Not going in its cat box

Question
Ali,
  My wife & I have 3 cats. Felix, the newest, is about 7-8 years old. He was a "Nursing Home" cat. My wife worked there and when she quit, everyone insisted she take Felix. While working there, he adopted Kay. He followed her all day long.
 We "introduced" Joan and Sallie to Felix and there were a few hard times between Joan and Feilx. Sallie really didn't care. All 3 have been spayed or neutered so that isn't an issue. Joan and Sallie still have front claws, Felix doesn't. This is just a brief background as to what has been going on. Now to the problem..
  In the last 2 months, one of the cats began leaving stool samples on the carpet in every room in the house. Kay began changing the litter boxes more often (there are 3). That didn't help. She removed the tops off the boxes in case one was developing claustrophobia. That didn't help. She changed the food from Dry Iams Weight Control to other brands. We have 2 double food bowls and 2 bowls of water. Nothing she has done has helped. We finally caught Felix going on the carpet. Now we know who but still can't figure out why.
  Another thing he has started doing is "begging" when we are eating. Kay says the only time he really goes after the dry food is when the bag is first opened. It seems like the older the bag of food, the less he likes it. He has never been like this in the past.
  I know we probably need to take him to the vet but we just found out which cat was doing this and Kay and I are going on vacation beginning Friday. We both work and don't have time to take off work to get him to the vet this week.
 Any thoughts or ideas would be appreciated. The cats are staying here and our neighbor is going to come over to feed and water them.
  I appreciate your being a volunteer and hope to hear from you when you have a chance.
  I hope this finds you and your family well and happy. Thank you..
Skip

Answer
Skip, I just wanted to thank you for sending an update off. Hopefully Felix will be feeling tons better soon. I also want to thank you for taking the time to acknowledge the time that it takes to answer each person's question accurately and thoroughly...I am up in Canada, so keeping cool isn't quite the same for me as it is for folks down south...besides the heat isn't the worst, the humidity kills me! Take care for now, I look forward to hearing about how Felix is doing soon.




Skip,

I do think that the first course of action should be taking Felix to a vet prior to going on vacation, some vet clinics have evening hours which would hopefully work with you or your wife's work schedule this week. When a cat begins house soiling it is important to be sure that no medical issues are causing or contributing to this behavior. The fact that Felix is neutered is a big plus because that rules out the possibility of sex hormones creating a desire to use urine or feces to mark his territory.

