Needy cat peeing everywhere

[thatcrazycat634]

Okay, to preface this I live at home with my parents, and we have a total of 9 indoor cats (our house is definitely big enough for such a feat) but we only have two problem cats: one my sister got much too young that was our first cat before we knew how to interact with them, and my cat, who's notorious for pissing on everything. Now, she's been fixed, and we were told that would fix the problem, and I know people say you can't ascribe human emotions to cats, but it really does seem like a needy/revenge type situation now. Recently I accidentally came into ownership of a bunch of fish (no one in my family can say no to an animal in need) and it's been maybe 5 days of keeping her out of my room until I can figure out what I'm going to do with the fish. It has come to my attention any night I have kept her out of my room in the past and currently, she pees on our couch downstairs (after meowing for hours at my door) I never thought I had spoiled her before- I only treated her "special" when she was young and when she got pregnant, but now I'm worried she's really clingy and vindictive.

 

[calicosrspecial]

Hi,

I am sorry to hear this.

Cats are territorial so any time territory is taken away (a room closed off where they liked to go) they could feel insecure and want to mark "their" territory. 

I am guessing that your room was an area your cat felt secure in. With 8 other cats in the house she could be feeling the need to "own" territory and the couch sounds like she wants that.

Are any of the cats bullying her?

What is the other "problem" cat doing to cause problems?

I would do a couple of things.

Please clean the couch thoroughly with the proper cleaning solution.

I would like you to open your room back up to her if at all possible and if you can do it safely.

Finally, I would like you to step up play with her especially in the room where the couch is (or any area she is marking in). After a good play session feed either a meal or treats. Also, can you add a cat tree in the room where she is marking? Or cat scratching posts? Is it possible to add a litter box near the couch she is marking? Finally, try to mark sure she knows she is loved, if you can get her to purr without putting yourself at risk of being hurt that would be helpful especially near that couch she is marking. And feed her treats, anything to help her feel more secure.

I am happy to try to help you throughout this. Please let me know any additional information if you think it is helpful and please feel free to ask anything anytime. It could be as simple as your room being closed off to a more complex situation. But I think we should be able to figure it out.

 

[thatcrazycat634]

No, none of the cats have ever dared bully her (or eachother) she's never been violent towards humans EVER but she is more likely to hiss or swat at another cat than the rest of the cats, but even that's not likely since they're all calm cats. The problem cat is not really a problem cat for our other cats, she's more of a human problem cat because she's incredibly adverse to being touched even accidentally and will latch on violently in response (she's getting much better though! You can run your hand down her length now once and scratch her head reasonably long) We did clean it every single time she peed, with no spray or some other cat related cleaner. Every room in the house has a litter box, even unused rooms in case a cat gets trapped. The room she's peeing in has a cat tree as well, and the walls are real wood that they all enjoy tearing to shreds. There are also cardboard scratchers to the left of my door. Unfortunately, she never purrs. She also just in general prefers not to use any litter box imo (Once, I accidentally left her in my room with my closet door (where the litter box is) closed. She didn't pee in my room, but instead opted to pee in a laundry basket right beside a litter box in my sisters old room when I let her out. Also, after leaving for a few days, she's gotten right into my line of sight and pissed right in front of me, and that happened pretty regularly while she adjusted to me having to work) She's gotten better though! I got a good tank set up with a lid so she can't bother the fish, there is another reason I can't feel comfortable sleeping with her in there again so I haven't let her, but to our knowledge she hasn't peed since I started trying to pay extra attention to her and letting her in while I'm in there.

 

[calicosrspecial]

So she is using the litter box now?

Cats typically go outside the litter box to mark the territory as they feel like they don't "own" the territory. The more time you spend with her and build her confidence through play, food, height and love (attention) the more likely she will not feel the need to mark. Since they feel like they own the territory, they are confident.

Sometimes cat don't use the litter box because of pain/medical and sometimes because of animals (mice in walls, ferals outside etc).

Please feel free to post any time, I am happy to try to help if I can.