Little MIss Twinkles

MoochNNoodles

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Hi Marilyn. Thank you for spending some time with us at TCS!

Bunny is about 8 years old and lives at my Mother's house with 2 other cats and 2 dogs. She came to us there when she was about 3 years old and it was her third time being adopted. (Supposedly for having owners who moved overseas and couldn't take her and then the people who adopted her next were allergic.)

She spent her first few weeks isolated in the house and was happy. Then she met one of the other cats who was a kitten and became his surrogate mommy, bathing him and what not. Sometime after this she began peeing on a bathmat when no one was looking.

After about 8 months she took to peeing in the family room, and occasionally in other rooms. Every now and then she'll look at you and squat, but usually it's when no one is looking. They have out 2-3 litterboxes in different areas, which are cleaned twice a day. Physical health issues have been ruled out and we do see her use the boxes regularly.

Bunny seems to do this less when she has access to the outdoors. But being front paw declawed (she came to us that way), we don't leave her out alone. She had some trouble getting used to the third cat that was added to the family, but that resolved itself since the other 2 cats play together and leave her be unless she initiates play with them. If she's mad (like when she wants out but we don't let her out) she'll smack whichever animal is in her way. Even the dogs who normally don't pay her any mind. Other than that she appears to be happy and is very affectionate towards and people who come over. She has plenty of places to retreat to when she wants privacy, but often likes to sit near us too.

We are committed to keeping Bunny in the family, but as my parents plan to build a new home, they are really confused what to do. Any advice you have for us would be much appreciated!

Thank you!
 

thecatcoach

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First make sure that this is not a medical problem, by taking the cat to the vet.

Without doing a full consultation, it's hard to identify the exact triggers. But things to look for:
litter box placement. Litter boxes should be in different areas of the house
Litter boxes should be uncovered and not located in closets or bathrooms, places a cat can feel trapped.
Cat boxes need to be scooped at least once a day, if not twice.
Cleanup. A really good enzyme cleaner is needed. If the targeted area is not cleaned up, the cat will continually target the same area.
Not enough vertical territory. Cats need tall cat trees to demonstrate their status.
These are just a few of the common triggers to look for.
Marilyn Krieger, CCBC
www.thecatcoach.com
 
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MoochNNoodles

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Thank you for your response. I'm going to print this and bring it to my parent's and we'll go from there!
 
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