Stewart is the kitty’s name --things are not going as smoothly as I hoped. Someone peed outside the litter box last night --I have 6 litter boxes for 3 cats . . .moved one upstairs so now I have 4 in the lower level (where the cat door is) and two in the sun room where the cats hang out in the day time. There is conflict between Stewart and my little queen Maude . . .only at night.
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Maybe find a way to keep them separate at night?
There has been conflict with Ella and all the others except for Ralph ever since Ella found us 13 years ago. The minute Ralph and Ella met (he was 3yrs old, she was maybe 3months), it was love at first sight and they have created an extremely special bond. That being said, Ella is not nice to the others and no matter how hard they have tried to make friends, she absolutely refuses. Except for Bird they accept being ruled by a pissy Torbico. Bird on the other hand says, “If you don’t like me I’m going to harass and annoy you!” He only does it when Ralph isn’t around or sleeping because Ralph will quickly defend Ella and put Bird in his place. It’s not serious and has been going on for as long (7 years) as Bird and Dizzy have been with us. I have always separated them in groups at night so they can have totally peaceful evenings.
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Is it possible Stewart has (as described by the shelter I got Milo from) a High Stream?
A covered litterbox seems to help - evidenced by the consistently clumped litter high up one wall of that box.
As insurance, I have a heavy-duty garbage bag taped to the wall & under the uncovered box in the same room. I change the bag out if it shows use, unless it’s just a very small puddle. That gets mopped up, area cleaned & dried.
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My last boy would pee over the side of even the tallest litter box. So I got a plastic tote and cut a hole low on one short side. It worked perfectly.
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@Aussie_20202 @2DogsFarm @CanadianTrotter --My DD had Stewart for 10 years --in that entire time, he never “missed” a litter box (she says). Due to the amount of fluffy long grey hair near/around the two full size puddles, I suspect Maude was cornered/attacked and fought back, peeing as a defense??? --however, DD also says that the entire time he lived with her, he never was aggressive to her other kitty (male, died a month ago at 19) who frequently beat him up for sport despite having no teeth or claws.
Sigh. We are trying the “separate at night,” --so far (last night) so good. The new kitty door has a locking mechanism, so easy to do. I am home and inside much of the day (except for AM when I ride and do barn chores. We will see how it goes.
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Stewart!
Never disturb a lady at her toilette!
Maude may have been the victim of a Creeper, as has my poor Bounce.
All he wants is a minute of peace as he uses the facilities, and here comes Milo, all Whatcha doin’? 
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@CanadianTrotter - I dunno…do you think he’s lost weight? I don’t think he has. And he’s on a diet! Go figure…
He’s sound asleep. And this is pretty normal for him.
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Lol! What a nincompoop! 
I need to get some current pictures of the boys.They only get 1/4c food in the morning and another 1/4c at supper, yet their girths are widening as well.
Maybe Stewart is looking for the relationship he had with the other cat because it’s what he was used to?
My red female Billie Holiday(passed 2 1/2yrs ago) adopted Bird and Dizzy when they came to us, she actually let them suckle her. They had their tight group for years as Ralph and Ella had theirs as well. They all tolerated each other and interacted well except for Ella. She didn’t attack or be aggressive towards them, she just didn’t want anything to do with any of them except for Ralph and she let them know it.
After Billie passed the boys wanted to interact more with Ella, she didn’t want it and would hiss and screech at them if they got too close. This is when Ralph steps in and bonks their heads together. Dizzy is okay with not interacting with her but Bird seems hurt/offended, so he will try to harass her. I also separate them if I’m gone from the house leaving no chance for any cat kerfuffles.
Hopefully separating yours at night works in the interim and they will integrate over time.
@CanadianTrotter --we will continue to try for a couple of weeks, but I am thinking this is not going to work. We have now had 3 pee accidents --fortunately all on the hard floors (not on carpet). Keeping the kitties separate works, but is labor intensive and, well, sad.
Today I took Stu from the basement cat room, carried him upstairs to the sun room passed the hissing Queens, and fed him in the sun room. The Queens eat in the kitchen. As I went down stairs to exercise, Stu’s little face was pressed against the glass door of the sun room. I shut the door to keep him separate. He’s been coming down stairs to watch exercise in the AM --but yesterday he had to walk by the Queens to get downstairs and we had a scream and a pee accident (still think it’s the Queen’s reaction).
Then yesterday all was quiet while I was in the house (too cold for riding).
I will continue to try for another week --then I will likely contact my daughter to take him back. He seems unhappy here --she gave him to me because he seemed unhappy with her (after the death of his friend). I don’t see an easy solution. The Queens have been my housecats for 9 years.
