Looking For Advice

[Vee11]

Hey everyone. I really need some advice. This is going to take a little bit so I hope someone has the patience to read it. I have 3 cats, all female. The newest member is older than my other 2 and she is NOT getting along with either of my others. The newest one is 9. One is under a year old and I am pretty sure that that relationship will work itself out, as I have even seen the kitten sleeping snuggled up to the new cat. But my other one, who is 5, was head honcho before the kitten and the newest one. She handled the kitten ok, but with the new one she is not having it. To be honest, I cannot even tell which of the 2 is the instigator. But they sound like how feral cats killing each other outside sound, except in my apartment.

I should also mention that my apartment is super small. There really is not enough room for 3 cats, but I just couldn't bear to leave the new one to her fate when her owner had not been able to work out a good situation for her after months of trying. When I took her in, I was in the process of starting to get a bigger apartment, but that has since fell through. I came home from work today and my whole apartment smells like cat urine. I have 2 litter boxes. The original one and one in the other room which is contained in one of those enclosures that is meant to look like a piece of furniture. I thought that it would help with litter spreading around, which it does, but I think it actually holds the urine smell even more than without the enclosure. Does anyone have any experience with that? I clean the litter pans out constantly and there was never any urine smell in my place before the 3rd cat.
I tried putting liners under the actual litter pan, towels, and nothing. I feel like they somehow urinate outside the litter pan, but only near the pan inside the enclosure. The other has been fine. And actually for some reason, used way less than the one in the enclosure that I have been having problems with.
So basically I am asking about help with the litter pan smell, and also if there is anything I can do to help the 2 other ones get along better.
I am a little overwhelmed and just want them to be happy, loved, clean, and safe. Thank you to whoever takes the time to read this novel.
Veronica

 

[JamesCalifornia]

~ I know something about litter box maintenance. I will assume your cats are not doing peepee on the floor, walls or furniture.
I use a 10 gal tote box. Anything else is too small. The box should hold 20 lbs of litter. A smaller box just does not have enough room. Sprinkle a few cups of silica crystals in with the litter. When scooping push the litter to one side and sprinkle crystals on the bottom of the box. This seems to help control odor a lot . I also add baking soda.
Some people like the covered litter box. Those may be nice but I have no experience with them.
Good luck !

 

[HPeters]

I would try to reintroduce the cats again, more slowly this time to make sure that there is no negative reaction.
you should have 1 more litter box than cats and you can use a uv light to see if there is any urine outside the litterbox and clean it with an enzymatic cleaner
Hope this helps!!

 

[vyger]

It is summertime in the northern hemisphere and in a lot of places it has been a wet summer. Unless you are in a desert it is much more humid than in the winter. Even where I live it has been very humid this summer. What difference does that make? First, litter boxes don't dry out as fast because there is already a lot of moisture in the air. Second, humid air holds smells better. So you will notice smells more and the cat litter retains more moisture. Litter boxes that have covers are even worse because they trap the moisture inside. So it will become like a green house on a suny day. Damp and smelly. I have no idea where you live but you likely can help things by getting a dehumidifier. If the apartment is humid but outside is not put the box out in the sunshine to dry out a little if that is possible. I would recommend getting a UV flashlight and at night with the lights off scan around with it to find out if anybody (cat) has been marking things. Cats that are having conflicts will often pee to mark their area. "This is my room! you can tell cause I peed it first." If you find out that is the case there are cleaners and sprays that will neutralize the pee smell. Again, find them with the black light. If you need links to some of those things just say so and we can all provide you with them. Oh, the black-light flashlight will likely be a real revelation for you. Cat pee glows, but so does a lot of other things. Blow your nose into a Kleenex and shine the light on it. It glows pretty good.

 

[rubysmama]

V Vee11 : hello and welcome to TCS. Thanks for giving the older cat a home. Sorry, though, that things haven't quite worked themselves out as of yet.

Were you able to keep the new cat separated from the other 2 at first, so that a "proper" introduction could be done? If not, or even if you did, can you try separating them again and redoing the introductions?

Here's some TCS articles with more info:
How To Fix An Unsuccessful Cat Introduction
How To Successfully Introduce Cats: The Ultimate Guide | TheCatSite
Introducing Cats To Cats | TheCatSite

About the pee smell, can you put out more litter boxes? With 3 cats, the "rule" calls for 4 litter boxes - 1 per cat, plus one.

Here's a few more TCS articles that might be helpful:
Combat Cat Urine | TheCatSite
How To Remove Cat Urine | TheCatSite
How To Remove Cat Urine Odor From Your Home | TheCatSite