Eva the Midden

[Elaine]

Eva has always had spells of middening around the house. But since Winston has gone she is pooping on the carpet. She uses the trays to pee in but just wont poop in any of them.
We have 4 trays in the house, I spray them with feliway and sometimes catnip to try to encourage her. I have also done a bit of clicker training with her in the past so i thought I would try that when she uses a tray to pee in, so that she would know the tray was a good thing and be rewarded for using it, but its very hard catching her using the tray as I do have to go to work and cannt watch over her 24/7.
She always poops within a foot of a litter tray, so she does know where she is supposed to go.
Any suggestions or tips would be very welcome.
I never get angry with her or shout at her, I just quietly go clean it up. Thank god her tummy isnt upset though LOL

[Kazz]

Now this may be off the wall but I always believed that a cat who starts to do this is reinforcing their territory. So maybe with Winston gone she feels unafe (her boss defender has gone) so she is reinforcing her territoy scent to any outsiders......has there been a break in by another cat coming into the house what about the cat she fell out with the other week???

Karen

[dinahsmum]

No tips Elaine but just to say I'm sure there is a message there and I'm sure that cats' bahaviour changes as the composition of the 'pack' changes. There is a thread somewhere on that subject.

I hope someone else has the answer, or that she changes very soon

[Elaine]

Yes there was that incident with the strange cat on the stairwell. Havent seen him again, I guess all the noise she made scared him off big time LOL.
The middening is not altogether a new thing with Eva. She has had these spells a few times and we have tried everything we can think of to resolve it, so I can only conclude that she does it at different times for different reasons each time. We do our best to make her as secure and loved as we can. She is such a sensitive wee Diva.
It doesnt bother me that I am cleaning up poop daily from the carpet, what bothers me is that something is obviously bothering her.
Am going to try rescue remedy and also get Graham to make a sand/earth pit outside and see if that helps any.

[Elaine]

Have been given a few different things to try and resolve this issue with Eva from several different sites which i will be implementing as of today. I may even have to end up confining her and retraining from scratch. I am reluctant to do this at the moment because I fear it would stress her out even more than she possibly is at the moment. I do feel that she is insecure and would like to focus a fair bit on that. I do as a rule set aside time to play, cuddle and groom her each day but would appreciate it if any one has any tips about insecurity issues they can share.
Thanx in advance.

[dinahsmum]

Could you do anything with clicker training to boost her self-confidence? http://www.clickertraining.com/train...lesitem=cats_s
(I know nothing, only that clicker training exists)
Good luck!

[Elaine]

Thanx DM. I have done a little clicker traing with her a while ago. Will take a look.

[Elaine]

Amongst other things i am trying, I bought some worldsbest catlitter, it arrived today. I put some into a tray and she sniffed at it then began to eat it Just a little nibble and not the whole tray obviously.

[Jac]

Sorry no words of wisdom. I hope you get to the bottom of it though. (no pun intended)

[Elaine]

Eva has pooped in a litter box 3 times this week. Maybe things just have to resolve them selves a bit. She has been under pressure since losing Winston. Her confidence does seem to be improving though.