Cat Urinating Everywhere

Question
We have a cat (3 or 4 years old now) who is a former abuse victim. She belonged to my grandparents before they passed away, and is declawed. When we adopted her into our family there were no real problems, back then we only had 3 cats aside from her and there wasn't much to be worried about aside from the occasional squabble.

One year we got another cat for my birthday so that made 5, and we only had one litter box at the time. This cat started to pee on things in the house such as piles of clothes in our closets, etc. and we recognized that it was probably because we needed more litter pans and we needed to clean them more frequently. Today we have 6 cats and 3 litter pans, we clean all of them once daily.

A few months ago, we picked up our 6th cat who is an indoor-outdoor cat. The peeing cat was still having these issues with peeing in places other than the litter box from time to time (we also had a big urinary tract infection scare with her, we got her a special water fountain and put her on meds, she has not had a UTI since and we have made sure that her peeing is not a physical issue.) and when this 6th cat was introduced, she started peeing everywhere. We tried giving her a separate litter pan, but that didn't work. This 6th cat started to pick on her and since she is declawed she could not defend herself and she stopped going into the room with the litter pans entirely. She started to pee in one of our bathroom sinks and hardly left my parents' room, which was something we tolerated for a while, but even then she would still pee on our couches, clothes, in our closets, etc.

We don't know what to do to make her stop, or make our latest cat stop picking on her, etc. My father just took her to the pound for peeing on his bed and I'm afraid she might not find a good home and will instead be put to sleep. We acknowledge that we probably have too many cats but we love them all and we want them to all be able to coexist peacefully, I can't stand thinking that we might have let a cat go to death just because she had a behavioral issue that might be fixable. Please help?

Answer
Hi Mimi,

Sorry to hear about this..
Sounds like several issues -mostly anxiety and too much overwhelm for her on top of a litterbox situation that needs to be maintained differently.
Her health should be checked, also know that a diet of only dry food contributes to bladder problems as does tuna and low quality cat food.

Rule of thumb is one litter box per cat plus one. so if you have 7 cats, you need 8 boxes and they should be scooped twice daily. TWICE daily.
They really get a bit unhappy when having to navigate other cat's pee and poop as i am sure you understand.

I am sure you are aware it must feel pretty bad for her, to be defenseless when there are new intruders in your territory.
So it sounds like you are saying this is what happened.
You also should "introduce" cats properly and look up some info from aspca or humane society on how to do it properly.
It takes time and the cat's body language must be honored. We must honor their time and not rush them and cue into them. Or they can also be "re-introduced." She really needs protection esp since she is declawed.
It may be that that your house is stressful and the new cat needs a victim and naturally she being defenseless she becomes the target. CHANGE to territory, stressful environment, construction etc, all contribute to litter box issues.

Don't allow one cat to pick on another stop the attacker before s/he attacks but diverting attention. Cats should NEVER be scolded that will make their behavior much worse. They should be redirected with drawing their attention to something else.
Positive associations should be built up between cats from the start.
Cats will always let you know (well about 9x's out of 10) when they are going to attack.
Learn to read body language of a cat, eyes ears, tension and tail and don't allow it to happen. REDIRECT...
I am not sure about where you live, but in SF they will not put up a cat for adoption that has this history they will euthanize the kitty.Most of the time, it is the human's that didn't understand cats to begin with. Can you call the shelter and find out? Shelters that call themselves "no kill" still kill and only put up "adoptable" animals only. She would not be considered adoptable in my city, i don;t know which shelter you brought her too but it would be good to find out. Some shelters give them all a chance for 3-5 days and then euthanize so it would be important to find that out asap.

You need a behaviorist to guide you through it so you are aware of all of the details.  I know this is hard for you and you can also keep her separate from the other cats, it is too much for her. And find her a peaceful loving home with no other animals as well.
Don't add any more cats-you must educate your family on a cat's needs otherwise we are responsible for their actions.

I can coach you for my regular fee - my site and fees are www.thenatureofthebeast.org     Perhaps tell your father she will be kept in your room if it is big enough with enough windows and cat trees and things to keep her occupied (looking at the birds outside) etc and start actively finding her a new home. It is really just humans not understanding cats as to why she hasn't used the litter box and you can  tell the potential adopter that.
The problem is every change in a sensitive cat's environment will make them more terrified and anxious. So from your house, to each new cat, to the shelter, to back to you house to a new house is  a  lot for a kitty. If you are committed it can absolutely work.

Best of luck to you and the kitties, I hope you can find a solution. Again, my site with fees is www.thenatureofthebeast.org  There will be a fee for behavioral work if you need help
Shanti