Cat behavioural problem, can you help me please?

Question

I have 4 cats, all neutered, 3 boys and 1 girl. All are indoor cats as we live on a busy main road. 2 of my cats are 9, and from a shelter. 2 of them are 18months old and I have had them since they were kittens.

The problem is with the younger cats. 1 or both, I am not sure, has started doing "number 2's" outside the litter tray, mainly in the corners of the bathroom (luckily this is tiled). When this happens I clean up with a special enzyme solution made for this purpose. I am unsure which cat it is as these 2 are inseparable and go everywhere together so I never se who does it. It is not all the time, only occasionally and I am going crazy with it. I never know when this will have happened and I always worry when I have guests in case they do it then.

The food and litter that I use has not changed, nor have feeding times or any other part of the routine. I clean out the tray as soon as I see it has been used. Whoever is doing this knows how to use the litter tray as most of the time they use it without a problem. there are 4 trays around the house.

I have taken both cats to the vet who has ruled out any physical reason for this behaviour.

Can you help me please? I need some advice as this is really stressing me out. Thanks

Answer 1

I have had the same trouble with foster cats, the best method to correct the behavior I have found is to get a really big litter pan and have litter pans in more than one area of the house.  It may be the young kitties are playing really hard and don't have time to run to their box so having access to a few boxes helps.  Also in multi-cat households some kitties will develop territorial issues with the litter boxes so the more boxes the better.  Good luck :)

Answer 2

try placing one of the litter boxes in the area where they go and gradually move it back to where it should be. This solution worked for me before. If that doesn't work try sprinkling a little dry red pepper where they should NOT be going and maybe they will go back to their litter box. Hope this helps!

Answer 3

I read somewhere that you should have one litter tray for each of your cats- plus one extra- maybe you should add another litter tray into your bathroom?

If the cat starts using the bathroom litter tray you might be able to move it little by little out next to another tray and then remove it.

I know cats will also have this problem when they have behavioural issues- ive seen it happen when they are jealous to punish their owners but that doesnt sound like the case because they are going in an area which is easy to clean.

Of course, they could also be trying to mark their territory...

What is the relationship like between the older cats and the kittens? If relationships are strained and they feel threatened it may cause them to abandon their litter training.

Another idea would be to use covered litter trays for extra privacy and see if that makes a difference.

Answer 4

Ditto to stacy and you also might try a covered litter box.