cat condo crate??? sorry...its long

okay, so DH and I are at the end of our ropes with our cat and are looking for some advice. Here's the history:

* We had two cats and almost 3 years ago, our older cat died.
* two months later we moved
* 3 months after we moved our younger (and now only) cat pooped and peed outside the litter box - she had NEVER done that before and seemed do be doing well with all the change. Took her to the vet - no medical issues.
* around this time my then 2 yr old started noticing the cat and would scream in excitement when she saw her. she would also chase her. The cat was not happy about this, so we keep them seperated.
* we got new two new boxes and she started using the boxes again.
* a few months later she started pooping outside the box - a lot. Brought her back to the vet, nothing wrong. put her on prozac
* the prozac tooka while to kick in, but seemed to help. Every now and then she had an accident, but it was managable.
* 6 months later, pooping outside the box again. take her to the vet - no issues. This continues on and off for a few months, but eventually starts using the box again, with an accident every now and then.
* fast forward to this June...she started pooped outside the litter box again. at some point we got three litter boxes and she uses all of them. they are all in the basement and she always pooped in the basement. Now, she started pooping AND peeing in the main house.
* we keep her in the basement now - we have a 4 year old and now a newborn so there is no way i can have that around them. We bring her to vet, there is nothing wrong. and she has continued to poop outside the box.

over the last 2.5 years we have tried calming spray, different types of boxes, different types of litter, moving the boxes to different areas of the basement (I absolutely refuse to have them upstairs where my children are and have no room that i can dedicate to her), prozac, pain medication (prescribed by our vet), changes in food, probitiocs, etc. I have NO idea what else to try....

I cant let her out because i dont know what she'll do and i dont think its fair to keep her in teh basement all the time (she does have cat trees, couches and other stuff to sleep on). we are trying to find her a home that is calmer, as she has always been a skittish cat and needs quiet, but we're having a hard time finding somebody that wants a 10 year old cat with poop issues!

the only thing i was thinking about was getting one of those cat condo cages (the big ones with like three levels) and keeping her in there to see if minimizing her space (like when we moved we kept her in a room by herself and slowly let her out) helps calm her or snaps her out of this habit that's been going on for 2.5 years! and of course if it works, i would let her out slowly. any other thoughts or suggestions?? i think we've tried everything...

Message edited 9/24/2014 8:54:18 AM.

Re: cat condo crate??? sorry...its long

Sounds like you are trying everything you can think of. I'm going to throw some things out but i'm not judging you...

The first thing that stand out is how long did you have the two cats before one died? Cats grieve just like people.

Second is there sounds like there has been a lot of changes and for many cats, who are creatures of habit, changes are very difficult.

Another thing is you have isolated the cat in the basement away from the family. So the cat has lost her other cat friend and has in essence lost her family.

She may need attention. She may need exercise. She may need to be trained to use the litterbox again. She may need a lower litterbox; she may need a covered litterbox. She may need a different litter.

You say you moved. Did the previous owners have animals? Your cat may smell them.

If it is not medical, then your cat is telling you something. While I understand what you're looking to achieve with the condo crate, a cage is no way for a kitty to live.

Start with taking your 4 y/o to petoc and have her pick out some new kitty toys. Tell her it is one of her responsibilities to play with the cat. She will love it and the cat will love it.

Is your cat still on prozac? If not i would try again and perhaps increase the dosage.

Where is she peeing and pooping? same place? Different place? Soft surface?

There may be somethign in the basement that is bothering her. She may need to try and make an accomadation upstairs. I have a litterbox upstairs that looks like furniture. It is working out much better for my skittish cat in our new home.

Good luck...and hang in there.

Message edited 9/24/2014 9:45:37 AM.

Re: cat condo crate??? sorry...its long

thanks for your reply:

- the cats were together for 7 years before the older one died. Yes, i get that she greived, but its been almost 3 years. Not sure what can be done about that. When we moved we had her in her own room for a while, gave her lots of attention ebcause we know that change is difficult. She seemed to adjust OK and the issues started happening several months after the move.

We just recently (2 mos ago) put her in the basement. She had always pooped outside the box in the basement, never in our living area. When she started peeing and pooping upstairs, thats when we we put her down. At first she started usign teh box again, but then started again with not using them.

She has the entire basement to run around and play - lots of toys, cat trees, etc. She would never hang out with us anyway...always was by herself. maybe she would sleep in our room overnight, but that was rare. she always stayed clear of our older daughter. She was never into "play" very much either. I have considered letting her up, but DH refuses and I really cant run the risk of her doing something, especially with my newborn. And I will not have the litter in my living space. I know that sounds horrible, but i had that before and I hated it. now with two children, there is no way I will do it again.

we have three different litter boxes, two covered, one uncovered. one is low and one has a ramp. We havent changed the type of litter in a while, so i'll try that next.

previous owners had no pets.

I was thinking that the cage would be temporary...just to see if maybe it would help her regain herself.

The cat has always run away from our daughter...i'm not certain that would work. And now my daughter is scared of the cat. not sure why...they hardly ever saw eachother.

No longer on prozac and she was on the highest dose. maybe restarting isnt a bad idea.

She's only peed once (recently) outside the box...on DH clothes. The poop is not in the same place. She will hang out in a spot in the basement for a while, then poop there and move on to the next place. Poop there, then move one, etc. different places, different types of surfaces.

Re: cat condo crate??? sorry...its long

Long story short we gained my husbands Grandmas cat when she passed away. Annie (the cat) is 13. In my home, I also have three other cats.....a female and two males. On her arrival to our home, we kept her separate from the other cats and gradually introduced them. On the second day of her being here, one of the cats pooped outside the box...never happened before. Fast forward a little over a month later, happened again yesterday. As we were eating dinner, Annie urinated all over the cat toys which we had in a plastic canopy (another cat toy that the cats could go into) The urine went every where...the wall, carpet and all over every single toy. We threw every thing out. I never went through this with my other three cats....two of which are brother and sister and another whom we took in as a feral after he got locked in a neighbors garage for over a month....never had a problem. I reached out to a local pet rescue and they told me that most likely Annie is upset and this is why she's doing this...which leads me to think that your cat is probably upset too.....they definitely are creatures of habit and just like your cat, ours suffered through a move.....she also has been introduced to my very active almost three year old...a huge change for a cat...another factor that may contribute to your cat being stressed....Your cat also suffered a loss in it's friend...The rescue told me to try the air diffusers that release the pheromones in the air....off hand I don't remember the name....it's suppose to calm the cat. She also told me that Annie may need to be retrained....basically you would have to cage your cat for a week with only it's food and litter box. The cat may come out only about an hour a day and has to go right back into the cage. It's supposed to teach them that they are to use the litter box. I will use this as a last resort. I'm hoping that Annie doesn't do this again.....But I've heard this is a very very hard habit to break. I feel your pain and I've not gone through it for very long. If I hear of any other tips, I will let you know. I wish you luck