Cat using everything except litterbox.

by Cindy L
(Massillon, Oh)

Hi, we have 4 cats, the two oldest are brother and sister. (all are fixed) Recently, the oldest male (Leon) has been using sinks, the bathtub and even our bed as a litter box. Not just urinating. His sister Hootie seems to be trying to assert herself as alpha cat. If one of the other cats gets on our bed, she will urinate where ever the other cat laid. We're both disabled, on a limited income and its getting expensive taking our bed clothes to the laundry two or three times a week. So all of the cats are locked out of our room. Which means every morning our house is a disaster. There have been no changes in our home, in their litter, in their food. Each cat has its own litterbox and they are kept clean. No signs of illness. The cats have been together for more than 4 years.

Also if you notice in the picture of Leon that his tongue is hanging out, when we had him fixed the vet explained that he is missing his front lower teeth & said it could be a sign of feline leukemia, we had all of them tested and vaccinated. They are all also strictly inside cats.

Answer by Kate

Hi
when ever something like this happens there is always a reason for the change in behaviour, the trouble is we can't always be sure what has happened to make the behaviour changes.

it does sound like the cats are changing their relationship tom each other if you say that one of the cats is asserting herself and this alone could be the reason for this behaviour or urinating etc as it is both a sign of territory marking as well as a comforter for the cats (the house smells more of them etc).

please read my page about this behaviour, it also has some information about the confinement method of re training your cats to use the litter tray. it is also good for giving your cat some time out to find his confidence again and calm down.

https://www.our-happy-cat.com/cat-urine.html

https://www.our-happy-cat.com/cat-litter-box.html

By the way is his tongue out all the time like that? i have never seen this before and can understand it poking out a little way if he has some teeth missing but that really is a long way out. As for whether or not it is related to FELV i have never heard of it, but i guess the vet would be better informed.

best wishes kate

---