My Cat Refuses To Use The Litterbox

Question
I have four young cats, i started off with one, then got another one and then two more. But I only seem to have a problem with one of them. I'm pretty sure having three dogs may add to the problem too, but the other ones don't seem to mind other then her. There are times where she doesn't seem to care that they're there and then there's times where she doesn't want them there and let's you know that she doesn't. She's the second cat that I got and she's about one year. Ever since I got the two new cats(its been about 6 months already), she goes to the bathroom everywhere, BUT the litterbox. We've tried giving her more attention and treats to make her feel more at home, but she just can't seem to get over the fact that two other kittens have came into her home. She's getting along with them a lot more, at first she was bitter about it, but now she chases them and plays, but sometimes she gets a little annoyed. We've tried a different litterbox and litter and she went in there once, but once the other ones used it, she went back to going to the bathroom everywhere else. I don't want to lock her a room all day by herself because that's how she used it in the first place because I feel she'll just feel neglected. I really don't know what to do anymore, but I'm not giving up on it. If you can, I'd really appreciate some advice. Thank You.

Answer
Rachel,

Like some people, she may have an emotional problem and only she knows why she is not using the litterbox. I'm not implying that she does, I'm just covering possibilities. Another possibility is that before you got her she got scared, traumatized, or jumped by another animal when she was peeing in the litterbox which made her afraid it would happen again.

Try leaving a puppy pee-pad near the litterbox and see what happens. If she goes on them then you know she has an aversion to the litterbox, or she prefers a flat surface to pee on. Some cats have weird quirks. I had one that would ONLY go on newspaper...NEVER in the litterbox. I think he didn't like the feel of the litter under his paws. Trying to force them only causes stress, confusion, and more of an aversion to using the litterbox.

You can try some children's play sand in a litterbox she would normally use. You can get it at Home Depot or other building supply store. That sometimes will help. Or even regular dirt (except dirt smells bad pretty quick). Trying those 2 things will tell you if it is a litter aversion issue. I used the sand for one of my cats. He would play in it first (and make a mess!) but then he would pee in it. I gradually added regular litter to it and he was OK with it after that.

Here are some links that should be helpful regarding improper elimination: (copy and paste, or type the whole link into your address bar)


http://www.geocities.com/heartland/pointe/9352/litterboxhelp.html

http://www.apbc.org.uk/article10.htm

http://cats.about.com/cs/behavioralissues/a/outsidebox_two.htm

I hope this helps.
Carol