Bathroom issues.

[bsavery]

Help!! Apologies in advance for the long story...

We have 3 cats, all boys. 2 are close in age. They're 3 (Freddy) and 2.5 (Teddy), both rescued as kittens and raised here. They get along great and we had no issues. In May, our best friend passed away. Before he went, I promised I would take care of his cat. Horus is roughly 12 years and has been an only cat. We broght him home, and after a few rough days, he settled in.. mostly. He gets along with Freddy, but Teddy and he do not get along at all. He constantly tries to attack him. You can tell Teddy is fearfull of him, he's always on alert and spends a lot of the day hidden away.

After a couple months, we settled into a new routine. Everything seemed ok.

Recently though we've encountered an issue and nothing we try has helped and It seems to be getting worse. One, or more...we really do not know, have started going to the bathroom wherever they want. On the kitchen counter, rugs, clothes piles, wherever. We have 2 boxes (both clean and recently replaced). Both were upstairs, so we tried moving 1 downstairs. Seemed to work a couple days, then back to the counter. We've changed litter brands, put the lids on the box, left them off the box..everything we can think of.

We're out of ideas. I hoping someone has a solution?? I hate to have to, but my wife is starting to threaten rehoming Horus, if not all 3.

Thanks

 

[ArtNJ]

Try to figure out which cat it is and take them to the vet to rule out a UTI. If you cant figure it out, and separating them for a few days isnt an option, I'd take both Horus and Teddy to the vet (separately). That said, decent chance its stress-related, with either Teddy or Horus being at fault. Just because Horus is the aggressor doesnt mean he isnt very stressed -- in fact, the opposite. So it could be either.

Introducing a senior cat to young adults is . . . well, I think its important to call it what it is, often a royal PITA. Its often hard, can take a while, and stress can often linger for a good while. Assuming this is lingering stress, there are two pathways forward:

(1) back all the way up, and do a lengthy proper introduction process. See How To Successfully Introduce Cats: The Ultimate Guide - TheCatSite Also see How To Fix An Unsuccessful Cat Introduction - TheCatSite (which mostly just says back up and do it again, slower, following the guide.)

or

(2) Stress reduction & relationship building stuff: Build in more ways for the stressed cat to avoid confrontation. Elevated spaces are known to help a lot (its a confidence thing for cats -- they feel safe with elevation) and additional litterboxes (especially if that is where confrontation happen). Other folks here will recommend other stress-reduction tips. There are also bunch of relationship building tips like playing with both at the same time or giving treats. I'm not entirely convinced they do that much TBH, and I've sometimes found its hard to even get started because the stress prevents those kind of interactions at all. But folks will have tips, and they certainly cant hurt.

That is pretty much it other than separate lives. Which one doesn't have feel guilty about. If its workable in your home, its a vastly better solution than rehoming or indefinite stress for the entire household.

Remember to use an enzyme cleaner to clean up the spots, or the smell acts as a lasting bulls eye.

 

[englishpixie]

There are a few things you can do to try and improve their association with each other, I've been doing a lot of these with my two girls as I'm in the process of introductions at the moment:

• Feed them on opposite sides of a closed door so they smell each other at mealtime, and/or put a cloth under each bowl that's been rubbed all over the other cat so it smells like them and they associate that with food
• I don't know if this works, but my stepmum's vet swears by it... it's a bit gross but dab some of the other cat's pee on each of them so they smell more like 'friends'
• Try either Feliway or other calming diffusers like Pet Remedy to see if this helps them feel calmer, I'm also trying this valerian-based 'spot-on' treatment which we started today and does seem to have left both very chill: Beaphar Calming Valerian Spot On for Cats
• Help the dominant cat feel more secure by feeding him first, petting him first, etc, so he knows you also see him as Top Cat
• When one is aggressive towards the other, put them in 'time out' for 5-10 minutes so they learn what behaviour isn't acceptable

I would also suggest that you want more litter trays - the usual rule of thumb is one per cat plus one - and make sure you're using a bioenzymatic cleaner to clean up after their accidents to break down any pheromones that they may still be able to smell even after you use a regular cleaning product.

Hope this helps!

 

[RTR]

I assume Horus is fixed? I have three cats and five boxes! Two are made of soft plastic storage boxes with a hole cut in the side! If I were to adopt one I would pick one thta is older. Most old cats don't get adopted and are put down, but the old ones are'nt pedal to the metal anymore. I also assume you brought Horus to the Vet for a health check? Good luck!

 

[maggie101]

Help!! Apologies in advance for the long story...

We have 3 cats, all boys. 2 are close in age. They're 3 (Freddy) and 2.5 (Teddy), both rescued as kittens and raised here. They get along great and we had no issues. In May, our best friend passed away. Before he went, I promised I would take care of his cat. Horus is roughly 12 years and has been an only cat. We broght him home, and after a few rough days, he settled in.. mostly. He gets along with Freddy, but Teddy and he do not get along at all. He constantly tries to attack him. You can tell Teddy is fearfull of him, he's always on alert and spends a lot of the day hidden away.

After a couple months, we settled into a new routine. Everything seemed ok.

Recently though we've encountered an issue and nothing we try has helped and It seems to be getting worse. One, or more...we really do not know, have started going to the bathroom wherever they want. On the kitchen counter, rugs, clothes piles, wherever. We have 2 boxes (both clean and recently replaced). Both were upstairs, so we tried moving 1 downstairs. Seemed to work a couple days, then back to the counter. We've changed litter brands, put the lids on the box, left them off the box..everything we can think of.

We're out of ideas. I hoping someone has a solution?? I hate to have to, but my wife is starting to threaten rehoming Horus, if not all 3.

Thanks

Where are the litter the trays? I would assume he needs a storage bin, twice his length. My cats go where ever I am. He does need a urinalysis

 

[bsavery]

I'm ordering a trail cam to see if we can catch the culprit. I don't suspect UTI as it's more #2 than liquid. We need to look at box size though. One of them is a bit small. The other is big enough, but maybe...!!

 

[maggie101]

I'm ordering a trail cam to see if we can catch the culprit. I don't suspect UTI as it's more #2 than liquid. We need to look at box size though. One of them is a bit small. The other is big enough, but maybe...!!

I need one of those! On amazon?

 

[bsavery]

Yep! I ordered this one ...

Amazon.com

Hopefully it will do the job!

 

[maggie101]

Yep! I ordered this one ...

Amazon.com

Hopefully it will do the job!

Very nice! Please give an update. My cats are senior,one with IBD.