys are all very knowledgeable cat lovers, I'm hoping you can give my some advice about my insane little Imogen.
A bit of backstory: I recently moved to a new town to start a new job and all that yadda yadda, so I decided to adopt a cat to go along with my new apartment. I found a lovely little tabby DSH female with beautiful markings and the most affectionate personality at the local animal control facility, so I immediately took her home. She was perfectly calm throughout the whole process, even perching on top of the passenger seat headrest (while supported by my significant other's hands, of course) to look out the car window on the drive home. Within ten minutes of bringing her into my apartment she was playing with a balled-up piece of paper as if she were in heaven. She seemed confident and dog-like, and I thought everything was going to be great.
(I did notice right off the bat, however, that she was a particularly clingy cat. She seemed to need my affection and reassurance 24/7, and would cry piteously when I left for work or she didn't know where I was.)
When I woke up the next morning to find a special delivery in the middle of the hallway, I figured it was just my fault for introducing her to a new place too quickly, and that she needed time to sort out where her bathroom was. Within two days, she was urinating regularly in the litterbox, but she wouldn't for the life of her defecate in it. She seemed to prefer the tile floor of the bathroom/hallway/living room/kitchen/anyplace. And, especially, she liked the arm of the couch.
So, I confined her to the bathroom (where her litterbox is) when I was not at home. Nope. I changed litter types. No good. I changed the type of box. Nah-uh. I changed the location of the box. And then I came home to find a literal sea of partially-dried liquid defecation covering the bathroom floor.
(btw, I've taken her to the vet...she has no medical reason to be doing this. The diarrhea is due to stress, apparently.)
I got a second box. That seemed to help a bit. I got Cat Attract litter. And that seemed to help even more. Finally it seemed that two boxes filled with Cat Attract and a decent period of quarantine and re-acclimation would do the trick.
Now, after gradually re-introducing her to the rest of the apartment, she's back to her old tricks. More specifically, I noticed this morning a deposit left in the exact spot in the kitchen where I had been standing for a good time last night while chopping veggies and making dinner.
Now, I had never heard of middening before today, but it certainly seems to fit the bill of what she is doing. Does anyone else have any experience with this sort of thing? She consistently urinates in the litter box(es), and it is not a medical problem. She leaves the feces in high-traffic, open areas where I have been and where I am certain to see them. She has left them in high spots on the couch. She makes no attempt to bury them. Even on the few occasions where she has defecated in the litter box, she will not bury her feces.
So I guess my real question here is: will Feliway alleviate this problem? I've noticed it has a pretty steep price tag. I don't want to get too invested in something if it only works for problem urinators and not for middening cats (or whatever she is doing). Is this a territorial problem? Separation anxiety? Something else? She really is a remarkably sweet and affectionate cat, and I want more than anything to be able to have a normal, happy, healthy, and stress-free kitty/parent relationship with her.
Anyway, thank you for taking the time to read this, if in fact you did get through all of it
Comments and advice very much appreciated!
I'm new here, this is my first post, and since I'm sure you guys are all very knowledgeable cat lovers, I'm hoping you can give my some advice about my insane little Imogen.
A bit of backstory: I recently moved to a new town to start a new job and all that yadda yadda, so I decided to adopt a cat to go along with my new apartment. I found a lovely little tabby DSH female with beautiful markings and the most affectionate personality at the local animal control facility, so I immediately took her home. She was perfectly calm throughout the whole process, even perching on top of the passenger seat headrest (while supported by my significant other's hands, of course) to look out the car window on the drive home. Within ten minutes of bringing her into my apartment she was playing with a balled-up piece of paper as if she were in heaven. She seemed confident and dog-like, and I thought everything was going to be great.
(I did notice right off the bat, however, that she was a particularly clingy cat. She seemed to need my affection and reassurance 24/7, and would cry piteously when I left for work or she didn't know where I was.)
When I woke up the next morning to find a special delivery in the middle of the hallway, I figured it was just my fault for introducing her to a new place too quickly, and that she needed time to sort out where her bathroom was. Within two days, she was urinating regularly in the litterbox, but she wouldn't for the life of her defecate in it. She seemed to prefer the tile floor of the bathroom/hallway/living room/kitchen/anyplace. And, especially, she liked the arm of the couch.
So, I confined her to the bathroom (where her litterbox is) when I was not at home. Nope. I changed litter types. No good. I changed the type of box. Nah-uh. I changed the location of the box. And then I came home to find a literal sea of partially-dried liquid defecation covering the bathroom floor.
(btw, I've taken her to the vet...she has no medical reason to be doing this. The diarrhea is due to stress, apparently.)
I got a second box. That seemed to help a bit. I got Cat Attract litter. And that seemed to help even more. Finally it seemed that two boxes filled with Cat Attract and a decent period of quarantine and re-acclimation would do the trick.
Now, after gradually re-introducing her to the rest of the apartment, she's back to her old tricks. More specifically, I noticed this morning a deposit left in the exact spot in the kitchen where I had been standing for a good time last night while chopping veggies and making dinner.
Now, I had never heard of middening before today, but it certainly seems to fit the bill of what she is doing. Does anyone else have any experience with this sort of thing? She consistently urinates in the litter box(es), and it is not a medical problem. She leaves the feces in high-traffic, open areas where I have been and where I am certain to see them. She has left them in high spots on the couch. She makes no attempt to bury them. Even on the few occasions where she has defecated in the litter box, she will not bury her feces.
So I guess my real question here is: will Feliway alleviate this problem? I've noticed it has a pretty steep price tag. I don't want to get too invested in something if it only works for problem urinators and not for middening cats (or whatever she is doing). Is this a territorial problem? Separation anxiety? Something else? She really is a remarkably sweet and affectionate cat, and I want more than anything to be able to have a normal, happy, healthy, and stress-free kitty/parent relationship with her.
Anyway, thank you for taking the time to read this, if in fact you did get through all of it
