Our 10 years old family cat has changed sinced addition of 3 more cats

by natalie
(mentor, ohio)

My fiance and his 3 cats have recently moved into our home, which includes a dog and our 10 yo cat. i added a second litter box and clean it frequently. within the past month, one of the animals started going to the bathroom in different areas usually near outside doors. we thought the dog was the culprit as the stool was so largge. however, today, our indoor cat starting yelling at the back door, which is the door the dog uses. right after, i noticed a smell and went to check. the cat had left a very large pile of stool right near the door. oh by the way one more thing, she also had started eating the dog food a month ago, so i actually added a cat bowl right next to the dog bowl so i could make sure the other cats were not eating her food. help.

Reply
Hi
Well what can I say this sort of behavior is very common in cats that are feeling stressed. Scent marking using their feces is known as Middening see this page for more on this

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

Also over eating due to anxiety.

Having three cats move in on your territory is a very stressful thing for a cat and some simply cannot get used to it. Some take time to calm down others never do but simply change their behavior to avoid the other animals.

I don't know how you first introduced the cats to each other but there is a process which is designed to make the whole situation a little easier to come to terms with. i have a page with this technique here

https://www.our-happy-cat.com/introducing-cats.html

It is a little time consuming but can be very affective for some cats.

you may also want to consider using one of those cat calming sprays or medications temporarily to help your cat relax around the other cats.

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

This is a very stressful time for your cat and his behavior is completely understandable and normal.

i hope my pages will be able to help you to help your cat through this period of time.

best wishes kate

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