Go Back   Pet forum for dogs cats and humans - Pets.ca > Discussion Groups - mainly cats and dogs > Dog training - dog behavior > Cat behavior forum - cat training

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old October 27th, 2007, 10:53 AM
DoeZ's Avatar
DoeZ DoeZ is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Corfu New York
Posts: 28
Cat is leaving suprises where they don't belong

Hello all...

My DD recently brought home a "free" kitten...we already have a 3 yr.old dog...14 yr. old cat that never comes out...and a 12 yr. old cat that is a lover. While we took this kitty in with lots of love...we never forgot about our other "children" and made sure that we showed them their share of love as well. At first it was new to all and we heard alot of growling and hissing...but soon they all got used to each other. The little one knows where his food is and litter box is (all the cats share everything) and seems to be doing really well. My problem is Taffy...he's our 12 yr. old lover...he is the one that was doing alot of the growling and hissing...the little one wants to play and sometimes I see the little one playing with him but its a biting like...Taffy only puts up with it for so long before he turns around and either bites the little one or sits on him...but recently I've been finding little suprises left in rooms or behind tables or wherever...I believe this is Taffy because the other cat...Tinker...never comes out...she recently just started coming into the kitchen...she's afraid of everything and everyone...and it's usually my Dog Lily that will tell me about this little suprise...I know it's not the new little one because its too big to be his...LOL...what do I do about this...I don't want my cat thinking he can now leave his little whatevers where ever he wants...he needs to use his litter box like he did before. Any suggestions or advice on any of these things would greatly be appreciated. I am trying to add their pictures...just can't figure out how to shrink them...
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old October 27th, 2007, 11:08 AM
Winston's Avatar
Winston Winston is offline
Mom of 3 precious Angels
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Hamilton Ontario
Posts: 7,300
Welcome! First of all how many litter boxes do you use? Also has Taffy been to the vet to ensure at 12 there is no medical issue? Usually cats go outside the box to indicate a problem?

Cindy
__________________
Tabitha April 10, 1995 - August 23, 2013
Bomber April 10, 1995 - July 12, 2010
Winston Nov 15, 1999 - September 15, 2011
Sophie Aug 30, 2011

"UNTIL ONE HAS LOVED AN ANIMAL, PART OF THEIR SOUL REMAINS UNAWAKENED"
He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion.
-Unknown
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old October 27th, 2007, 12:29 PM
DoeZ's Avatar
DoeZ DoeZ is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Corfu New York
Posts: 28
No he hasn't been to the vets...I just think he's doing this out of spite because there's a new little kritter in the house. There's only 1 box.
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old October 27th, 2007, 01:26 PM
sugarcatmom's Avatar
sugarcatmom sugarcatmom is offline
Senior Contributor
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Calgary, AB
Posts: 5,357
Quote:
Originally Posted by DoeZ View Post
No he hasn't been to the vets...I just think he's doing this out of spite because there's a new little kritter in the house. There's only 1 box.
You absolutely need to add at least 2 more litter boxes, preferably in different areas of the house. There is a general rule that there should be 1 box per cat, plus one extra.

Cat's really don't want to poop outside the box, if they are, it's because they feel the have to (and spite is not an emotion they experience). It's likely just very stressful for Taffy to have this new addition in the house (even if the hissing has subsided) and this is how his stress is being expressed. Please read this website for more litter box related info: http://www.catinfo.org/litterbox.htm

Also, at 12 years old, cats should be having annual check-ups with a senior blood panel and urinalysis. If it's been longer than that for Taffy, that would be my next step. Good luck!
__________________
"To close your eyes will not ease another's pain." ~ Chinese Proverb

“We must not refuse to see with our eyes what they must endure with their bodies.” ~ Gretchen Wyler
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old October 28th, 2007, 10:34 AM
DoeZ's Avatar
DoeZ DoeZ is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Corfu New York
Posts: 28
Is it ok if I add 1 more litter box but put it in the same room...we have their litter box down in the mudroom and we really don't want to have one up in the house...so we were gonna put another one right nixt to the original one.
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old October 28th, 2007, 11:20 AM
sugarcatmom's Avatar
sugarcatmom sugarcatmom is offline
Senior Contributor
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Calgary, AB
Posts: 5,357
Quote:
Originally Posted by DoeZ View Post
Is it ok if I add 1 more litter box but put it in the same room...we have their litter box down in the mudroom and we really don't want to have one up in the house...so we were gonna put another one right nixt to the original one.

Can you at least put it on the other side of the mudroom instead of side-by-side? By the way, how often do you clean the one box you do have? With the addition of the new cat, it could be that you haven't been keeping up with the increased excrement and Taffy just doesn't want to walk on everyone else's poop, which is perfectly understandable (would you?). With 3 cats, you should be cleaning it twice a day at an absolute minimum. I find the reason most people don't want a litter box up in their own living area is because it's stinky, and the reason it's stinky is because they don't clean it out enough. How would you like to be the cat that HAS to go into that stinky box a few times a day? You might just rebel and start pooping somewhere else.
__________________
"To close your eyes will not ease another's pain." ~ Chinese Proverb

“We must not refuse to see with our eyes what they must endure with their bodies.” ~ Gretchen Wyler
Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


Forum Terms of Use

  • All Bulletin Board Posts are for personal/non-commercial use only.
  • Self-promotion and/or promotion in general is prohibited.
  • Debate is healthy but profane and deliberately rude posts will be deleted.
  • Posters not following the rules will be banned at the Admins' discretion.
  • Read the Full Forum Rules

Forum Details

  • Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8
    Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
    vBulletin Optimisation by vB Optimise (Reduced on this page: MySQL 0%).
  • All times are GMT -5. The time now is 10:47 AM.