Cats are driving me nuts

[ErikaS.]

Help! My six cats are in good health. They range from six months to seven years old and are indoor/outdoor cats. Ever since we had a blizzard last Tuesday, my cats have been spending a lot more time indoors. Three of my cats have decided that the carpet makes a great potty- and convenient, too: under my bed, the corner of my room and my son's room, and the bathmat. My cats, Will and Grace, are the real culprits as they decided years ago that the cat-box is not their favorite place to "go". Now Midnight thinks its a great idea, too. I have four cat-boxes just cleaned yesterday. And Will and Grace bicker with Bob and Midnight everyday and Grace hates the kittens.Why can't they all just get along? I'm going batty. Any suggestions?

 

[Katiean]

We have 6 cats. 4 of them are indoor/outdoor. OK, well, Sophia goes out to potty when there is no snow. So, 5 are indoor/outdoor. Lady, my dear, dear lady. She "LOVES" to potty in the BIG potted plants. I can't stop her. I can't keep the potted plants clean. I did see some products at petco that I think I may try.

Be glad your cats do not have something to prove to anyone. I had a cat many years ago that would poop on my brothers bed. I found it particularly amusing when my brother did a back flop right into the poop. Cuddles earned his place out in the barn. He also pooped on my other brothers lap. Looked him in the face and pooped. He had issues.

 

[Connie P]

I have no advice on how to get them to use their litterbox, but I can tell you about a product called Natures Miracle that will take the smell and stain of urine out of your carpet. It works great and hopefully will prevent them from using the same spot. Maybe move the litter box to the area that they are using???

 

[chandab]

Perhaps a different litter? Some cats are particular, and don't like certain scents, textures, etc? And, the box needs to be clean or some will get really picky about using it. I have an indoor/outdoor cat that loathes the litter box, but when its below zero out, he will use the box (thank goodness). And, you may need another litter box or two, at least til the weather warms up; I've been told one box/cat (and sometimes an extra for the total number of cats).

 

[HGFarm]

Yes, Natures Miracle really works well... and yes also to the comment about changing litters. Some like the fine, some like the coarse. Some dont like the 'perfumed' ones, etc..... I would try four different kinds and textures and see if this does not help- see which ones are used the most and if this does not help stop the problem.

Wow, the kitty that pooped on your brothers lap? And on his bed? Yep, that cat had issues with your brother!!!! Yikes!

 

[Miniv]

Can't promise anything, but try puting moth balls down where they've been urinating. Cats hate the smell ....

 

[Dontworrybeappy]

we've had a couple (indoor only) cats who had long-term problems with litter boxes and "inappropriate elimination", which is, by the way, the NUMBER ONE reason why cats are euthanized, turned in to shelters or abandoned.

It can be a real trick to try and diagnose if its a behavior problem or a physical one. We have done the multiple kinds of litter tests, changing locations of litter boxes, etc. We had a cat for 8 years who had problems with bladder crystals... he was a BIG reason that when we bought our house, we pulled out all the carpeting/pads and put in laminate flooring! For Hobbes, the only thing that worked was a combination of medication and caging him at night. For another cat, it worked to keep her in a room by herself where the other cats wouldn't bother her.

They say that you need to have 1 more litter box than the number of cats in your house. I personally can't picture trying to place 7 litter boxes in any house, though!

Even with our floors, we keep the nature's miracle type products always on hand. With carpets and pads, you really have to SOAK the urine spots (they sell small blacklights that help illuminate these...) the products only work while they're wet, so the enzymes can destroy the scents that you may not smell, but the cats do.

We no longer have beds that are off the ground - even the frame beds have been turned into "pedestal" beds with planks of wood. Nothing worse than waking up at 3 in the morning to the sound of a hairball being deposited under the bed... or cats wrestling in the box under the mattress after they've pulled off the covering!

if you could find a way to separate the cats that argue.... or do a trial where you can figure out just who needs to be locked in the laundry room with their own litter box, or something like that. The smaller the place, the more likely they are to use the litter box. (as long as it's clean!)

either put a litter box in the corners that they like to use, or put a box or something into the corners so that they can't get to them....

Good luck! And keep the bottle of enzyme cleaner close to hand!

 

[miniwhinny]

Two words to stop it forever......