If a qualified vet gives Felix a clean bill of health then you can try to find out what is causing this behavior. It is important to realize that spaying or neutering doesn't completely remove territorial behavior. Cats are very territorial and they aren't fond about any changes. There are a number of potential reasons for Felix to be defecating outside of the litter pan. Sometimes little changes within their environment creates anxiety in cats. There are a number of common reasons for inappropriate elimination. Felix may be reacting to the move from the nursing home where he was familiar with the residents and routines. I wouldn't rule out the possibility that Felix is anxious because routines in a regular household simply aren't the same as they are in an institution such as a nursing home and cats love structure and routine in their lives for the most part. It could be possible that Felix simply isn't a fan of not being able to cuddle up to his friends in the nursing home, he may very well miss the interaction. There may be a way to give Felix a loving, permanent home as well as providing him with the routine and interaction that he normally received from residents at the nursing home. Maybe you or your wife can find some time a few days a week for Felix to go back and visit the residents that he may be missing. I do think that it would be a good start to have your wife speak to the staff at the nursing home to find out exactly what type of litter that Felix was using at the nursing home. Some of the more common reasons for house soiling include using air fresheners or scented kitty litter because many cats are sensitive to scents in the same way that some people are. If the litter pans are too close to the food and water bowls most cats will find other places to eliminate because cats don't like to eat where they eliminate. If Felix wasn't properly introduced to your resident cats it is quite possible that he is being bullied. I have written numerous answers on how to introduce a new cat properly into a house with resident cats and if you would like that information you are welcome to check out my previous answers on the subject. If Felix is anxious because the other cats are bullying you can try a homeopathic remedy called Bach's Rescue Remedy which is blend of flower essences that works to calm and reassure safely and effectively. Rescue Remedy is used in some vet clinics worldwide to treat anxiety or shock in addition to conventional medicine. This remedy won't hurt any of your cats. I would suggest that you try putting a dose of about 8 drops of Rescue Remedy into fresh water daily and see if that helps. I usually recommend one litter box per cat plus one, and in cases where a pattern of inappropriate elimination has started it isn't a bad idea to have one litter box per cat plus one per level of  your home. I normally suggest that disposable litter pans are used for the majority of litter pans because once you find out where Felix likes to use the toilet you can leave a litter pan there and gradually move it to where you would like it. If you use only one type and size of litter pan it isn't a bad idea to try one or two other designs and sizes of litter boxes. A litter box should be large enough for your cat to comfortably get into, find a spot to dig, position themselves in the usual position that cats urinate or defecate in, bury the treasure and get back out of the box easily. Felix could be uncomfortable with where the litter boxes are located. If the litter boxes are all in one place in your home Felix may have an issue with getting to them in time. If you have small children that live in or visit your home they may potentially have frightened Felix in or near the litter box. The litter boxes should be in private areas because cats prefer to eliminate in peace and quiet. I usually recommend that litter boxes not be located in the same room in multiple cat households because bullying can sometimes happen and frighten a more submissive cat. If you have a mat in place to reduce tracking of the litter throughout the house Felix may be uncomfortable with it. Cleaning the litter box at least once a day is a good start, maybe Felix is super finicky about his litter pan and he may prefer that it be cleaned twice a day. Felix may be uncomfortable with the texture of the litter that you are using, especially if it is a different brand than he is used to using. It's quite possible that the move from the nursing home into your home has caused some anxiety, especially since you mentioned that he got a lukewarm reception at best from your other cats. You could try using a synthetic pheromone plug in or spray (such as Feliway) in the areas that Felix has defecated in. Because cats are very territorial they have many different ways of marking their territory including a number of scent glands distributed throughout their bodies. These scent glands leave sort of a kitty calling card if you will whether your cat has marked the couch with her scent by "sharpening" her claws which is actually more about scent marking then it is about sharpening their claws. Often times the pheromone products that you can find in pet supply stores will stop your cat from going outside of the box, the reason being that once an area has been marked by pheromones many cats don't continue to use urine or feces for this purpose. You won't smell these products, but your cats will smell them easily. You could try placing food dishes in the areas of the house soiling incidents because cats are quite clean and they prefer not to defecate where they eat. You may find that confining Felix to a room that is easily cleaned such as a bathroom with two litter boxes of his own and the other usual kitty amenities for about 1-2 weeks may get him back on track. I would advise that you try to keep the food and water as far away from the litter boxes as possible to ensure that Felix gets the right idea and starts to use the litter boxes again. Ultimately you and your wife may be able to determine the exact cause of this litter box problem, but there may not be a single easy answer because soiling outside of the litter pan is often a combination of a few different factors. If Felix has access to windows that he can see outside from it is possible that he may be reacting to stimuli such as another animal in your yard, a neighborhood cat or dog urinating or defecating onto your lawn, or any number of other scenarios. If this is the issue you may want to consider installing privacy film over the windows to help calm Felix. Privacy films for windows are available in removable or permanent form and they vary widely in terms of price and design so I would suggest that you shop around. Sometimes the area that a cat is eliminating in can be an important clue in terms of finding the problem and solving it. This issue can take a bit of time and detective work, consistency and patience to fix, so be prepared this isn't an issue that can be fixed over night. I would suggest that you consider having a consultation with a holistic vet which is a vet that is trained in conventional medicine as well as holistic treatments including homeopathy, massage and acupuncture. These treatments can be quite effective without the risks and side effects of using a pharmaceutical approach. I normally recommend the use of psychotropic drugs to treat these situations as a last resort. Your vet can prescribe anti-depressant/anti-anxiety medications that are sometimes effective in helping to stop cats from urinating or defecating outside of the litter pan. It is important to realize that these drugs are often small doses of human anti-depressant/anti-anxiety drugs. These powerful drugs aren't without risks or side effects to don't be afraid to ask your vet or pharmacist questions.

It is important to clean the areas that Felix has eliminated in outside of the litter box by using a product called an enzymatic cleaner. The reason that I routinely recommend using enzymatic cleaners to clean up in undesirable areas that cats have eliminated in is because these cleaners use beneficial bacteria to digest the components of organic materials such as urine, feces, and vomit that cause unpleasant odors and stains. It is possible that Felix isn't the cat that started this behavior, he may simply be defecating in that spot because he can smell feces. I generally use a product called Petzyme and I have found this product to be one of the more effective ones to deal with odor and staining. Petzyme can be found at Petsmart stores in Canada (and probably US) and I would suggest that you purchase the medium or large sized jug (about $15 CAN for the medium and 20 for the large) because I have found that this is great for organic stains (pet or human) and the manufacturer even provides instructions for using Petzyme in the washing machine.

I hope that you have found this information helpful. I have written numerous answers on the topic of inappropriate elimination and if you would like more information on this topic you can browse through some of my previous answers on the subject. If you have any further questions or concerns, or you would simply like to send an update or some pictures my way, please don't hesitate to contact me again.