Why can't we all just get along?

[mamaducky]

Hi kids,

You all seem like such a wise bunch that I'm hoping you can give me some suggestions with what is turning into kind of a BIG problem!

We have three cats: Zorro and Einstein (males ages 7 & 6) have lived happily together since we brought them home from the Humane Society six years ago.

This past November, we took in Meg (female age 8), who had belonged to an elderly friend who wasn't really in the mood to have a cat anymore. We did all the "slow and steady" introductions that I'd read about in my pre-adoption homework, and things went all right for the first few months. Einstein and Megan get along fine, but Zorro (my sweet but somewhat neurotic alpha cat) and Meg have real problems.

Amazingly, I think the aggression between the two was originally instigated by Meg -- who will still jump hissing and spitting into Zorro's face unprovoked on occasion, even though he's easily twice her size and can (and has) given her as good as he's gotten. Though they usually manage to ignore one another, we usually have a minor scuffle (hissing and spitting) every day, and a major event (actual physical contact and even occasional biting) maybe once or twice a week.

Now, Meg (or at least I'm pretty sure it's Meg -- you know how it is with multiple cats) is having littering issues -- urinating and defecating in places such as the closet or the bathtub. I assumed this was because maybe Zorro was giving her trouble when she went down to the basement to use the litter box, so I put a litter box up on the second floor so that she could use it without being worried. It worked for a couple of weeks, but now she's back to finding alternative places to go.

I love all three of my wonderful cats, but my husband is quickly losing patience with Meg and her issues and is making noises about finding her a new home. Any ideas about how we can reduce the hostilities between my big guy and my little girl, and how I can get Miss Meg back to the litter box?

Thanks in advance!
Diana

[krazyaboutkatz]

Hi and welcome to PT. I would first take Meg to the vet to make sure that she doesn't have a UTI or something else wrong with her that might be causing her to pee inappropriately.

If everything checks out fine then I'd make sure that you have plenty of litterboxes. The rule of thumb is to have at least 1 for each cat plus an extra one so that would make 4 in your case. If you live in a house that has 3 floors then you also need litterboxes on every floor. You must also make sure to clean them out at least once every day or more often if needed.

If you have covered litterboxes, then I would take the hoods off because some cats don't like to use covered litterboxes. I had this problem with one of my cats even though he had used the covered litterboxes for quite a while. Meg may also not like the litter. Many cats don't like scented litters because it's too strong for their sensitive noses.

When I was having some peeing issues my vet recommended that I buy Cat Attract Litter By Dr. Elsey. You can buy it online or at Petsmart. Here's a link about it: http://www.petsmart.com/product/inde...767033.2845025. When I bought it I just put some of it on top of my cats old litter and they used it right away. I'm now using Dr. Elsey's Precious Cat Ultra Scoopable Litter which is an unscented litter and my cats really seem to like it.

I would also try using some Feliway Plugins and I'd also buy some Feliway spray to spray in the areas where Meg has already peed. You also need to buy some kind of enzyme cleaner so that your cats won't smell the pee areas and continue to pee there. I use Simple Solution which I buy at a pet store and it seems to do the trick.

If nothing seems to work then you may want to consider putting Meg on prozac or another type of tranquilizer to help keep her calm. I like using holistic things so I'm currently using Calm Spirit Teapills on a few of my cats. My holisitic vet recommeded this and it takes at least 2 weeks to see any affect. You can buy these pills online but I'd talk to a vet first. I hope that something will work. Good luck.

[Medusa]

If, after having Meg checked out to be sure she's free of physical problems that could be causing the inappropriate behavior, she still continues in this way, talk to your vet about a medication called Clomicalm. It's usually prescribed for dogs but can be safely administered to cats. I've had 4 of mine on it for several years now w/no side effects whatsoever. It's a mild antidepressant that has taken care of aggressive behavior and inappropriate urination and defecation. It usually comes in 20 mg. pills which are cut into quarters, so that each cat gets 5 mg. at night before bed. It's said to take a while to work but, fortunately, it started working immediately for me. It saved my household and my sanity. See what your vet has to say about it.

[Pawsitive Thinking]

Poor Meg - maybe she knows that she wasn't wanted in her old home any more and is taking it out on Zorro as she senses he is the easier target.

I hope she checks out okay with the vet and that they all get along soon

[mamaducky]

You've all made such great suggestions, and have made me feel a lot less panicky about the whole situation.

Meg, despite her present issues, is SUCH a sweet girl, and I'm just determined to make it work for her. I'm taking her to the vet on Monday (would go sooner, but my 2-legged baby is graduating high school TOMORROW!), and will see what he has to say.

Meanwhile, I'm off to try the Cat Attract litter and get hold of some enzyme spray to get rid of the smelly spots!

Thanks again!
Diana

[cristy]

You said that your husband was starting to get aggrevated with Meg. Make sure that he isn't treating her any different. When I moved in with my husband my cat started peeing an pooping everywhere....I was SHOCKED because Jasper had NEVER had a single issue before. It wasn't until he disappeared for three days (he crawled into a hole in the wall under the sink!!!) and had me frantically casing the neighborhood that steve told me how evil he was being to my poor baby. He didn't hurt him or anything, but I always left a heating pad on in his cat bed and when I went to work, steve would turn it off...just to be mean! I was soooo angry!! Once steve realized that if he wanted me around he was going to have to be nice to Jasper too they became the best of buds. Now, he spoils Jazzy more than I do and Jaz hasn't had an issue since. I'm not suggesting that your husband is abusing Meg, just that maybe she senses his displeasure and is acting out. Sounds like she has had quite a bit of upheavel lately!