PREFACE
My girlfriend, Julie, has a cat, Memphis. Memphis used to be a
well-behaved cat with relatively few problems, other than the
occasional acting out when Julie spends a couple nights in a row at my
place. Acting out? Yes, she'd sometimes go into the restroom, pee on a
rug and maybe even poo on the floor; but this was usually when Julie
would leave her alone for more than 48 hours (once every couple
months). We figured that this was understandable behavior and lived
with it.

Julie just moved. On June 1, she took a 2 BR flat with another girl,
Rose, with another cat, Penelope. Both Rose and Julie love their
little critters and were excited for the two to have new friends; but
they started them off slowly. The first 3 days, both cats were
confined to their owner's respective bedrooms with litter, food, water.
Then, they were released and explored the common areas at their own
pace. Food and water were moved into the common area over a week ago,
the cats seem to be tolerating each other and seem to be forming a
bizarre cat bond.

Memphis has always been really messy in her litter, managing to track
it around a 30' radius of the box. Julie's new place is considerably
smaller so she bought Memphis a new litter box with a door that closes
while Memphis does her thing; that didn't really solve the problem of
litter everywhere, so Julie changed litter to some organic-looking
black pellets that look like cereal fiber or something. Memphis has
used this new litter for over a week and the new box for nearly a month
with no problems to speak of. The one observation I can offer is that
Memphis seems to take frequent trips (hourly perhaps) to the litterbox;
I might only be noticing this because the box is in the bedroom though.

Two days ago, Rose introduced Penelope to the new, organic-looking
pellets and Penelope was confused. Memphis was kind enough to trot in
front of Penelope and demonstrate proper use in front of all, in
Penelope's litter box.


WHA HAPPENED???
Today Julie returned from school (with LOADS of homework due tomorrow)
to her room drenched in cat urine. She initially thought that the
upstairs apartment had sprung a leak. Then she noticed the odor and
yellow tint. According to her, the urine is EVERYWHERE -- on her bed,
under her bed, in the basket of clean linens, on her computer desk, on
a chair, even on a drill that was on the floor. And it sounds like
there are gallons of pee! She's been using paper towels to absorb the
loads and can fill up a trash can already. So, this is clearly not
just one drip here, two drips there -- this is a deluge of cat ****
everywhere!

WHA TO DO???
I did a little research and many suggest taking the cat to a vet for a
urinary tract inspection. We can do this, but I wonder if it's not a
waste of time & money? Will the vet not tell me what I already suspect:
that the cat(s) is (/are) marking her (/their) territory. I think
there's a turf war going on between Memphis and Penelope. Oddly, only
Julie's room was victimized. No **** anywhere other than Julie's
room...what luck!

HELP...
What do people think? Turf war? Urinary tract infection possible?
Is there any way of establishing culpability? As much urine as Julie
described, it seems certain that both cats are responsible. I'm fine
helping her clean this mess, but if Penelope is responsible, then I
think it's only fair that everyone pitch in.

I greatly appreciate any thoughts on this stinking, sticky, slippery
situation.

Thanks,
Mike