[SIZE=18pt]BARN CATS[/SIZE]

heehe. Sorry I can't help much. I had a friend who had a cat who only pooped in her sons bed. She said her vet told her that even though the cat was fixed it was a dominance thing. Submissive cats will bury it...dominant ones won't.

 

[Katiean]

heehe. Sorry I can't help much. I had a friend who had a cat who only pooped in her sons bed. She said her vet told her that even though the cat was fixed it was a dominance thing. Submissive cats will bury it...dominant ones won't.

Not quite q true statement. I have a Persian cat that for the first year of her life was in a cattery. They would put stuff on her coat so she would not groom herself and she was not given anything to cover with. She is now 8 years old and is finally learning to groom herself and every once in a while will manage to get it covered rather than just scratching the wall. My male Persian would get so mad at her and go cover for her. He hated her. He too spent his first year in a cattery. But, he always groomed himself and he was given stuff to cover with and he wanted everyones "stuff" covered.

 

[ErikaS.]

Thank you folks for your suggestions. I'm going to try new litter and see if I can't find some mothballs as well. I have considered making the offenders into barncats, but I hate to start that at the beginning of winter. In fact, if I had a MUCH larger house, I might be tempted to bring in all of my animals from the cold, goats, horses and all. I wouldn't be able to keep my carpets clean then. And I'd also be ready for the funny farm.

 

[Christina_M]

I'm so sorry you are going through this. I know how you feel. You get one mess cleaned up and another spot appears some where else. I have a cat that marked everything that smelled like me (he marked me once while I was sleeping). He now lives outside in the garage. We put a cat door in the garage and have places for the outside cats to sleep. Every now and then, a couple of them visit me in the barn. This particular cat was caught "marking" my new hay!!

I now have plastic skids on all sides of the hay, so he can't get to it. So if you decide to put them outside make sure that you don't leave any horse blankets where they can get to them!

 

[shorthorsemom]

In the house you can try one of those D.A.P pherome diffusers to plug in the wall. Smells like mommy cat and can help settle things down. Doesn't work on everybody, but I have been amazed at how often it does work.

Anybody try that new cat litter called Crystal clear litter pearls? It is by ultra pet.. bag says... one bag, one cat, two months. You scoop the poop and then stir the crystals. It does not clump ... weird stuff, seems pricey but since it lasts so long, worth the money so far in my house.

The cats usually stink so bad I cannot stand it even when the boxes are scooped daily. My cats should be barn cats, they were cat box slobs and I could hardly stand the stink. This suff is AMAZING on odor control and it doesn't track badly either. google it and see what you think. I tried on one box and liked it so much am trying on the second one. convinced in this house that it really works. Cats get to stay indoors for now. best wishes

 

[shorthorsemom]

Here is a link for the cat box litter stuff I mentioned.

http://www.ultrapet.com/cats/litter-pearls-micro-crystals

 

[muffntuf]

They are signaling their discontent with the change in their life. I have 3 cats and one will potty on my bed or something else personal to me when her world changes. She gets too stressed out, she lets me know. I am thinking the ones who are happy outside are unhappy right now and the others are following.

Also that many cats who had a wide territory to roam normally and then get pulled into a small area like a house, become territorial and mark.

But my hunch is they are just unhappy with the world right now and this will correct itself when they can go back outside again.

Incidentally, I don't have a potty for each kitty. They share one big one. If I don't clean it everyday, that also can lead to marking issues. 6 cats sharing one potty is a lot, so I recommend cleaning it twice a day.

 

[Katiean]

I have tried that Crystal Clear stuff. I didn't like it. By the end of the month it stinks. You have to remember it doesn't clump so your cat is digging and covering with dirty litter. The urine smell can drive you out of the house.

 

[Jetiki]

We are currently using the arm and hammer natural stuff, I think its corn cob or thats part of it. Smells much better than the clay stuff, it clumps and the cats seem to like it much better. We had one cat that decided to start marking things, walked right past my son and peed on the floor, I was furious, nothing had changed no stress no nothing out of the ordinary stuff. I grabbed him by the scruff and tossed him outside (he had never been outside) totally changed his perspective on life. It was cold and he wasn't happy being outside but I wasn't happy with my house stinking and him peeing everywhere. I let him back in that night and now he's ok going in and out but I also don't have a problem anymore, we since this incident changed the litter and with them going in and out except for 2 of the 5 cats haven't had a recurrence of the problem.

Karen