my catspee, but i dont know why

Question
QUESTION: PLEASE help me! i have 3 cats and 2 dogs. my problem is that my cats pee EVERYWHERE! and my parents are really mad and want to get rid of them and i don't know what to do. I am a big cat fan and have been reading about it, but just couldn't find anything, so to the point: 2 of my cats pee upstairs, they are calicos, and they are about 4. i think it might be because of the new cat...he is a kitten and they started to pee abit after he got here. or its the dogs, Luke torments one of them, and the other one is just scared of him. is that why they pee upstairs? cause they are scared of him?? i really need some help! and soon.


ANSWER: Hi
well this is a common problem. Cats urinate everywhere because of a reason, it's not because they are being bad, you probably know that. Anyway the problem is not the cats urinating everywhere it's why they are doing it. Thats the difficult problem.

Do all the cats have their own litter trays, cats don't like to share because of the smell of the other cats.
Are the litter trays in safe secure quiet places where they are not going to be bothered by lots of noise or other animals (humans or dogs).

Do the cats have a safe place they can escape if they do feel frightened.

there are so many reasons for all of this that it is difficult for me to suggest what the problem is. Yes it could be the new cat (too many animals living too closely together for instance, are they allowed outside). Or it could be that the dogs frighten them.

All i can suggest is that you take my points on board and see if any changes can be made regarding their litter trays. Also i would recommend that you read my pages about urinating problems and cat litter training on my website (links below) for more info on this type of problem.

Best wishes and i hope you can find a solution soon

Kate
http://www.our-happy-cat.com/cat-urine.html
http://www.our-happy-cat.com/cat-litter-box.html


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: we are getting a new carpet down there to replace the old  and make it a nice place to be. but where should we put the litter boxes?? they do have there own tile area, but what should we do to keep the dogs out of there? but still mantain a nice look? i dont mind if you dont answer that one because you may not be a like stylist person... but will they still pee if we get new carpet??

Answer
Hi
yes it is quite possible they will still pee on the new carpet. I know it's a bit of a problem with where to put litter trays, i too live in a small house. the only other solution is that you can buy some what is known as litter tray furniture which looks like a nice cabinet but contains the litter tray see here /cat-litter.html for some suggestions.

I hope you can work things out.
best wishes
Kate