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I think I may have just figured out the issue we've got but would love to get any feedback/thoughts anyone may have for this. Sorry for the long story...
In July, we moved with our 3 cats to a new state. Cats are Cinder (7 yrs old, female), Cricket (2.5 yr old female) and her brother Zeeben (2.5 yr old male). All cats are spayed/neutered. These 3 all get along fine; Cinder accepted the other two as kittens way back when. Cats have adapted to the new house and enjoy nearly twice the space as before.
In early September, we adopted a 4th cat from a local shelter. Neo is just over 1 yr old now, male, neutered, and looks to be Siamese (but probably a mix).
We kept Neo in the master suite for about 2 weeks. He did fine there, very friendly, purred all the time, playful, but wanted to get out and explore. The other cats were also very curious about the newcomer. When we let him out, we kept a close eye on all the cats. We brought Neo back to the master bedroom at bedtime each night for a while. From the start, Cinder hated Neo, and he would immediately chase her whenever he saw her. She'd growl and hiss but they would rarely fight. She'd run, he'd chase. We tried to intervene, and tried not to, didn't seem to make a difference, but the constant growling was really irritating.
At some point, it seemed like Neo was settling in okay and we could trust him to behave. He was pretty hyper, fairly aggressive, and would always take the toys and not let Cricket or Zeeben play. Eventually, Zeeben and Neo seemed to get along best, hanging out and play fighting.
The first week of December there were lots of changes: we set up for Christmas, tree in the house, had a large party where the cats were all confined to the master bedroom, and I went out of town for about a week. My husband and son were still home so the cats weren't alone. While I was away, Neo started misbehaving badly. [Note: His shelter file said he pooped outside the box. At home, we noticed that he never covered his poop. Ever. But did use the box.] Around this time, we got fed up with the growling and put Cinder into the master suite full-time so she wouldn't get stressed out. She was super happy up there, except for not seeing us as much. Zeeben also started asserting himself and would stare Neo down and yowl, like the pre-fighting warning cry. Neo would back down.
Neo would move the water bowl repeatedly, up to 10 feet from where it belongs, spilling water everywhere. He peed outside the litter box, about 3 inches from it. He went into my husband's home office while he was in there working and peed under the desk. He kept moving the water dish. He pooped outside the box, 6 inches from the box.
As December went on, Neo would pee outside the litter box 2, 3 times a day. Sometimes he'd poop outside the box too, and pee. One time I went into the laundry room where the boxes are kept and there was a pile in front of the box, and a puddle of pee 3 feet across the room.
Clearly, Neo is sending a message and he's not happy! I'm fairly certain this is not a medical issue but he's got an appt tomorrow to double check.
This past Saturday, we put him back into the master suite alone, and let Cinder hang with the other 2 cats. Just from 2 days in there without other cats, Neo is like a different cat. He's calm, purring, not overly aggressive, just like he was when we first got him. He hasn't peed outside the litter box once!
I think maybe we integrated them too quickly. Are we doing the right thing, keeping Neo separate again? Or do you think maybe he doesn't want to share the litter box? Or both? How long do we keep him apart this time?
Any suggestions/comments would be appreciated. Thanks much!
In July, we moved with our 3 cats to a new state. Cats are Cinder (7 yrs old, female), Cricket (2.5 yr old female) and her brother Zeeben (2.5 yr old male). All cats are spayed/neutered. These 3 all get along fine; Cinder accepted the other two as kittens way back when. Cats have adapted to the new house and enjoy nearly twice the space as before.
In early September, we adopted a 4th cat from a local shelter. Neo is just over 1 yr old now, male, neutered, and looks to be Siamese (but probably a mix).
We kept Neo in the master suite for about 2 weeks. He did fine there, very friendly, purred all the time, playful, but wanted to get out and explore. The other cats were also very curious about the newcomer. When we let him out, we kept a close eye on all the cats. We brought Neo back to the master bedroom at bedtime each night for a while. From the start, Cinder hated Neo, and he would immediately chase her whenever he saw her. She'd growl and hiss but they would rarely fight. She'd run, he'd chase. We tried to intervene, and tried not to, didn't seem to make a difference, but the constant growling was really irritating.
At some point, it seemed like Neo was settling in okay and we could trust him to behave. He was pretty hyper, fairly aggressive, and would always take the toys and not let Cricket or Zeeben play. Eventually, Zeeben and Neo seemed to get along best, hanging out and play fighting.
The first week of December there were lots of changes: we set up for Christmas, tree in the house, had a large party where the cats were all confined to the master bedroom, and I went out of town for about a week. My husband and son were still home so the cats weren't alone. While I was away, Neo started misbehaving badly. [Note: His shelter file said he pooped outside the box. At home, we noticed that he never covered his poop. Ever. But did use the box.] Around this time, we got fed up with the growling and put Cinder into the master suite full-time so she wouldn't get stressed out. She was super happy up there, except for not seeing us as much. Zeeben also started asserting himself and would stare Neo down and yowl, like the pre-fighting warning cry. Neo would back down.
Neo would move the water bowl repeatedly, up to 10 feet from where it belongs, spilling water everywhere. He peed outside the litter box, about 3 inches from it. He went into my husband's home office while he was in there working and peed under the desk. He kept moving the water dish. He pooped outside the box, 6 inches from the box.
As December went on, Neo would pee outside the litter box 2, 3 times a day. Sometimes he'd poop outside the box too, and pee. One time I went into the laundry room where the boxes are kept and there was a pile in front of the box, and a puddle of pee 3 feet across the room.
Clearly, Neo is sending a message and he's not happy! I'm fairly certain this is not a medical issue but he's got an appt tomorrow to double check.
This past Saturday, we put him back into the master suite alone, and let Cinder hang with the other 2 cats. Just from 2 days in there without other cats, Neo is like a different cat. He's calm, purring, not overly aggressive, just like he was when we first got him. He hasn't peed outside the litter box once!
I think maybe we integrated them too quickly. Are we doing the right thing, keeping Neo separate again? Or do you think maybe he doesn't want to share the litter box? Or both? How long do we keep him apart this time?
Any suggestions/comments would be appreciated. Thanks much!