Originally Posted by sisLH
I was humane soc. manager for 12 years -most all cats like that were a behavior (jealousy) type problem.
I would think that a fairer statement would be "most cats like that
ended up at the humane society were a behavior problem"
I really think most cats with litter box issues are doing so because of a physical problem. Most owners would take care of it and the cat would never end up at a shelter because the problem would stop. I am assuming you are basing your opinion on cats that showed up at the facility you managed as I am basing my opinion on 40+ years of consistent cat ownership and association with other cat owners who have seen this happen. It was almost always because of a UTI or other physical problem.
Another thing that causes the behavior to turn up spontaniously is declawing. I hope the cat was not declawed during the spay procedure. This could defintely cause it. It hurts their mutilated paws to dig in the litter so they associate the litter box with the pain and eliminate somewhere where it does not hurt them to dig.