cat with behavioral problems?

Question
QUESTION: I have 2 cats one 2 years and one about a year old. My 2 year old is very well behaved (although like any cat she gets in her moods) but my 1 year old wont stop pooping and peeing in the living room. She uses the litter box but when she gets angry she poops or pees on the floor. It used to be what we thought was hormonal before we got her spayed and it has slowed down since then, it has gone from at least once a day to about once a week sometimes twice a week now. What can I do to put a stop to this behavior? Any Advice will be helpful at this point.

ANSWER: Hi Dawn,
Thank you for inquiring! I am not sure it a behavior problem because you havent mentioned if you took care of finding out if it is a medical issue yet...I dont have all the info to help with this yet...

Here is rule of thumb and should be eliminated in this order:

1. Rule out underlying medical condition. (vet check- fecal and urine analysis)
2. Assess stress level of cat and environment. remove stress/ also one can use Feliway and Rescue Remedy. What changes have been made since behavior started?
3. Keep litter boxes immaculately clean, scoop twice daily, clean plastic boxes weekly.
4. Experiment with different litters and place more boxes around the home.
5. Use enzyme cleaner in areas she has soiled outside of litter box.
6. Good luck investigating!

First and MOST IMPORTANTLY was a fecal examination and URINE ANALYSIS completed?
Was fecal ever checked since she was brought home? All animals are born with parasites and an OTC will NOT work for this.
Cats with urinary tract infections and things like coccidia cause them to pee and/or poop outside of the box.
Is she crouching or standing on all fours when peeing? This could determine if spraying or urinating, they are different and require different treatments.
Is she crying out when she pees?
Also, how OFTEN do you CLEAN LITTER BOX? PLEASE SCOOP DAILY. Cats will not use a litter box filled with feces and urine. Have you tried a new litter that she may like better?
Do you have two litter box for two cats? If not, please add a box!!
Also, it IS NEVER EVER ANGER why a cat 'urinates' outside the box. This is one the biggest public misconceptions. If it is DETERMINED that is behavioral 'urinating' and not marking or medical out of the box, it is ANXIETY AND STRESS RELATED. Things that may cause an animals to be anxious is a new move, new people in the home, a nosy dog, a bully cat, a shy cat may get nervous with children, and scolded kitties become very anxious. This is why we always so "dont scold" as this often makes behavior issues worse.

For more questions and answers pertaining to this please refer to my blog :http://agentprovaCATeursDOGgeddetermination.blogspot.com/ or under my name at allexperts
for these categories this will give you a better idea.

Please refer to: CAT LEAVES POOP TRAILS
         CAT POOPING OUTSIDE OF BOX
         CAT SPRAYING OT NOT SPRAYING
         ONE CAT PEEING OUTSIDE THE BOX
Please read through them thoroughly as i think the different circumstances can show different reasons why it can occur with some cats!
  
Please let me know if any of the medical has been ruled out and if/or you dont scoop often and I can assist in finding a solution!
also, your two year old kitty that has "her moods like any cat"  Please elaborate as this may required further investigation or understanding. But, i am not quite clear if you mean she is directing behavior towards you that is illiciting unhappiness? Sometimes kitties are grumpy if they arent feeling well.

Best of luck,
Shanti

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

QUESTION: Thank you for your very quick response, I'm sorry I forgot to put it down but yes medical was ruled out. She has pretty much done it since we had her, she has always gotten along well with out other cat and our Daughter and we have a dog that she has gotten used too and even lays with now. We have been trying to find a source for her stress and haven't come up with anything, one thing we have noticed is she does mark areas where either our dog had accidents as a puppy or the former Tenants dog had accidents but we have had the carpets professionally cleaned several times since we have lived here and we got her about a year after we moved in so I woudn't think that that would be an issue. Its always the same spots without much change. We only have one litter box but I will go out this week and buy a second one as well. We also clean the litter daily, so I am pretty at a loss. As for the older cat, Most of her moods comes from when someone bothers her when she wants to be left alone,( younger cat, dog anyone) or when she doesn't get something she wants like human food instead of cat food she sulks. We have also had her checked medically and she got a clean bill of health.

Answer
Hi Dawn!
Thank you for the clarification. As far as the tests, please check if it was a urine analysis and a stool sample was checked. I was wondering if she came to you this way, she might have already had something as all kittens have worms. It might be worth rechecking if the stool is ever soft or mucousy, but must be a fresh sample (less than 2 hours old).
I am not sure professional carpet cleaners can actually remove this scent. There needs to be an enzymatic breakdown of the urine and unless they specialize in pet stains, it may be futile.
Here are links to two homemade recipes that are cheap and easy to prepare:
Work on those spots, a few times with these recipes....

http://www.howtocleanthings.com/how-to-clean-dog-urine.htm

http://www.catsofaustralia.com/cat-urine-home-remedy.htm

Some people have had some success with Feliway plug-ins "in addition" to other measures.
I would also experiment with different litters, for example some cats do not like the feel or heavy perfumes of certain litters.
Being that I am not there to witness her I couldnt tell you if there is a stressor that is exacerbating the issue I cant firmly say it is marking although it may sound that way.
Any chance she is declawed? For declawed cats it could be painful to use the box. Please do NOT  declaw (illegal in many areas and inhumane) if she does have her digits still intact but that has been linked to other reasons why cats dont like to use boxes.
Here is another link for you to read for feline stressors:
Are we sure there isnt a neighborhood cat right outside the window that could be causing a stress marking behavior?
http://www.catsofaustralia.com/kitty-litter-box-problems.htm
I know you mentioned she loves your daughter, Are their always young kids over? Could that stress her? Is she outgoing or a nervous nelly cat?
More outgoing cats do great with kids, the shy and nervous nellies not so great.

Finally, I would use the enzymatic breakdown and clean a bit neurotically of the area, under the carpet if you can get to and the floorboards to remove that scent, then i would place an incontinent pad, and possibly a litter box right on top if it,  there are litterboxes that look like really nice furniture these days. (although quite expensive). Being that she is going to the same spot always it indeed sounds like marking  and I would make the area inaccessible to her, a large couch over it or something.

If you have a very large house, then many litter boxes so she can easily access them.


Best of luck in your detective work!!
Shanti