Posted by Marianna on May 16, 2006, 3:32 pm, in reply to "Re: cat won't use the litterbox"
210.84.9.220

The cat might be anxious for some reason, feeling insecure.Litter box problems are mainly a response to stress - by leaving their scent urine and poo around they feel they are more in control of that territory. Like dominant cats never burry their poo, they leave it on the ground so every other cats would know who is the boss! I have rescued a beautiful moggi last year - and he became VERY bossy as soon as he settled in. He never hurt any of my cats, in fact everyone looked OK and happy, but some of my cats started urinating and leaving their poo around the house and they became timid of us. I became suspicious and started observing their behavior and I have noticed how the new cat ordered the others around just by using body language and movements. I watched him outside while he did his toilettings: he always left his poo uncovered. I knew we had a huge problem here - despite my OHs and my children's resentment I had to find an other home for the new cat. As soon as he left all my cats settled down immediately, they became affectionate and relaxed again, the change was very obvious - although I have to put up with spraying ever since! I am buying that Urine off spray now to clean everything to stop the habit now. It can be very hard when things like this happen. We might like every cat but they do not necessarily get along well. My daughter had two Siamese cats, they were best friends for 9 years until one of them died. They were always pooing and weeing at different places in the house, never in the litter box and it was impossible to stop them. We have tried absolutely everything from herbal remedies to calming drugs and Feliway...but they were very best buddies, always snuggled up and playing together. When one of them died, the other was in extrememe grief - BUT she started using the litter box and never did any accidents since. It is hard to believe but they were actually annoyed by each other's presence. They loved each other but they were jelous too - they did not want to share their humans' attention! This might be your problem too - even though the two cats seem to get along very well, there might be a silent communication between them that upsets the one that does not use the litter box. And this is kind of a problem (personality clash) that you might not be able to solve otherwise but just by rehoming one of them or by putting up with problems. If you are interested to know for sure whether this is the real reason behind your cat's litter box problem, try to give the other cat to one of your friends or to your parents for just 3-4 days and see what happens - the anxious cat should start to use the litter box as soon as the other cat gets removed. It will be important to wash the litter box and put a clean kitty litter in it ones the other cat has gone... I hope this helps Marianna