3 cat household needs behavioral advise

[mrmeowski]

As a new user, I do not know how to move this to another location on this chat site. but this is the problem we are having:
We have 3 cats. Bobby is our older indoor male at 12 yrs. Edwina is our 9 yr old female who was indoor outdoor until last September. At that time we adoptedJackie -a 4 week old abandoned female kitten. We decided to keep Edwina and the others indoor only. But edwina is now peeing on our carpet and does not get along with our baby, Jackie. Medical issues have been ruled out. We use calmimg spray which helps a tad. What to do - we would like to stop the peeing and get more harmony in our home. Any suggestions?

[Hunnybunny]

Unfortunately this is a common stress related issues seen so many times with cats that are forced to live indoors. Its the sign of an unhappy, stressed and most likely bored cat and the only real solution is to let her back out the the lifestyle she is used to. Suddenly stopping her going out is like putting somebody in prison and removing their liberty and its simply not right to expect her to understand.

Many people will come on here and tell you that a cat can be turned into indoor only but its simply not true in 99% of cats. I deal with thousands of cats and blimey its a rare occasion I see a happy indoor cat with no behavioural issues.

Why the sudden change? Why must she now not be allowed out anymore?

[KittyWitty]

How was Jackie introduced to the other two? Did you do a proper introduction? Are both females neutered? When did the peeing start? Do you recall any events that happened around that time? Even the changing of furniture can upset cats.

[Kay]

I'm afraid she must feel she is being punished twice over - no longer allowed outside and expected to share her indoor space with a kitten she didn't ask to be brought into the house

I must admit I am with Hunnybunny on this one - my cats are confined to an enclosed patio garden, but when I see how large a part of the day they spend out there, even when the sun isn't out, I have no doubt indoor only cats are nmissing something important, however much they are loved and cared for

are you afraid Edwina will run off if you let her out, because of the kitten? I doubt she would at the age of 9, and you could shut her in overnight, which is the time most cats come to grief outside

[mrmeowski]

These responses are very helpful. We chose to keep our kitties indoors because our Bobbie had conjestive heart failure 18 months ago and we nursed him back to health. But when Jackie was rescued, she had a lot of issues including flea infestation and then somthing the vet said was mange. We got through all that and everyone is healthy but we are afraid if Edwina goes out she will bring in something that will negatively affect Bobbie. I can start by letting Edwina out on our enclosed patio so she is out but protected. We love her. We did not think it woukd hurt to bring her inside. We will re-evaluate. Thanks everyone. Will let you know.

[SarahT1 [PLLE]]

I think she'll appreciate that. We have an enclosed garden too, like Kay, and although out three often choose to relax indoors they enjoy their safe outdoor space even if they're just lolling about in the sun. Fusses to your gang.

[Hunnybunny]

I can certainly understand your wanting to protect your feline family but regular flea/worm/parasite treatments will keep these nasties at bay. Restricted/managed access will give you the balance that you are hopefully looking for and should also rebuild your confidence in the cats going out without any negative impact on them.

Good luck

[Kay]

and if Edwina's peeing problems come from having to share indoor litter trays, you can get an outdoor tray for the patio area, or as I have done, lift a paving slab and create an earth pit just for her

[Lyn from Australia]

This could also be simply an issue of not enough litter trays for 3 cats, particularly if any of them are "fussy" and prefer to pee in one place and poo in another. An extra tray or two may be worth trying, but some outdoor access to a balcony or courtyard will never go astray if it is available. Please keep in touch.

[oggers86]

One of my cats went through this when I stopped 24/7 access and just let her out during the day. After trying multiple solutions I ended up giving her back the lifestyle she was used to and it completely stopped. Even with the new kitten she has not resorted to weeing in the house other than in litter trays by choice, the last time this happened was back in March. She was clearly either unhappy at weeing in the trays, unhappy she was being kept in so that was her way of telling me.

I think allowing your cat some outdoor time will make her much happier, if she is happy with an enclosed outdoor space then perfect!!! Definitely keep with the calming sprays, give Zylkene a go if you need to or Rescue Remedy, all natural products. You can also get outdoor litter trays which might help.

We are moving house soon so I am hoping we don't regress with our cat but I am going in armed with multiple trays in different locations and Pet Remedy. Hopefully she will be ok for the 3-4 weeks that she needs to stay in!

In terms of her getting used to the kitten you need to make sure she has time out away from her, feed them tasty treats/food within sight or touch of each other if they will allow. Hopefully she will begin to see the kitten as a positive thing

Hope you can work something out!!

[mrmeowski]

We had 3 litter boxes but went and bought a 4th that I put on the patio. It stormed heavily all day with lightning and she didn't want to go out today. We will try tomorrow. I am also nervous about letting her back out because we had a stray, Blackie, that used to come every morning for food but we have not seen him since January. Some folks around here are cat friendly and maybe he found a new home. We hope.. But since he is a black tuxedo cat, I just don't know. And 2 years ago we had another Tom who we fed but he also disappeared. So, I guess that is why I became protective of Edwina.

[Kay]

unneutered toms, which I am guessing the two males were, are much much more likely to wander off than a spayed female, which I assume Edwina is, so I really don't think you should let those experiences affect your decision as regards her outdoor access