Which cat is doing it? HELLLP!?

Question

My girlfriend and her two cats have recently moved into a house with a friend of hers. One of her cats is using the bathroom in other places besides the litter box. How do we figure out which cat it is? The litter box is ALWAYS clean and the cats get plenty of attention. They are not old and senile or anything like that. Her roommate wants it to end ASAP. So she has to get rid of the culprit. How do we figure it out and why is it doing it? Thank you for your help.

Answer 1

Sorry...but when you move cats without their permission they tend to have minds of their own until they get comfortable.

Chances are they are all doing it.

I hope it works out.  

Answer 2

Didn't your GF just move...Were the cats fine at their previous place of residence...It is always wise to read about cats before owning one.  They get upset and change can trigger poor behavior.  I would suggest isolating them both in the bathroom until they adjust to their new digs and there are no more accidents.  Only let them out to play, eat and then back to the safe zone.  Once the behavior is in check increase the amount of time they are free.  One thing to be sure of is to get a pet urine stain remover with enzymes in it and thoroughly clean all the areas a black light will help to locate them.  

Answer 3

just get somone like a friend or sumthing to look after one of them for a day or two and if the one that is still there is not peeing in the litter box you've got your culprit!

Answer 4

First take the cats to a vet and check to see if any of them have a UTI. (urinary tract infection) Cats change litter habits and go outside the box when they are sick. The cat won't act sick until a UTI is in an advanced stage. If the vet determines they are fine, add another litter box.

Answer 5

There's something you can get from the vet.. fluor-something.. that you can give to one of the cats. If he/she is the one peeing, the pee will glow! If it's the other one, it won't.

PS: Don't just get rid of the culprit. Chances are the poor guy/gal has a bladder infection and is avoiding the litterbox because he/she associates it with pain. After a little medication and TLC things should be back to normal.

Answer 6

I'm not sure how to tell which cat is doing it, but I think I might know how to fix the problem. It would be a great shame to get rid of a cat because of this!

The first suspect when a cat's litterbox habits go downhill is a medical issue, and a vet check is always a good idea. When the vet finds nothing, the next step is to look at changes in the cat's environment.

In this case it seems the trigger for this behavior was when the cats moved to the new address. The stress of the move could have caused a UTI to take hold. It could also be a territorial issue (both cats have been put into a new territory, so they compete to dominate it), or one of the cats just isnt comfortable with the new litterbox location.

It is possible one of the cats is avoiding the litterbox because it is afraid of being attacked/intimidated whilst toileting.

I would suggest getting a second litterbox, and putting it as far away from the other litterbox as possible, in a quiet area. A covered litterbox would be a good choice to provide extra privacy.

The idea is that the more dominant cat can't guard BOTH of the litterboxes at once.

Hope that helps.

Answer 7

If the litter box is always clean, it's both cats.

However, without going through the hassle of buying some expensive fluorescent treatment, just keep an eye on one cat for a day, and the other for the other day.