Cats continually messing in house
Cats continually messing in house
Hi all, I'm in desperate need of help! I have 7 cats, I started with 3, one being a boy and them all not being neutered led to numerous litters, and me ending up keeping most of them, so they're all family. I moved around alot at the beginning of thier lives due to me being homeless, which meant not letting them outside, which lead to alot of accidents inside, but around 4/5 years ago I found a permenant home and after moving in I finally let them out after a year or so, hoping the messing inside would finally fade away, but it hasn't, at all. I have 7 litter trays, four inside three outside,plus like I said they are now allowed out, but still everyday I find wees or sometimes even poos dotted around the house,they are also using my front and back gardens as their litter trays. I dont know what to do, I've tried enzyme sprays I've tried motion sensor air fresheners in the worst areas to try an scare them from using them, i know stress can be a huge factor, I've tried feliway plug ins, which helps with some of the conflict that sometimes occurs between them, but hasn't helped with the messing. The last thing I want to do is to have to get rid of some of them, they helped me through a dark period in my life, but I can't continue through everyday being scared of walking barefoot through the house in fear of stepping in puddles. Any and all suggestions would be greatly appreciated I'm willing to try everything to keep my babies! Thank you
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Ruth B
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- Posts: 1998
- Joined: Wed Jun 15, 2016 11:31 am
- No. of cats in household: 3
- Location: Wolverhampton
Re: Cats continually messing in house
The first thing I have to ask is are they all now neutered or spayed, if not that needs doing.
Using the garden is perfectly normal for cats and I would actually encourage them to do that rather than try and prevent them. Try putting in some small flower or shrub beds to give them places they can go and dig in the soil easily.
As for inside, do you have any idea which cat or cats aren't using the trays, is it all of them or just one or two. Trying different style trays with different litters might help, some cats do have preferences and won't use a covered tray or wood pellet litter for example. If there are favoured spots in the house then instead of trying to dissuade them from going there get an extra tray and put in that place, you might end up with another load of trays, but at least the house would be clean and then you could start to work out which trays you might might be able to get rid off.
Finally there might be dominance issues between some of the cats, even if there is no fighting you need to watch to see if there are signs of passive aggression, certain cats blocking access to food or litter trays, or even just doorways, they don't have to be doing anything more than just lounging in a doorway to stop the other cats going where they want. This type of thing would cause a lot of stress and might be the cause of the issues.
Hopefully others will be along with more ideas. You do have my sympathy, it is horrible when they won't use the litter trays and you can't work out why.
Using the garden is perfectly normal for cats and I would actually encourage them to do that rather than try and prevent them. Try putting in some small flower or shrub beds to give them places they can go and dig in the soil easily.
As for inside, do you have any idea which cat or cats aren't using the trays, is it all of them or just one or two. Trying different style trays with different litters might help, some cats do have preferences and won't use a covered tray or wood pellet litter for example. If there are favoured spots in the house then instead of trying to dissuade them from going there get an extra tray and put in that place, you might end up with another load of trays, but at least the house would be clean and then you could start to work out which trays you might might be able to get rid off.
Finally there might be dominance issues between some of the cats, even if there is no fighting you need to watch to see if there are signs of passive aggression, certain cats blocking access to food or litter trays, or even just doorways, they don't have to be doing anything more than just lounging in a doorway to stop the other cats going where they want. This type of thing would cause a lot of stress and might be the cause of the issues.
Hopefully others will be along with more ideas. You do have my sympathy, it is horrible when they won't use the litter trays and you can't work out why.