New Cats

Finally, a bit over a year after my old cat passed on, I finally went to
the shelter and got two adorable little kittens, a male and a female.
The male was 13 weeks and has broad tiger-like markings, with broad
black 'stripes,' interspersed with very light oragne-white ones, and a
black outline that looks like a mask around his eyes and has white paws
that look like socks. The female, 10 weeks old, is a grey/black tiger
stripe. They were from different litters, so it took a day or so for
them to acclimate to each other. The female follows the male wherever
he goes, they play and are generally frisky, as kittens are. Like
babies, they take naps, and want to sleep on our laps, which we
accommodate when we can. When not, they sleep curled up together. We
put their beds next to each other, and sometimes they sleep in each, or
sometimes, they curl up in one.

They're playful, so we put them into one room for the night with
substantial food, their beds, and, of course, their litter box. The
conventional wisdom told us to keep them in that room exclusively for
the first week or so, but we only do so at night, because we want them
to become familiar with their surroundings. We will not declaw them, or
let them out; they're indoor cats.

The female, despite our training has had two 'accidents,' even though
she uses the litter box, and apparently knows where it is. She had the
first 'accident' the first day we had her, which I attributed to a
combination of excitement, new surroundings, and her not knowing her way
around the house to her litter box. However, she knows where her food
and litter box are, and has gone their all by her lonesome before. So
this latest 'accident' was not expected. Our previous cat never had any
accidents. Any one have any reasons or suggestions?

El Castor...

I would just keep the litter box clean, and in a quiet place, and
stick with a good clumping litter -- not some weird new age substance,
and she will probably be ok. A second box in a different place in the
house might be a good idea, and the spot where the "accident" occurred
should be cleaned with a good enzyme urine neutralizing cleaner and
covered with aluminum foil. I'm assuming the cats have been checked by
a vet and tested for things like feline leukemia. It is possible for
some illnesses to cause elimination problems. The following links have
lots of good advice.

Alan Lichtenstein...

Their litter box is in a quiet area. In fact, it's in the same location
as we had it for our previous cat. We do use a good clay-based,
clumping litter. Not one of the new fancy ones. Of course we cleaned
the area, which was different for each 'accident.' The shelter we got
the cats from did thorough testing, and gave the kittens the first round
of shots as well.

We have three cats, and for us, two boxes work well -- one upstairs
and one down. We also keep a bowl of water upstairs -- but not near
the litter box. One of the three is a rescue, and despite the fact
that he is neutered, he sprays. We put him on 5mg of Fluoxetine
(generic Prozac) nearly two years ago, and the spraying stopped
literally with the first pill. He's a great pill taker, and I have
become an expert pill giver. (-8

Alan Lichtenstein...

Eventually, we'll stop putting the cats in one room and leave them out
to roam the house at night, as we did with our old cat. However, after
they've gotten a bit bigger and aren't quite so curious about their
surroundings, and get into mischief. We never had to put a second
litter box upstairs, and I don't want to do that now. We might need a
second litter box, although the one we're using does not appear to be
overused, and we check and clean it several times a day. My son and his
fiance have four adult cats, and they use one litter box, which doesn't
seem to be a problem, even for them. I believe I ought to be able to
get away with one litter box.

Keeping your cats indoors and not declawing them is the only way to
go. I'm glad to read you're doing that. We have one of those rope
covered scratching posts, where the post is set at a 45 degree angle.
The cats like it the best.

Alan Lichtenstein...

Right now, we have one scratching post that we hang in the room where
our cats sleep. They have the usual kitten toys, and play with them.
We'll probably get a larger version of a scratching post, or a cat tree
when the cats get older. Right now, they can't jump too far, and we
don't encourage them to jump. The female appears to be teething
somewhat, as she chews on metal bars( fortunately, not the wooden
furniture ). I'm taking them to the vet tomorrow for the second round
of shots, so I'll ask the vet about that. I hope I can train the female
to use the litter box all the time. I'm just curious as to why she had
her 'accident.'

"It is useless to attempt to reason a man out of what he was never reasoned into."
Jonathan Swift

George Z. Bush...

It's possible that she's marking her territory; however, if it continues, maybe
her vet should check her out for a bladder infection.

George Z.

al562...

My mom's cat was a rescue cat, very high strung. She settled down with my
folks after a while. However she was extremely fussy with her litter box.
It had to be cleaned instantly or else!

When she came to live with us (us including our more elderly male cat) she
was quite upset. There was a lot of hissing going on, paw-swatting, and
general grumpiness. She was also not used to the dog. I had two litter
boxes - his and hers - and for some reason she didn't use hers, just his.
I have no idea why, unless it was territorial expansion.

Then the male cat started to spray high, over the side of the extra deep
litter box. Fortunately I had plastic underneath and beside the box.

This summer, we went to the cottage. The male seems to have calmed down,
but the female has started to leave lumpy little 'presents' on one special
corner of the carpet.

I put it down to a general uncertainty with the surroundings. I noticed
that I had no sooner put down a new carpet (fortunately not an expensive
one) that she quietly went off into a corner and baptised it. Thank
heavens for odour neutralizers!

I suspect as she becomes more confident in her surroundings and the people
(furry and human) she lives with, she won't need to make a statement about
who she is and where she lives.