Friends,
Not sure if we're dealing with possible middening (a word that I just learned today!) or jealousy or accidents/health issues.
My 3yo neutered male grey tabby has pooped outside the box for the first time ever. I have found poop in his castle and under his play mat (buried). Both approximately 2 feet from each other in his room where the litterbox is. The poop is normal in texture. Not hard not soft - I don't think it was constipation. I don't know what to think of this! He has no symptoms, eating well, I found pee in the box but 3 pieces of poop scattered in the room. So he did go to the box to pee but not poop.
We have another 6 month old boy, also neutered and another litterbox. Usually they go in the same box during the day as the little one insists on going to his brother's box rather than his own. They have been together over 4 months now and we have gone through slow introduction and everything. They're not bestest friends but they get along, there's ocassional play fights and hissing from my 3yo to the kitten. But they often nap together and groom each other. So I thought they were getting along pretty well - untill today.
We have not made ANY changes, to location of the box, food, litter type, no guests or anything new in the house. We scoop the boxes twice a day and change the entire litter every 2-3 weeks. We have Feliway in the room.
What got me to look up middening is the places he picked to leave his poop. Those are the places that's always been only his as he was the only kitty. But the kitten loves the cat tree and the play mat too and they often fight around it, rest and hang out there all the time. So I can't tell if it's behavioral or health. If it's health, what are the other symptoms that I should look out for? Our vet is pretty careless and unresponsive so I'd have to do my own research and then push for solution. I have gotten an appointment for Friday with the vet, they have nothing available earlier.
But if it is behavioral.. what do I do? It's been 4 months since the new kitten and other than ocassional play fights there has been no issues between the two. Why is he middening after 4 months? Moreover it looks like middening is very rare in indoor cats. We provide plenty of toys and quality time to both but we may have spent a little more time with the kitten since he's more playful and sometimes my older boy refuses to play.
Should I add another litterbox to the 3yo's room? I don't know how to "make them" get along as I thought they were already getting along pretty well! Please help. This is stressing me out and I'm afraid he's gonna do this again and turn it into a habit. I have a little bit of OCD.. the cleaning today took a toll on me. I love my boys and really want them to have a happy and healthy life together and not stress them out even more with my own OCD characteristics.
Not sure if we're dealing with possible middening (a word that I just learned today!) or jealousy or accidents/health issues.
My 3yo neutered male grey tabby has pooped outside the box for the first time ever. I have found poop in his castle and under his play mat (buried). Both approximately 2 feet from each other in his room where the litterbox is. The poop is normal in texture. Not hard not soft - I don't think it was constipation. I don't know what to think of this! He has no symptoms, eating well, I found pee in the box but 3 pieces of poop scattered in the room. So he did go to the box to pee but not poop.
We have another 6 month old boy, also neutered and another litterbox. Usually they go in the same box during the day as the little one insists on going to his brother's box rather than his own. They have been together over 4 months now and we have gone through slow introduction and everything. They're not bestest friends but they get along, there's ocassional play fights and hissing from my 3yo to the kitten. But they often nap together and groom each other. So I thought they were getting along pretty well - untill today.
We have not made ANY changes, to location of the box, food, litter type, no guests or anything new in the house. We scoop the boxes twice a day and change the entire litter every 2-3 weeks. We have Feliway in the room.
What got me to look up middening is the places he picked to leave his poop. Those are the places that's always been only his as he was the only kitty. But the kitten loves the cat tree and the play mat too and they often fight around it, rest and hang out there all the time. So I can't tell if it's behavioral or health. If it's health, what are the other symptoms that I should look out for? Our vet is pretty careless and unresponsive so I'd have to do my own research and then push for solution. I have gotten an appointment for Friday with the vet, they have nothing available earlier.
But if it is behavioral.. what do I do? It's been 4 months since the new kitten and other than ocassional play fights there has been no issues between the two. Why is he middening after 4 months? Moreover it looks like middening is very rare in indoor cats. We provide plenty of toys and quality time to both but we may have spent a little more time with the kitten since he's more playful and sometimes my older boy refuses to play.
Should I add another litterbox to the 3yo's room? I don't know how to "make them" get along as I thought they were already getting along pretty well! Please help. This is stressing me out and I'm afraid he's gonna do this again and turn it into a habit. I have a little bit of OCD.. the cleaning today took a toll on me. I love my boys and really want them to have a happy and healthy life together and not stress them out even more with my own OCD characteristics.
