As suggested by elly_nj, get her to the vet right off. She could have cystitis, which is extremely painful and can kill her. And PLEASE spay her! AFTER her vet clears her, take a look at the cleaning products that you use. You could be poisoning her. Think about it from the cat's perspective. You stated that you take pride in a clean home that smells good-so I'm guessing that you are using toxic things with the added problem of heavy fragrances. Remember, cats are built low to the ground. Fumes are difficult to escape. Also, your cat washes herself with her tongue, thereby ingesting whatever she washes off of her fur and feet. There are many ways to clean and disinfect your home without using such potent toxins. She may simply be offended by the cleaning products that you use. Cats don't tolerate perfumes. Are you using scented litter? Don't. You clean the litterpan daily anyway, so you don't need rubbish to mask any smells. Scented litters are a marketing ploy designed to make you think that your home reeks of cat. They are repulsive to cats and can even be harmful to sensitive cats. Oh, and don't fall for the all-to-common misconception that 'green' or 'organic' or 'natural' cleansers are safe. They are still comprised of concentrations that can be very harmful. Next step is to clean the peed-on places thoroughly to remove all traces of urine. There are excellent enzymatic cleansers on the market for that purpose. I tried everything from plain white vinegar (which seems to entice male cats to pee where it's been used) to cheap vodka (which made the place smell kind of funny for a long time but the cats stopped paying attention to the spots where it had been used) to several of the available enzymatic cleansers. Enzymatics win hands down. I urge you to treat the spots, let them dry then treat again. They actually have a pleasant light fragrance that isn't as offensive as the heavy cleaning products. For most cleaning, plain hot soapy water is great, and baking soda is little short of miraculous for smell control. Next. You cat would rather use door jambs than her scratching post. You have a few options. Apparently she likes the feeling of wood under her claws and a tall stretch when scratching. You can get her a log and set it upright. I have cats who won't touch a carpet covered post but are thrilled to have a log to dig into. I have others who prefer sisal fabric and sisal rope wrapped round a post. Make certain that the post is large and sturdy. The teensy posts you get at the big box stores aren't worth a hill of beans. You can buy simple little boards covered in sisal that are cheap and much loved. You can hang them from the door knob, you can lay them flat, you can place them on a step so they're slanted. See which placement you cat likes the most. Some cats like to stretch vertically (yours probably does) so a good stout tall post is ideal. Scratching is exercise and a natural behaviour. Once you have addressed these steps, and inappropriate littering issues are still a concern, then it's time to examine the psychological aspect of your cat's surroundings. Is she assailed by the children when she'd rather watch from a distance? Does the noise level upset her? Does your cleaning routine bother her? Does she have a favourite person in the home with whom she prefers to play and snuggle? Encourage that person to give her plenty of attention. There are so many possibilities. These tend to be the most common factors that result in cat littering problems. I hope that this is helpful. I learned the hard way about toxic chemical use around the home. I'd like that it not be so traumatic for you. Good luck, and please don't get rid of the cat without giving her a chance.

if your cat is squatting to urinate, it is most likely due to bladder pain and not a 'bad habit' or 'bad' behavior. Cats that urinate due to anxiety or some other stressor tend to spray against vertical surfaces, such as walls or furniture (even female cats will do this). But squatting to pee, particularly if he persists despite your trying to actively scare him from doing it, are almost always signs of suffering from bladder discomfort. So you need to be taking him in ASAP to be sure he is indeed able to empty his bladder completely. As someone already said, blocked cats are emergencies- can be fatal if not attended to right away. Not sure what 'special diet' you are giving your cat now, but you can never go wrong with a fish-free canned food, and would recommend switch to that ASAP as well. If you are feeding a special dry, try to switch again to the same diet, but in canned form. I have been treating blocked cats and cats with painful bladders for over 20 years and nothing works better prevention-wise than canned food (and no fish if the urine shows any signs of struvite crystals). However UTIs (true bladder infections) are extremely rare in young cats (only seen maybe 4 in 20 years in otherwise healthy cats under the age of 10) compared to maybe 500 cases of FIC (feline inflammatory cystitis- a non infectious cause of bladder pain and bloody urine). So hopefully your vet will not just put your cat on antibiotics and hope that takes care of the problem.

Thanks for keeping us updated. It's good to read he's starting to feel better!! One of our members gave me this link about canned food when I thought I was having trouble with crystals in my cat. It was a great wealth of reliable information for me. It took me a long time to find a canned my cat would eat (and it's junk canned that she settled on) but the article said that even junk canned is better than dry food. I still leave dry food out as a back-up but my indoor cats primarily eat the wet as the main source of their diet. Here's the link below that you might want to read for further information. Here is a link that might be useful: Cat Info. Org

It could be a dominance thing. It could be an intimidation thing if Mika doesn't want to risk being cornered in a litterbox by Midnight. It could be a stress thing if Mika doesn't appreciate having Midnight in her territory. It could be an illness thing if Mika has developed a urinary tract infection, which can result from stress. Why would you even consider getting rid of Mika when you caused this problem by bringing Midnight into the household? Mika has to pay for your mistake? Take Mika to the vet to check for UTI and/or urinary crystals. Get another litterbox. Place the litterboxes in different rooms, NOT in corners where Mika may feel trapped if she tries to use one. Try both covered and open boxes. Buy some Feliway or Comfort Zone to use in your home to help calm your cats and hopefully help alleviate the inappropriate urination. Buy some Rescue Remedy and give it to Mika to help relieve her stress. Buy some Cat Attract and use it in your litterboxes. Give Mika LOTS of extra loving attention away from Midnight so that she knows she is not being displaced. Do NOT allow Midnight to intimidate or harrass her in any way. If the previous suggestions don't resolve the problem, you may want to discuss the possibility of putting Mika on an anti-anxiety drug as a last resort. Mika needs your love, reassurance, understanding, and patience. She is responding the way a cat under stress responds. It's your responsibility to do everything possible to alleviate her stress, and "getting rid of her" isn't the answer. Laurie