Hi guys,

I bought a beautiful kitten in March of this year. She was 8 weeks old when we got her, and she has brought the family alot of joy and happiness, although shes had her naughty moments. We called her Sammi.

We had thought for a while about getting her a playmate, before shes gets much older, and on Monday of this week i had the opportunity of taking in a 12 week old female kitten, we called Jessie.

Firstly, i have a question about Sammi. Even though her litter tray is cleaned every other day, she has on occasion poo'd in the bath, on the plughole. We made sure we kept the bathroom door closed, but instead of the bath, she now jumps into the sink and squats over the plug as if shes wee'ing. She seems to like the bathroom when the shower and the room is moist. She doesnt do this all the time, and most of the time she does use her tray, although at times she poo's next to the tray. Please can someone tell me what this behaviour is telling me, and what i should do.
Also Sammi has just started to taker her food out of her bowl and drop it on the floor by her bowl, and then eat it. Is this normal ??

So, on Monday I introduced Jessie, she's a beautiful tortioseshell, and very affectionate and lively. They both had a spat or two the first first days but seem to be calming down with each other. I want to know how to tell the difference between them fighting and playing, as they can chase each other round the house, like loonies, and i dont know if its with aggression or playfullness.

Sorry about all the questions, but i would love some answers to my questions.

Thanks folks,
Emma
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Hello!

For your first question about Sammi, her 'accidents' in the bathroom may just be a litter tray issue. Although it may seem that cleaning her litter tray every other day may be good enough, making sure it is clean every day could reduce or eliminate the accidents. Does she have her own litter tray? The rule of thumb is that you should have one tray for each cat plus one, as some cats do not like using the same litter as other cats.

The fact that she is using the bathtub and the sink are indicators that she is looking for a damp, secluded area to do her business, and basically that she is likely trying to get out of sight. The best thing to do would be to monitor when she is pooing outside of the litter tray. Are these accidents occurring the day that the litter tray was cleaned or is it the next day? This will help to narrow down why the accidents are occurring. Also, be sure not to punish your cat for these accidents, this can cause fear, timidness and more problems in the future.

With relation to Sammi dropping her food outside of the bowl, I think that she is just playing with her food, and this is nothing to worry about.

Finally, I think that the cats are just playing. You would definitely know if they were fighting if you heard hissing or aggressive noises. It does take time for cats to get used to each other, but by the sounds of it your cats will soon be great friends!

Yes, I would definitely get at least one more litter tray. You could also try a covered tray, or a larger tray so she's got more space to dig around. I use a large underbed storage box as a litter tray for my Maine Coons, which works really well.

The play fighting is a good thing - they are bonding and having fun. I would only step in if there's a lot of spitting and check no-one is drawing blood, but I would say that this is unlikely.

As for the dropping of food outside the bowl- completely normal.

Have fun with your babes!

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Rescue cats for many years, currently one moggie and 3 young Maine Coons.

Thanks alot for those answers, it really helps. Its re-assuring to know that my babies are ok. I certainly will be getting Jessie a litter tray of her own this weekend. When they are chasing each other there is occasional hissing and growling but its not too often. This morning they even rubbed noses !!

Em
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