Litter Box Issues

Dear Cathy,

I have three cats. Two cats, a male and female, are 18 months old. One cat is a male who is 6 months old. They are all fixed. The older male cat started pooping in an upstairs unfinished room in my house about two months ago. There were some changes at the time. The male cat couldn't go outside because his flea treatment was on back-order and we had just gotten the male kitten.

The male cat is now able to go outside. All the cats get along fine, but the two males don't play with each other.

I have tried to put the older male cat in time-out when he poops upstairs and keep him in a room with the litter box all night. I have sprayed cat repellent in the room, but he continues to do this. It happens in the morning mainly. There are two litter boxes that get cleaned every morning and night. I'm not sure what to do to get this behavior to stop.

- Stacey, Bellevue, Ohio

Dear Stacey,

Whenever there is a change in the home, there can be a change in behavior. In fact, change is what drives most litter box problems. Most likely the new kitten is the motivation for your male cat's inappropriate elimination.

Plug in pheromones around the home for the next 60 days. This will help calm all the cats and reduce any stress the male cat may be feeling over the new kitten.

Close the unfinished bedroom to keep your male cat from entering. Be sure when you do that you also add one more litter box someplace else in the home. Ideally, the rule is one more litter box than number of cats, but at least one more box should help. Cats are territorial, even if they are fixed, and don't like to share.

Nix the time-out for the cat. He doesn't understand this at all, and it won't improve his behavior.

Keep sifting the litter boxes, twice daily, and add a litter box additive to each box to help attract the male cat back to one of them.

It may take another month for everything to return to normal. Given time, the two male cats may eventually become good friends, too.

Dear Cathy,

Please don't think that because a dog has changed behavior in your presence, he isn't predatory anymore. I have cried for the last three days. I feel so guilty. My foster dog and my own large pit bull/lab mix that I have had for two years killed my beautiful 10-year-old cat. My Shih Tzu was terrified and hiding under the bed. My 12-year-old daughter is devastated.

I had separated the foster dog and she didn't seem predatory in my presence anymore, but she broke out of the crate. The foster dog and my own dog had scratches on their faces. I rehomed the foster dog. I loved my pit bull mix. We went to the park and beach daily. But he is headed to the shelter. My Shih Tzu is still traumatized and no longer plays like he used to.

Please tell your readers to be careful with predatory dogs.

- Dolores Wood, Tampa, Florida

Dear Dolores,

What a heartbreaking story. I can't imagine anything more devastating than to have one animal in the house kill another animal in the house.

Some prey drives are mild and involve the puppy or dog chasing the cat and giving up when the cat is out of reach. That behavior can be addressed through training and management, which involves keeping the animals separated in rooms or crates or by using baby gates when you're not home.

If a prey drive is severe though, it can be difficult to manage. Training, counterconditioning and medication often can't correct an overly aggressive prey drive. It requires constant supervision, and you can never safely leave the dog alone with other animals or kids, ever.

You did the right thing by putting the foster dog in a crate. When you left, you had the realistic expectation that he would still be in the crate when you returned home. There was no way for you to know he would break out. I don't think your other dog was prey-driven. He likely just got caught up in the encounter when it happened.

I understand your grief and the guilt you feel over the death of your cat. Sadly, the trauma of this event may linger in your heart. I hope with time you will forgive yourself.

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(Cathy M. Rosenthal is a longtime animal advocate, author, columnist and pet expert who has more than 25 years in the animal welfare field. Send your pet questions, stories and tips to cathy@petpundit.com. Please include your name, city, and state. You can follow her @cathymrosenthal.)