Through circumstances that I am partly to blame for, I’m currently homeless and sleeping in a friend’s spare bedroom. In tow, I have my 6-year old cat, Beru. So far, so good, right?
My friend, Rebecca, has a one-year old male cat named Frank (Beru is female). Both cats have been fixed, so there’s no risk of pregnancy. Neither cat has been declawed.
The problem stems from the fact that Frank’s litterbox is in the spare bedroom, and has been since Rebecca adopted him months ago. Initially, Frank’s litterbox was moved to the downstairs bathroom. After a few days, however, Rebecca expressed that she didn’t like it there, and was returning it to its original spot.
I think that Frank feels intimidated in having to go into the spare bedroom, where the other cat is (thus invading her turf), in order to use the litterbox. I will admit that I haven’t seen him go elsewhere. However, I haven’t seen him use it since it’s been returned to the spare bedroom. Rebecca refuses to allow it to move again.
She cares for her cat, and understandably so. She naturally doesn’t want him stressing out. However, I think she is adding tothe stress on both animals this way.
Beru’s always been a very skittish cat that doesn’t handle stress well. Just like her daddy. Frank’s a very outgoing, good-natured cat. I’ve tried petting one while the other watches, then petting the other one. I’ve tried using toys to play with them both at the same time.
They WILL tolerate being in the same room for brief periods of time. Usually one’s growling though. To be honest, it’s usually Beru that starts it.
Any tips for trying to lessen the amount of stress on both cats without being able to move the litterbox? I still see that as a major stress point.