Hi- thanks for reading! We have two sister tortie cats that's we've had since they were two months old, and are now 3 yo. Since day one, they've only ever used the litter box- except for two occasions- both related to them not having access to the litter box. They even made it through a 2500 mile cross country road trip when we moved 18 months ago without a hitch, then lived for three months in a strange house with other cats and dogs and strange people, then the move into our new home. They were kept away from the dogs and other cats, but you could tell they were aware of them and totally freaked out- still, no accidents.
Two months ago we got a puppy. Of course they weren't happy about it and at first stayed downstairs (puppy was only upstairs at first)- the puppy is actually better with them than we expected- she approaches them and waits to see what their reaction is, and then when they start hissing hysterically, she leaves them alone- though, lately, she has been chasing the one that is dumb enough to run (Taz) for short bit- the other cat (Ami) is smart and just holds her ground and hisses if the puppy gets too close- she'll even approach the puppy to check her out and try to steal her food.
About 3 weeks after we got the dog, my husband bought the new Tidy Cats litter box system- which sounded like a great concept. We followed the directions and within a week they were using just that and the old, all-natural clay based litter they used to use in their covered litter box was gone.
Then it started- I walked into the utility room, where their litter box is, and found Ami (the one who seems to not mind the dog as long as dog doesn't come too close) peeing on some laundry in front of washer. I checked the litter box, 5 feet away, and there wasn't any feces (with the Breeze system the poo sits on top of the pellets and the pee filters down through the pellets, through a grate and into a tray under the box which has an absorbent pad- like a diaper or puppy training pad that collects all the urine), but the pad was near full- not completely full, but full enough that I thought that maybe the smell was too strong for her and that is what made her pee elsewhere. So we changed the pad more often- they still used the box, that was plenty obvious, and never pooed outside it- I just sometimes found that one of them had peed on some clothes again that were in the utility room. So we decided to do away with the old litter box system and go back to the old one that had worked fine.
Its been a couple weeks now, and we're still having issues. Haven't seen anymore in the utility room- but a blanket in my husband's office was covered in it (don't know who did this), and I guess Taz (who runs from dog) peed on my pc keyboard right in front of one of the kids.
So at first we thought it was the change in litter box, but now we're wondering if its stress from the dog- or maybe a combo of both? The one cat- Ami- doesn't seem to be stressed by dog at all, but I've caught her in the act. The other- Taz, maybe stressed, but why all of the sudden weeks after the dog came? And its not like she has to deal with the dog all the time- she stays downstairs mostly, the dog up- they rarely cross paths and its only when she freaks out and runs that the dog will start to chase. The peeing on my keyboard, and my husband's office blanket, seems like it may be personal - like they're trying to tell us something. They are still using the regular litter box- and its not like we're always finding new places they've peed- just a handful. But I'm worried its becoming a real problem and could escalate.
Any thoughts? Suggestions on how to get them stop? Aside from getting rid of dog :P I've read some about wall plug-ins that emit a scent that is calming to cats- but it looks really expensive- not sure I could afford that, especially if it only works for some cats.
Thank you!!
laurief_gw
annzgw
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