Help!! Cat pees & poops everywhere, for no apparent reason

[Sessa]

We have 3 cats, 2 males we've had for 7 years, and a new addition female 4 years old that we've had for just less than a year. All are neutered/spayed. All of a sudden we've been finding poop and pee on the basement floor. The litter boxes are kept clean. It started as just pee in the same spot happening more and more frequently. It has recently progressed to poop as well, and now it's in different places around the house, even in the closet. I'm just at a loss, we're not even sure if it's just one or all of them doing this. They are all loveable and we've never had these behavioral problems before. I LOVE MY CATS, ANY ADVISE???

[Karen]

Has everyone been to the vet lately, just in case it is something medical? Any other big changes in the household lately?

[moosmom]

First rule of thumb is one litterbox for each cat. Next is to rule out any medical problems. If that's all taken care of, try Feliway. It's a concentrated spray that helps with behavioral problems. But first, ya gotta rule 'em out.

Good luck.

[krazyaboutkatz]

Hi and welcome to PT. Cats hate change and maybe since you've added the new addition one of them isn't happy about it. It could,however, also be a medical problem as mentioned before. Here's a great website which should cover everything:http://www.catinfo.org/?link=litterbox. Good luck.

[Sessa]

Thank you all.

The initial transition was certainly bumpy for few months for all cats and people, but that was last July and they all seem to get along just fine now. My youngest and newest addition has been to the vet recently, she is in perfect health and I honestly don't think she's the culprit. My 2 older males are due for their check ups. Guess that's the next step to rule out any medical issues.

What exactly is Feliway? I'm always skeptical to gimmicks, does it really work?

[Medusa]

Did you by any chance add some new fabric to your house? One of my females, Yodie, HATES a certain table cloth that I put over an occasional table. I'd no sooner take it out of the dryer, put it on that table and she'd spray on it. She did the same thing w/a bathroom rug. I finally gave up and got rid of those items and the peeing stopped. Cats are so sensitive to smell and that's their way of telling you that they don't like something. Could there be something in the basement that you've seen them sniff that tells you it's unpleasant to them? If the bad behavior spread to the upstairs, there may be something there, too. One of my males, Coco, sprayed on my silk draperies in the dining room. I just hung them and w/in 5 minutes he sprayed on them. I don't know if it was the newness of the fabric or what but once I had them cleaned, he never did it again.

I will say, though, that I have another male, Specs, who started a pee war between himself and my now deceased other male, Boo, and it got so bad that I had to go the medication route. I tried Feliway and it didn't work for them. That's a last resort, though. Give Feliway a try. Others here on PT have seen success w/it. It's a pheromone that comes in a plug-in diffuser or a spray. Give it a whirl.

Oh, and welcome to Pet Talk!

[Sessa]

We've got a family trip to the vet on Saturday. Will keep you posted!

Thanks again!

[Karen]

Oh, good, we'll be curious to find out what the problem is!

[SANDY FROST]

We have 3 cats, 2 males we've had for 7 years, and a new addition female 4 years old that we've had for just less than a year. All are neutered/spayed. All of a sudden we've been finding poop and pee on the basement floor. The litter boxes are kept clean. It started as just pee in the same spot happening more and more frequently. It has recently progressed to poop as well, and now it's in different places around the house, even in the closet. I'm just at a loss, we're not even sure if it's just one or all of them doing this. They are all loveable and we've never had these behavioral problems before. I LOVE MY CATS, ANY ADVISE???

My 12 year old cat had the same problem. He was trying to tell us something
but we were not paying attention to him. Simple basic rule- it's the litter pan's
that are the problem. The current litter pans were old and had not cleaned up as well as they use to. So 4 brand basic cheap new litter pans. Have in 2 spots and 2 on hand so I can rotate the litter pans. For cleaning I have a laundry sink that fits the dirty litter pan. As the laundry water empties into the litter pan in the sink. I leave it to soak for a day or more then I empty
the water in to the sink and then I rinse with tap water and let L.PAN air dry I the garage. It is a easy to clean the cat's litter pan and save on water too. My cat is very clean cat as most cats are.
Sandy Frost