Not using litter box.

Dr. Marie replied:

Hi. I am so sorry to hear that this is happening. This is unfortunately a common problem, especially in a multi-cat household.

Here are a few things that you can do that may help:

If you have 3 cats, you need at least 4 litter boxes. They need to be cleaned at least once a day. You can experiment with adding a covered box, or trying different sizes of boxes and different types of litter.

If possible, restrict her from the areas where she is doing this.

If she goes in one area regularly, you can try adding a litter box there. Or, if she won't use the litter box, then put an incontinence pad (that people use for bedwetting) there. Then, each day, move the box or pad a little closer to the area that is acceptable for her to go.

If she only does it at night you can keep her in a room such as the bathroom at night time, with her own litter box.

You may want to look into a product called feliway. This is like a plug-in that diffuses a feline pheromone that makes cats feel good. It has been shown to reduce stress in multi cat households. It is usually stress that causes this type of problem.

Is it at all possible to let her outside? Some cats will have this type of behavior because of boredom.

You can also talk to your vet about a medication called amitriptylline which helps to reduce anxiety levels in cats.

I hope this helps!

Dr. Marie.

---

Check out our dog age calculator and cat age calculator.