litter box usage

Question
Hi Norman, I have a new 4 month old Maine Coon kitten, a 5
year old Maine Coon cat and a 1 year old Sheltie dog. The kiiten
joined our family a week ago to get my 5 year old boy out of his
mourning for the loss of his older "sister" Maine Coon who died
9 months ago. The kitten has brought my 5 year old boy back to
the land of the living, however, the kitten uses the bathroom
sinks and tub as a litter. I have 2 littermaid power litter boxes,
so the litter is always clean and I am following the one litter per
cat rule. The kitten peas in the litter, but poos in the sink! Any
idea why? I have tried restrictline the kitten to a room with his
own littermaid power litter box, (no sink) and he is fine. As soon
as he as access to a sink, it chooses is over the litter. Yuck! How
do I break him of this nasty habit? Thanks for the advice.
Genevieve.

Answer
Genevieve,

This is a rather difficult situation to deal with.  First off I would try reading the article:

"A Practical Approach to Feline Housesoiling" by Dr, Susan Little who is both a veterinarian and a cat breeder:

http://www.netcat.org/housesoiling.html

Second, I would get a good enzyme based pet odor cleaner (like Outright or Simple Solution), available at your friendly neighborhood pet supermarket.  I would clean all areas the kitten has previously soiled.  

You can also try two sided sticky tape where the kitten likes to jump up and soil.  Cats hate the feel of stickum on their feet. Another "trick" that has worked for some people is to keep an inch of water in the bathtub and the sinks the kitten has access to.  If either of these work, you may have to wait a couple of months to see if the kitten's inappropriate habits return when things are back to normal.

There are a myriad of possibilities as to why the kitten is pooping where he should not.  The Sheltie is a possibility as when the kitten is doing his business, the Sheltie may have decided to "help" the kitten so the Sheltie can have its "treat".  Dogs often think cat poop is candy. It is possible the kitten is trying to stay away from the Sheltie.  

Another possibility is that the older cat is hindering the kitten when the kitten poops, but this is a bit less likely.

Normally, we use the closing of doors to keep any cats away from places they should not be.  It is possible that this is not practical in your arrangement.

Good luck & best regards... Norm.