cat not useing the litter box

Question
help we have 5 cats the oldest one, trouble is a 5yrs old female the other 4 are kittens about 5 months old 3 are sisters from the same litter and 1 male who we nuetered about 1 month ago he is about the same age or younger than the sisters about the same time we got the 3 girls trouble started pooping out side the box usually right in front of the box or on a rug fairly close to the box , not everyday but about 2-3 times a week we figured it was because she didnt want to share the box with the others or it wasent clean enough for her so we got 2 ex large litter boxes and clean them out 2-3 times a day but she still does it anyway ive even seen her do it right after i changed the litter ? so i pick it up scold her if i catch her doing it but still nothing anyway this morning she went pee on the rug for the 1st time instead of pooping im hopeing this dosent escalte like the pooping has so far shes the only one doing it thank goodness do you have any suguetions for me ? thanks ken

Answer
Hi Ken,

How old is she?  Have you taken her to the vet to make sure she doesn't have a bladder or urinary infection?  Maybe she is protesting the fact that there are other cats using "her" litter box.  There could be a number of reasons that she is doing this.  Scolding or punishing will not help, cats do not understand that.  Maybe isolating her in the bathroom with food, water, bed, toys and litterbox, for a couple days, might re-train her.  You might even have to get still one more litterbox.  Some cats are really fussy.  Let me know if I can help further.  There are always little tricks I can pick up from my other cat owner friends.  

Good Luck,
Barb