Cat Chat Feline Forum

Hi all! This is my first post!

We have a two bed house, with a living room, kitchen, toilet room and shower room. We also have Bo, a 5/6 year old girl, and Chio, who is 18 months old. We have had Bo since she was a kitten, and Chio since last August. They are indoor cats as we live on a main road. Both spayed.

Please read this whole thread if you can.

Bo poos outside one particular litter tray, the one in the toilet room. She pees in the one in the living room.

Chio usually wees and poos in the toilet room litter tray, the spare room litter tray, and the hallway litter tray. However, she frequently sprays in the hallway, so much so that we have had to put down plastic sheeting after a variety of enzymatic cleaners didn't work, and she has taken to pooping outside of the litter tray in the spare room.

We clean the litter trays once a week, entirely, and regularly remove mess.

We have been using wooden litter but are now trialling clay non-clumping and paper.

We replaced all the litter trays with ones with rims after noticing Bo only peed in the one with a rim.

We have moved two of the litter trays around in their rooms.

We have tried two different types of diffuser.

We have tried calming collars and spot on.

Bo went through a period of using Zyklene.

We have tried every enzymatic cleaner.

We have done urine tests. They were fine.

The cats have their own separate high points, as we have installed cat shelves and a new cat tree. They have their own food space, their own water, and their own beds. They have their own scratching posts.

Chio LOVES to play fight and Bo doesn't like it, and considers Chio a threat when Chio wants to play. That said, Bo sometimes starts the fight herself and sometimes seems more playful than Chio some of the days.

I am so worried we might have to rehome one of them and I don't want to give either one up, but I worry one of them, probably Bo, is quite stressed.

Is there anything we haven't tried???? All of the above has been suggested by a vet, who sent us to the International Cat Care site (ICatCare)

Please help, thank you so much

Hannah

We are currently using the clay litter and:

WE ARE AT 30 HOURS WITHOUT A CAT TOILET ACCIDENT

Fingers crossed you have found the key - be prepared for some set backs, but I know how wonderful even the hope of improvement can be!

It sounds like you are making bits of progress, the different litter bieng one.

I had/ have a similar problem, but have no specific things I'm going to suggest, but thought telling you what I have tried, and what have ended up with, might give you an idea or two.

I have three cats. Two were living happily, until I decided to get another kitten in, when the first two were about 4-5 years already.
Long story short, one of the two originals, who is not a rumble, rough player, became isolated and started peeing and pooing, away from both trays, by the front door.
I did things like putting down silver foil, which cats hate, and will keep them off certain places, but she just found the neares spot.
She then got her own tray by the front door, which worked a bit, but one of the other ones, thought he quite liked it too, so that put her off, and still getting poos on the carpet.
I was also, by the way, as she was obvioulsy feeling isolated and getting depressed, so I was giving her forced attention; by brushing her, stroking her, even when it bothered her, sitting by her, showing her love whenever the opportunity arose. She had also licked her belly bald, which was actually what gave me the big alarm to start with.

Anyway, I now have three trays, one each, as is what I'd heard. They are all hooded, but with the flaps removed. The two others, who are the rougher players, share the two in the bathroom. They tend to use one for pooing, and one for peeing, but that is not strict. One of them also goes to my shy one's tray, which is also hooded, but she seems to tolerate that. It is her original partner, who is the one where the real animosity lies.

To clarify that. The origianl two, got on fine. the new kitten, who was male, and who thought he was king, was quickly knocked into his place by one of the original females, and it is she who bullies the other original non-rough-playing female.

I no longer have any poos outside the box, and no pee anywhere other than in the box. I make the sure the boxes are clean at all times. As soon as a poo is noticed, it is gone, and if any of the trays have any sense of not being clean enough, they all get thoroughly cleaned out. You can't just clean one, as they will all go for it.

I don't have any definitive answers, but attention, not feeling bullied or left out, cleanliness, all are important.
If you don't want your cat to go somewhere and spray, or pee, silver foil. It will only move them on somewhere else, but hopefully, that somewhere else will one day be the right place!
Keep the trays cleaner than you might think.
Once a week might do it, but try more for a bit. Don't let poo sit there for any time at all.

Best of luck.

Hi!

Did Bo have any accidents before Chio came along?
Also the hallway marking by Chio even after being neutered seems significant.
It sounds like a territorial problem rather than a potty training problem.

It tends to take up to a year for two stranger cats to get used to each other in the same house so I’d say your situation isn’t that out of the norm.

Maybe try temporary separation in different parts of the house and reintroducing them by starting with 30 mins then an hour or so each day and gradually increasing the time?

Separate them inside the house by a door with adequate food and litter options.
Start the reintroduction by feeding them on opposite sides of the door that separates them. Closed door on the first day so they can smell and feel the other but there’s no immediate danger. If they eat without much stress, feed them with a slightly ajar door on the second day. Open door but same positions on the third day etc.

That worked wonders for my two cats who suddenly got aggressive due to a stupid incident with a plastic bag. One kitty got a plastic bag stuck on her and presumably panicked and lashed out at the other which resulted in days long hostility with spiky backs, lots of growling and pine tree tails with the occasional fight. It’s quite funny in retrospect but I was so sad while it went on.
Spent a day keeping them separate and then slowly reintroducing them via smell, feeding, glimpses, some meetings with mutual sniffing etc and they were cuddled up and sleeping together before the week ended.

Or if that doesn’t work you might want to try it in combination with some mild stress meds for them both until they completely get used to living with each other? Zylkene in their food for a couple of days maybe?
If you’re not fond of needless meds Hill’s comfort cat food is supposed to be relaxing.
It might go by a different name over there.

Best of luck!

Thank you everyone.

We are at 3 days without any soiling or spraying, using the clay litter. Fingers crossed this is the key. This is the longest time since Chio arrived in August.