posted 10-12-2003 12:48 PM         

That said here is my story:

When I was first dating my now wife, I saved a kitten that was being severely abused in a college house that contained a dozen or so kittens and no litter box in site. I heard of a story when I was there that the night before one of the baby kittens were tossed into a fish tank w/ large Piranhas and was eaten. I heard that and took the smallest kitten in the house and would have taken every one of them if I could have. Now, my girlfriend was deathly afraid of cats and my family was allergic and I took that kitten anyways.

8 years later we are married w/ 3 cats and we don't know what life would be like w/ out any of them. That first kitten is now a cat and has many issues. She is VERY aggressive and does not play nice w/ anyone other than my wife and that is not all the time. She fights w/ the other cats especially our other girl cat we rescued from almost under our car tire.

She has always pee'ed outside the litter box and we have been able to deal w/ that by placing that clear plastic carpet runner stuff down and placing paper towels down for here to pee on. It seems to work and besides the smell some times it works out just fine. BUT, this morning we found a rather large (looked like a large dog got in a did this) poop was outside the litter box against the wall about 2 feet away from the boxes and the plastic. They have their own little area to do their business and it is very private for them. There are 3 large covered boxes for the 3 cats.

Do you think that letting that one cat out for a little while during the day and letting her in at night would help the problem? She has been checked many times for health issues and she, and all the others, thank Gosh, and have always been healthy.

What do you guys/gals think???????

Thanks
Christopher, Mary, Lucky, Yoda, and Buddy....

posted 10-12-2003 02:00 PM         

As far as your cats litter behaviour, have you taken her to the vets for a check up yet?

I had a cat that was doing the same thing, and it turned out it was a medical condition with her bowels. I don't think letting her outside would really help, because she still might do it at night while she's in.

Also, do you scoop the waste out a couple times a day? Some cats are very picky about their litter box (like mine), and refuse to use a dirty box. My one cat cries real loud and refuses to use it if there's anything at all in his box... luckily I have an automated box, and he waits for it to clean, instead of using the floor.

I would definitely consult with your vet though, to rule out a medical condition first. Good luck!

posted 10-12-2003 02:38 PM         

Thanks again for your reply and anyone else w/ something to add Lucky would really appreciate the info.

posted 10-12-2003 03:31 PM         

Since you do have 3 cats, it could just be the simple fact that she doesn't want to use a dirty litter box with another cats waste in it. Maybe an automated self-cleaning box would be better for her? I have 2 cats, and I use an a self cleaning box called the "Litter Robot"... very pricey, but well worth it... my cats never have to step in dirty litter, which means no messy floors... and it saves alot of work for me, no scooping... thank god!

I saw the worst case of abuse towards a dog in my local paper a couple weekends ago... someone duct taped his mouth shut, and left him to starve to death, the outcome was awful. If you want to read about it go to http://www.nbc10.com/news/2530231/detail.html