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Maybe DD needs to get Stu a companion?
She’s had 2 before, why not now?
Or is she done with cats & Mom is the dumping ground?
Caveat on the Get Him a Friend:
My Bounce & Cheeto we’re BF(eline)Fs for the 8yrs I had both.
Got both from the same shelter, but Cheeto was fostered at a different location.
Lost Cheeto almost 2yrs ago
1st attempt to replace him was an 11yo who sadly lasted only a year before kidney disease took him. He & Bounce were cordial to each other, never bonded.
Replacement #2 is now 6mos in & while no blood has been drawn, Bounce wants no part of Milo.
Bounce is 10, Milo 6 & they may need more time, or this may be as good as it gets.
Which is fine, no litterbox problems & the hysterics from Bounce have decreased.
This is as close as they’ve gotten, with me as Switzerland:
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@2DogsFarm DD has two bulldogs --that’s the problem --cat does not get along with dogs to the point where he has ripped off eyelids. My little Frenchie apparently doesn’t trip his trigger --so far so good, but we take no chances . . .
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The peeing sounds like a nervous fear reaction.
When Bird gets too close to Ella she screams like a Halloween cat. Yet Ralph can do anything with no problem. When she gets to be too much for him he sits on her.
I think older Queens are very set in their ways and are hard pressed to change them. I would not attempt to bring any new cats into our home at this time because of Ella. She might accept a kitten but I’m not willing to try even that. My cat dynamics are good and I don’t want to interrupt them. Billie accepted The Boys because she had previous litters and had a strong maternal instinct.
I don’t have a problem separating my crew at night, they’ve been used to it for a long time. They actually look forward to it because it’s routine and their own personal space where they can totally relax.
If Stewart goes back to your daughter maybe she can get a younger male cat for companionship?
Just saw your post above
@2DogsFarm @CanadianTrotter --so far, the night separation has been successful. I also separate when I leave the house for a long period of time. Again, so far (two days) we have had no confrontations or incidents.
And we have a plan.
Middle daughter has a “special needs” cat --Karl. He is a little slow, walks around with his tongue hanging out of his mouth, forgets he can’t jump (deformed hind leg due to birth defect, and frequently lands before the object upon which he hoped to land). Other than that, he’s a nice kitty.
Middle daughter has offered to trade Karl (and his special needs) for Stu. She has a second cat, male, Sal, who might be a better match than my two Queens. I think it is worth a try. Karl (and Sal) have been here before, and for whatever reason, the Queens accept both. They lived here for about a month. No problems. That’s why I thought Stu would fit in nicely.
However, I am leaving for FL for an extended va-ca --and I don’t want the house sitter to have to “herd cats.” I have asked my DD and her sister if we can send Stu home to oldest daughter while I am gone, and try the whole cat-switch after I am back (of course my first horse show is shortly after . . .for a retired lady, my life is very complicated!)
Another hope is that oldest will realize that Stu is better off with her. She says he’s “unhappy” --but I don’t know if he’s any happier with the separation and screaming Queens . . .
Shrug.
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Yay! It’s a relief when things go towards the positive.
That’s a good plan to have in place. Like you said, your daughter may decide that Stu is better with her. Maybe what your daughter thought was unhappiness was mourning for his lost friend? It took the boys awhile to get used to not having Billie around.
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@CanadianTrotter you must have a crystal ball! Daughter has asked for Stew to be returned (4/13). She is going to follow my plan to make it work with her dogs. I pointed out that Stew may not be any happier here than he was with her --isolated when I am not in the house, isolated at night. I do spend quality time with him (about 20 min a day of interaction --play, puzzles, brushing --but that’s the best I can do. The rest of the time Stew is free to roam the house and interact with the Queens (who want no part of him). He chooses to stay in the sun room, lie in his hammock in the sun. He is there all day until the sun sets (Western exposure, sky lights, a million cat toys and puzzles, two litter boxes, food, water. I don’t make him stay in there, he just does. When I go to bed, I round him up and give him a cuddle and take him to the lower level storage room where there are more cat boxes, a soft bed he sleeps in, food water and a door that shuts to separate him from the Queens at night. I know he would prefer to be out, but I want no more cat pee accidents!!
If he is unhappy with that life, I can’t do more for him. It is the best I can do. Perhaps the same life with “his person” my daughter is preferred. I am sorry it didn’t work out --I really like him a lot --but in fairness, I’ve had the Queens since they were born (feral mom, kittens in my burn pile). So they stay . . .
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Make sure to tell her to be patient with him. Does she have any items left that might have the scent of his lost companion on it? When Billie passed I didn’t wash the blankets or cat beds for awhile so the boys had something to console them as they adapted to her not being there.
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