Moved To A New House And Having Litter Box Issues

[old possum]

Hi All,
haven't been on this site for a while but I could really use some advice. I have 4 cats (mother +her 2 sons, and another male), all are adults and were outdoor cats until we moved a few weeks ago. They all used the "Open Air" self-cleaning litter box and the outdoors for years at our old house.
I know the move was a bit stressful--2 hr. drive, but once we arrived everything was set up for them. I kept them in the basement for 2 weeks. The litter box was in one room and feeding in another. At first there were 1 or 2 messes outside the box, a bit of diarrhea so totally understandable.

Diet was the same, litter the same, only difference was bottled water (as the new house is on a soft water system and I'm not sure it's good to drink). All are drinking (and shedding) a lot more than usual---I am assuming this is stress.

Last week I opened up the rest of the house to them. Things really started to go downhill. I was filing some papers in a bankers box--one male jumped in and peed all over the receipts, right in front of me. Since then he (Ithink it is only him doing this)has been peeing on and often pooing on everything that is on the floor---plastic garbage bags, blankets, towels, cardboard boxes etc.

I have ordered a second Open Air so there will always be a place to go even if there is a bit of a line-up---but I am not sure this is his problem.

I intend to keep them all indoors from now on. Could this be adding to the stress? This particular cat loved being outdoors even in winter.
Any advice would be much appreciated as this is getting to be horrible.
Thanks kindly

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. All the changes are likely creating the problem. I am glad you want to keep them inside - even if you had been planning on letting them out later, it is way too soon to do so after moving anyway.

Since they were used to the availability of both litterbox and outdoors, I would have at least 5-6 litterboxes in the house all throughout. And, then 'introduce' them to the location of each and every one of them. The rule of thumb - even for cats who were never used to being outside is: 1 box per cat, plus 1 - so in your case that would be at least 5.

Once everything settles down more and they have adjusted to all the changes, perhaps you might get away with one or two less boxes!

Down the road a bit, especially if they still seem to want to go outside, you could consider building or buying a catio that is connected via a window or door to your home. They could then enjoy the outdoors again, but would confined to safe place and not able to roam/get lost or hurt.

 

[old possum]

Thanks so much for your advice---I will get 3 more regular litter boxes today, that and the existing 2 self-cleaning ones should suffice. I am really hoping this will do the trick.

 

[Columbine]

I don't have much to add to FeebysOwner 's reply, but this article may be helpful too:-
How To Solve Litterbox Problems In Cats: The Ultimate Guide

 

[old possum]

Thanks, Columbine---the article was helpful especially the part about getting and properly using the enzyme cleaners. I have been using bleach and hydrogen peroxide up until this point thinking that would suffice. Apparently nothing can clear up the spot except an enzyme cleaner.
I will post the results---hopefully this is going to work!

 

[rubysmama]

O old possum : Sorry, though, about the reason for your return.

Hopefully the addition of more litter boxes will solve the problem.

Here's some more TCS articles that might be helpful.

How Many Litterboxes Should You Have?
Litter Box Location Secrets | TheCatSite

The Five Golden Rules To Bringing An Outdoor Cat Inside | TheCatSite
How To Prevent Your Cat From Darting Out The Door | TheCatSite
How To Make Your Home Bigger (at Least For Your Cats) | TheCatSite

Is Your Cat Stressed Out? | TheCatSite
Six Surefire Strategies To Reduce Stress In Cats | TheCatSite

 

[old possum]

Just an update on the litterbox issues---I thought that I had posted a few weeks ago but I must have made a technical error.
I just wanted to let everyone know that I followed all your advice and everything is back to normal. No more horrible surprises to greet the day!
I got a few more litter boxes (I now have 2 self-cleaning and one regular), and I purchased the enzyme cleaner for the clean-up spots.
I cannot tell you how grateful I am for this site and all the knowledgeable people that make-up the community!
I was under the impression that once a cat stopped using the litter-box that the behavior would probably never be corrected (this told to me by a vet many years ago). Well having 4 deeply embedded, dearly beloved cats in our family move with us to a beautiful old century home (read: lots of lovingly preserved wood on the floors and up the walls), and having them all lay waste everywhere, every day just made me feel sick. I really prayed for an answer that I could live with. I am quite sure that it was the combination of all 3 changes that reversed the behavior---the extra litter boxes with varied sizes and features pluse the enzyme cleaner. I found a variety of cleaners on the net and the prices varied greatly---so I decided rightly or wrongly to go with the expensive stuff as quite often you get what you pay for. Well it has been about a month now and I've not restricted them from any areas of the house that might trigger them due to trace scents of urine etc., and we have not had a single incident. THANKYOU, THANKYOU, THANKYOU!!!

 

[FeebysOwner]

Yay!!!! Thank you for updating us!!! I am so happy to hear your changes worked!!

 

[rubysmama]

That's great news! Thanks for the update!