Wow. Of course, I’m not there to see the situation and can only go by your description. I applaud you going to veterinarians for diagnosis and treatment, plus seeking help from a behaviorist. That said, there’s a lot going on here. With six cats I would be more surprised if you did NOT have problems.
I’m a bit surprised that four of the six cats would have urinary tract infections but certainly that’s possible. As a clarification, “cystitis” simply means inflammation of the bladder lining, which can be painful and cause an urge to frequently urinate. But cystitis does not necessarily mean an infection is present.
In fact, quite often cats repeatedly suffer bouts of stress-related cystitis with no infection whatsoever. Antibiotics may (or may not) help in these instances. Some veterinarians recommend giving the cat a glucosamine supplement that’s said to help soothe the inflammation.
The stress of living among so many other cats can bring on a condition termed “interstitial cystitis.” I’m not familiar with any literature saying that cats “grow out” of this. Cats tend to reach social maturity between the age of two and four years old, at which time social position in the cat group becomes more important. I suspect that’s why the timing (18 months ago) increased the behavior when these littermate girls hit that benchmark.
I applaud you not wishing to give up on any of your cats, and your dedication to caring for them for life. However, you have gone the extra mile. And in reality, how happy are your cats? Sometimes the most humane and loving choice we can make also tears our hearts in two . . . but if you COULD find one or both of the problem pee-sisters another home that might solve a host of problems. You must ask yourself, would the CATS be happier if they didn’t have the stress of living in this situation? And if you didn’t have the stress of cleaning up and living in a mess all the time, your stress level would fall and your remaining cats also would benefit.
Otherwise, I believe you’ll need to make some very specific changes to your home. Divide the house so that the four non-problem cats live in one area, and the others in another. Either shut doors, or invest in several baby gates placed in doorways or halls, perhaps even in stairwells. Also increase the vertical space in the home so that some of these cats can hide, sleep, even run and play above the floor level so they don’t have to face-to-face with the others. There are some other suggestions in the book PETiquette: Solving Behavior Problems in Your Multipet Household.
More: continued here
