Desperate times call for desperate measures and more importantly, publishing off topic posts that are all about cat feces.
I am not kidding.
I am appealing to any of my readers that may be cat people to offer their insight or perhaps their own private cat whisperer. My fiance and I are at our whiskers end with our two feline friends.
Some history.
Layla is about 2 years old. She was obtained as a kitten from the local humane society by my fiance when he lived alone (no other humans but two other cats). The other two resident cats (now both gone) were older. Layla was “his girl” (or so she thought until I cam into the home and took her place). Layla is strictly an indoor cat. The two other kitties were outdoor cats (and one is “gone” because he never came back. Sob. We feared the coyotes got him. We re-homed the other one as she was also an outdoor cat and in our new neighborhood she could not be due to great risk of injury. We tried to keep her indoors but she would literally jump out windows and smash through screens. But I digress.)
Approximately two years go by and in that time frame fiance and I purchase a home and move. Layla was alone in the new house and started acting up. And by acting up we mean she started leaving her kitty droppings outside the litter box (she did do this occasionally at fiances old home..not always..but sometimes). She would be in the right general area but not in the box. On and on it went. We tried everything (or so we thought) to get her to figure out the correct location to deposit her fecal matter.
We changed litter boxes.
We changed litter.
We moved the location.
We picked up the incorrectly placed poop and put it INTO the box.
We put more litter.
We put less litter.
We prayed to the feces gods (that’s not true, but it does sound good, and it is not out of the question even for this agnostic blogger.)
On and on…
No luck.
We then decide perhaps she is angry with us, maybe even lonely since Jennie Boom Boom and Budman are no longer with us.
After much discussion, we return to the humane society and pick up the dashing Mr. Michael Jackson Pollock.
After a day or two of Layla hissing and asserting her dominance, they become playful buds.Adorable even. Layla is very mothering to the younger kitty. Cleaning him, snuggling, etc. Absolutely adorbs!
Yet, the poop issues continue and multiply because Mr. Michael Jackson Pollock sees Layla and likely thinks “heeeeeeeeey, so this is how you do it here..” (either that or he is creating a new form of Pollock artwork).
I pretty much go nuts. I scoop the poop, spray, clean, etc. fanatically. It appears to me that if I keep the box uber clean (as in pretty much get there to scoop the instant the matter leaves the poop shoot) they are more likely to use the box. Prissy kitties? You betcha but I can deal. I am not exactly a fan of public portapotties so I can relate to their need for a fresh box each time.
So, just when I think I have the shit all cleared up (pun intended) we have a new behavior.
Someone is now deciding to deposit their business by the front door nightly. On my lovely hard wood floors (liquid and solid waste matter). I have not yet “caught” the offending party (though I am pondering a home video system not unlike the type used in Paranormal Activity).
The cherry on this craptastic sundae is that now we have kitties peeing in the bathroom, in front of the toilet. Isn’t that cute? (The correct answer is no, btw.)
What could be going on here? How does one “train” a cat to go in the right place? Are they acting up? Mad at us? (Note: there are no signs of illness).
I am frankly pissed off and tired of being shit all over.
Any suggestions?
P.S. The photo above is the lovely Layla.