Adopted sisters cat but she is pooing and weeing everywhere.

[Amae]

Looking for some advice really- my sister has had a rag doll cat for a long time (the cat is called Dolly). Dolly must be between 12-13 years old.

9 months ago, my sister called to say her husband wanted her to get rid of Dolly.

My sister said they were potentially going to have to put her in a shelter if they couldn't find a home for her. Given the fact she's a relatively elderly cat, the idea of that was so sad to me! I said if they couldn't find her a home then I would have her as a last resort (I also have 2 children, the youngest being 2). I was assured Dolly didn't bite or scratch and that she was fine around kids. my sister basically said her husband just didn't like cats and had eventually had enough of her.

Anyway, Dolly came to live with us and for the last 9 months we have had multiple incidents of her weeing and pooing all over our house- its happened atleast 20 times and included her pooing on my daughters beds, weeing and pooing on our sofa etc and I just am at my breaking point with it- it's obvious now that my brother in law wanted to get rid of her for these reasons but my sister decided to keep that quiet (I am absolutely livid with her but that's an issue for another day).

I love keeping a clean home and this has sent me into overdrive- I am constantly cleaning up cat wee or poo and I am paranoid about my toddler getting poorly from it. Basically, I just can't keep Dolly anymore but I have no idea what to do, any advice would be really welcomed.

Thankyou in advance.

Does she have a litter tray and go on that?

Yes, sorry I should have said - shes an indoor cat and has 2 litter trays (one upstairs and one downstairs) I clean them and change the litter every 3 days and obviously as soon as I notice/smell there's a poo in there, I get rid of it.

I think I’ve read that when cats do this it is often a sign that they are stressed, as cats are typically very clean animals.

It might be worth having a chat with a vet to rule out any physical concerns, but given your BIL wanted rid of the cat suggests this has long been an issue. I’d actually be quite angry that they thought it was OK to be dishonest about the cat’s toileting issues, particularly as you have small children and cat faeces carry diseases that can be transmitted to humans.

yes, I think that's a good idea. I'll book her in with the vef hopefully for next week to rule anything out.

if there are no issues with her, what do you think the best thing to do would be?

and yes, I am beyond angry about it to be honest- I'm seeing my sister tomorrow and I will be telling her all of this.

I would see what the vet says first.

But also try a Feliway, different type of litter, contain to one room to 'reset' rather than full run of the house. If there is a favourite spot for peeing on, move her food bowl to that location.

Ragdolls are super sensitive natured cats and being evicted from her home and losing her family has probably broken her little heart.

Really useful suggestions, thank you! I will do all of these- do you think it's okay to just contain her to downstairs first?

and I know- she really is a lovely natured cat and she's beautiful. She isn't overly cuddly but she's very calm and content. I really want to give her some lovely, final years but I can't continue like this so will take on any suggestions!

I second containing to just one room and restart. She might have been doing this before or the stress of new home causing it.

Vet check to rule out health issues and get her wormed if she hasn't been done in a while. Deal with any dental issues, arthritis and fur matting, any of these can cause them a lot of pain/ stress which can lead to this behaviour.

Enzyme spray to clean any poop accidents (avoid bleach, some cats are weirdly attracted to it!).

Limit the plaecs she has access to, put shallow, open topped litter trays in several quiet places with different types of litter to see if she has a preference.

I bet this is why BIL wanted to remove, awful of them to let you have to deal with this 😞

I would change her litter more than every 3 days. Cats are very sensitive to smells and they are actually usually clean animals. So the fact that the cat is toileting everywhere can definitely be a sign of stress or maybe a physical problem.

This cat is aged, has been moved into a new place with no idea why as you cannot communicate to tell it this so it probably is stressed.

Definitely try the feliway and add another litter tray too. Close the doors to the areas you do not want her in at present.

Make sure you have some high stands as cats feel safe up high. That may help too. Lots of attention and fuss, don't shout at it when it toilets as it won't understand and make the connection, it will just be scared even more. Vet visit for sure as well.

Agree with PP. Soiled litter needs removing every day and she sounds stressed or possible unwell.

I would change her litter every time she’s used it. And maybe change the type of litter. I use the wood pellets (which has a neutral smell) and when I can see a wee in it I empty it and wash it straight away. Cats are really clean animals but very sensitive to smells. For example if my cat has done a wee one side of the tray overnight but needs another one before I get up, she won’t step in the litter that’s been used and she wees out the other end onto my floor! Doesn’t happen often but she doesn’t like it when it’s not fresh. And as other posters have said maybe a trip to the vet to rule out any medical issues as cats don’t really do that for no reason.

Yeah I would stick to 1 room and maybe the hall to be honest. Almost like back to kitten basics.

My Ragdoll doesn't look for cuddles either but loves hanging out with me.

She may not have been doing this previously. It sounds more like she is stressed with the move and maybe not being used to having children around etc?

You can get waterproof covers for beds/sofas on Amazon which might help you cope while you get the problem sorted.

Something like this: