Litter Problems In Female Cat In Multicat Household.

[mickimunni]

We have a lovely pair of domestic shorthair cats from the same litter, named Micki and Munni. To give just a little more context, Micki is very outgoing and confident, he's practically a dog trapped in a cat's body. Munni is the opposite in every way imaginable. She is shy and prefers to curl up with you instead of running around. They're now just over 2 years old.

(Munni left, Micki right)

Like most siblings, the two have a love-hate relationship. They love each other for the most part, but Munni has unfortunately been exhibiting negative behavior for the past few months. She always hisses at Micki whenever he approaches to play with her. In fact, she will rarely not hiss at him, even when he's simply lounging near her. She wasn't always this hostile to Micki, even though he tends to play a little rough. More troublingly, Munni has been regularly pooping outside the litterbox, on the carpets, for at least 1 year now. And there hasn’t been any substantial change around our house for her to have developed this behaviour.

We've done tons of research and tried many things, like changing litter brands (they already have separate litterboxes), giving Munni extra-extra attention, and even confining her for extended periods of time, to retrain her. We've tried feliway as well. She shows minimal progress and turns good for a day or two before reverting to the unwanted behaviour.

Does anybody have (or has had) multiple cats where something similar has happened, and how did you resolve this without evicting a feline? We're now coming to the conclusion that Munni prefers to be the sole cat in a household, and may need to be put in another home to be happy.

Any advice would be appreciated!

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi! ...let me ask some questions...
Are they spayed/neutered?
Has she been to the vet lately?
Are you positive there aren't other cats roaming outside that she's aware of and is redirecting her tension and frustration to him? ----even if you can't see them.
You're aware that there are a lot of calming products available in addition to feliway?

 

[mickimunni]

Hi! ...let me ask some questions...
Are they spayed/neutered?
Has she been to the vet lately?
Are you positive there aren't other cats roaming outside that she's aware of and is redirecting her tension and frustration to him? ----even if you can't see them.
You're aware that there are a lot of calming products available in addition to feliway?

- yes both are spayed and neutered
- they have gotten checkups and everything appeared normal.
- They don't go outdoors, they are indoor cats.
I don't think I know of other calming products which are known to be effective. Do you have any suggestions?

 

[Furballsmom]

I do; as you mentioned, some cats such as my Big Guy are completely unaffected by Feliway (Feliway Comfort Zone), but there are other products with different ingredients such as L-Tryptophan and casein.
In addition some people are using CBD oil.

There is Zylkene, Calming Care, Calm-o-mile, Sentry, Natures Miracle calming spray, Vetri-Science's Composure is another item to look at, Pet Remedy (it has valerian) is yet another, as is Essential Pet Pet-ease, Only Natural Pet (brand and website) has a calming product, Pet Naturals also has one I believe.
Also Thunderease has diffusers, and there is Bachs Rescue Remedy.
Lambert Vet Supply is a website to look at, and of course amazon and chewy, also there's Petwishpros, drsfostersmith, animaleo.

There are a couple of recent discussions about calming items, here's the link to one thread. Post #6 in this has a link to the second discussion.
Calming Treats?

 

[Furballsmom]

Also, she wouldn't have to actually go outside to be aware of roaming cats, and that could be a stress factor for her.

Speaking of outside, have you tried taking her for a walk or letting her spend a little bit of time in a Cat Mesh Tent (these are about $40 or so)? I realize she is a shy kitty but an outdoors experience could help give her mind new things to think about, so to speak.

Regarding missing the box, maybe there's something in this article and its embedded links to other articles that might help;
How To Solve Litterbox Problems In Cats: The Ultimate Guide

 

[duckpond]

I had vet visits this last month with my guys. My vet and i always talk food. He has cats too
He had a female rescue that had always wanted only dry food, what she had grown up on. But then she started occasionally pooping outside of the box. He said it was just a slight constipation problem. So he switched her to all wet, no dry, and he said the pooping outside the box stooped. He knows i have one girl that will not eat much wet, and he said this was one of the things to watch for with her. Luckily she has not had this problem, and i am working to get her to eat more wet. But some cats are hard. If she is not on all wet, you might try it?

I dont think confining her would work. If her issues is in part due to stress that could just make it worse? If stress is part of the problem your vet might be able to prescribe an anti anxiety medication, at least short term.

 

[mickimunni]

Thank you very much guys for your responses! We had a suspicion she might be mostly anxious and maybe constipated. We will try the all wet food method, as well as maybe try some new calming products.

I'd appreciate more suggestions if anyone has them!