Hi John,
My 3 year old, Molly is peeing and more recently pooping all over the house! Last July, I started to see puddles of pee at our back door. I eventually collected a pee sample from the floor and had it tested. They vet found nothing wrong. We were seeing pee at the back door and also the window ledges in our bedroom, the top of my dresser, the kitchen table. Molly was always trying to get outside any chance she could. Things seemed to get better for a while. Then my Mom came to visit and brought her cat. We kept the cats separated at all times. Before my Mom’s visit was over I was seeing pee at the back door again, every day!
Thanks very much,
Andrea
Dear Andrea,
I’d say you’ve got a cat that is especially territorial by nature that became aware of another cat on or near the premises and started to leave pee-mails to let every one know of the intruder’s audacity. To some cats uninvited guests are about as welcome as Michael Richards is welcome as parade marshal at the next million man march.
Cats that give up on the litter box generally do for three reasons; illness, dirty litter box (cleaning won’t do, they have to be replaced) and territorial infringement. Note that Molly’s soiling patterns are vantage or access points to the outside. Her trying to get outside is another clue. She wanted to go kick some kitty keester. Finally to add insult to injury rather then stand blindly loyal behind the supreme ruler of the household (her) you started cheating on her behind closed doors with another cat right in the catrimonial home. No big surprise here. The number one rule in the rules for living with humans that all cats must read before sharing themselves with us is, “If by your rules they do not play, make them pay, make them pay, make them pay.”
For a territorial cat being merely physically separated from a cat in the same house isn’t really separation. It’s like separating a man from his television remote and then putting him in front of a television he can’t turn off that is locked on to the soap opera channel. He’s not going to be thinking, “Oh well. At least I can’t see it.” He may not start peeing and pooing all over the place but he’ll raise a stink somehow.
I’m not sure why she would be pooping now too. It’s not usual but maybe she’s thinking you’re not getting the message she’s sending through her pee-mail maybe you’ll pay more attention if she leaves some Poo-pouri as well.
Either way you’ll have to find a way from discouraging other cats from coming onto your property and/or try denying visual access. If worse comes to worse you can set a live trap and if it’s not a feral cat stick a collar on it with a note for it’s owner informing them of the dismal life expectancy of cats allowed to roam neighbourhoods and a warning that next time they can bail the cat out at the shelter.
John Wade
