Litter box problem

[Melalvai]

A kitten followed us home last year. By "followed" I mean, I climbed into a storm drain and coaxed the little thing to me with kitty treats. We couldn't find another home. By that I mean, the offers were along the lines of "If you can't find anyone else, but I have an older cat", and since we were in the same boat, we just kept her.

That puts us at 3 cats, 2 old ones and the kitten.

A few weeks ago one of the old cats, who has never liked the kitten (they are both gray short-hair), decided to express her dissatisfaction by leaving a present for me each morning directly in FRONT of the litter box.

I tried scooping it more often, and a few other things, and then got her a new litter box, which came yesterday (with little steps for her arthritis!) I moved the old litter box and showed the other cats where it is. They adjusted nicely and are happy.

I showed her the new litter box, which is where the old one was.

She used it, but she also still left her morning present in front of it. I believe the other cats have not used the new one.

How do I break this new habit of hers?

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

If i were you I'd ask my vet about this. It's just possible that the cat is ill in some way. I once knew a cat that started doing that and the owner kept punishing her and it turned out the kitty had a brain tumor that was growing and of course in the end the poor cat died. The owner felt awful.

[Biciclista]

If the vet says the cat is ok, and it's behavioral, you need to isolate the cat(s) for at least a week. I'm not sure who needs to have a week long time out, but they need to be separated, each with their own litter box.
after a week, put everyone back together WITH the extra cat litter box(es) and see if there is an improvement. One day isn't enough time for them to adjust.

[Melalvai]

They are all having vet visits within the next few weeks, for their yearly checkup. I will talk to the vet.

I also looked on a cat forum (perhaps more accurately a cat-owner's forum?) and found some advice about using something called Feliway. I sprayed it around the litterbox, but once again this morning she used the floor.

The advice to other people with similar problems, on that forum, was what you suggested: isolate them from each other.

Also we're supposed to have 1 box per cat + 1. With the new box I'm up to 2, so I'll go ahead and get 1 more, which will still be 1 short, but I'll see how that goes. I'll put the 3rd one upstairs, spray with Feliway, and keep Old Cranky up there. She won't mind being confined to one room because she doesn't get around much. Young & Restless can have the rest of the house, and Old Spacey doesn't seem to care who is around her. (That's not their real names.)

Three cats is really too many, and I knew that at the time, but what can you do? But if I see another stray I will steel my heart and turn my back!

[zoom-zoom]

Three cats is really too many, and I knew that at the time, but what can you do? But if I see another stray I will steel my heart and turn my back!

3 doesn't seem like too many to the one who has 4... In our defense, our 4th was entirely our DS's fault. He was 6 and riding around the driveway on his bike and this adorable little gray beast kept chasing him back-and-forth. So we took him in and named him Chase. We have no regrets.

Another thought...are your boxes covered? Some cats like covered boxes, some prefer open. Perhaps get a new box that is a different style than what you have. We have two MASSIVE boxes. They are like 18" x 24" and really deep. The funny thing we have in our house is that our cats seem to use one for #1 and the other for #2. Makes me wonder which one of them made that rule.

[tctrek]

As a past breeder of pedigree cats, I have found that 99% of the time this is behavior and one that can be tough to break. Sometimes completely moving the boxes to another spot works. Covering or uncovering also might work. You could also try a new type of litter.