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Hello! I will try and make this as short and concise as possible while providing all the information I can.
About two months ago we had new carpet installed in the main area of the house. Following very shortly after that one of our three cats passed away. In the aftermath of all of this shuffling around and change both of our remaining cats (a 14yo and a 3yo) have started going outside the litter-box... specifically, on only the new carpet, and not anywhere else in the house.
It started with finding poop outside the litter-box first, but now we're finding poop or pee in specific spots every few days. When we successfully get them to stop going in one area it's only a matter of time before they find a new spot. We have three litter-boxes and they ARE using them, but they're also just going outside the litter-box for no discernible reason.
We have tried switching litters and also completely cleaning out all three litter-boxes. We've tried blockers, but it's just a short term solution until they find somewhere new to go. We've tried things like Feliway in case it was stress-related, but with all the windows in our house I'm not sure it's actually working. We bought new toys to try and see if it was the result of them not being stimulated enough and lashing out, but nothing changed. I'm in the process of trying to set up vet appointments for both cats in case it's something medical.
Both cats are indoor cats: one for her entire life (the 14yo) and the other since we adopted her, though she used to be a stray. They don't get along swimmingly, but they do tolerate each other most of the time. We had some problems with spraying when we adopted the 3yo when we very first got her, but we resolved them and it did not become an issue again until recently. The problem is that now we don't know which cat is going where, and more concerning we don't know who's pooping out of the box.
My dad is about ready to quarantine them both until the cats sort this out themselves. I don't know how effective that would be. I don't like the idea of shutting them off in a room by themselves for any kind of extended period of time unless absolutely necessary.
Any advice would be appreciated. We're both at our wit's end and not sure what else to try.
About two months ago we had new carpet installed in the main area of the house. Following very shortly after that one of our three cats passed away. In the aftermath of all of this shuffling around and change both of our remaining cats (a 14yo and a 3yo) have started going outside the litter-box... specifically, on only the new carpet, and not anywhere else in the house.
It started with finding poop outside the litter-box first, but now we're finding poop or pee in specific spots every few days. When we successfully get them to stop going in one area it's only a matter of time before they find a new spot. We have three litter-boxes and they ARE using them, but they're also just going outside the litter-box for no discernible reason.
We have tried switching litters and also completely cleaning out all three litter-boxes. We've tried blockers, but it's just a short term solution until they find somewhere new to go. We've tried things like Feliway in case it was stress-related, but with all the windows in our house I'm not sure it's actually working. We bought new toys to try and see if it was the result of them not being stimulated enough and lashing out, but nothing changed. I'm in the process of trying to set up vet appointments for both cats in case it's something medical.
Both cats are indoor cats: one for her entire life (the 14yo) and the other since we adopted her, though she used to be a stray. They don't get along swimmingly, but they do tolerate each other most of the time. We had some problems with spraying when we adopted the 3yo when we very first got her, but we resolved them and it did not become an issue again until recently. The problem is that now we don't know which cat is going where, and more concerning we don't know who's pooping out of the box.
My dad is about ready to quarantine them both until the cats sort this out themselves. I don't know how effective that would be. I don't like the idea of shutting them off in a room by themselves for any kind of extended period of time unless absolutely necessary.
Any advice would be appreciated. We're both at our wit's end and not sure what else to try.
