OT - cat with litter box problems
This may sound like a random question but are her eyes ok? I wonder if she smells the litter box but just doesn't quite know where it is. My 11 y/o is starting to develop a cataract and it sometimes affects her eyesight. I think the other posters suggesting mental health issues may be something you continue to investigate - trying different meds. Cats are also very perceptive of the issues their humans go thru - we're part of their family, so if you're under any stress it may be affecting her. (BTW, my eldest is still in remission from cancer, past the 9month limit they gave her. So happy for my Princess!!!)
First ultra: Stone Mill 50 miler 11/15/14 13:44:38, First Full Marathon: Marine Corps 10/27/13 4:57:11, Half Marathon PR 2:04:43 at Shamrock VA Beach Half-Marathon, 12/2/12 First Half-Marathon 2:32:47, 5K PR Run Under the Lights 5K 27:23 on 11/23/13, 10K PR 52:53 Pike's Peek 10K 4/21/13, (1st timed run) Accumen 8K 51:09 10/14/12.
I believe her eyes are OK.
She also had cancer a couple years ago. She had surgery and then chemotherapy and has been cancer free for a couple years now. I'm glad your kitty is still doing OK.
She also had cancer a couple years ago. She had surgery and then chemotherapy and has been cancer free for a couple years now. I'm glad your kitty is still doing OK.
Kelly
Please note: I AM NOT A DOCTOR. If you want medical advice, talk to your doctor. Whatever I post, there is probably some surgeon or other health care provider somewhere that disagrees with me. If you want to know what your surgeon thinks, then ask him or her. Check out my blog.
Depending on the length of time she has been doing this, she may have learned this as a behavior and you will have to retrain her. Look at your cat as an individual and see how the environment in your home maybe affecting her.
Here are some things to consider:
Here are some things to consider:
- How long has the cat been urinating outside the box?
- How many litter boxes do you have for all your cats?
- Are they located in different places in your home?
- How do the other cats treat her? Is she picked on by the other cats?
- Do the other cats bother her when she goes to use a litter box there? The cat that is picked on may be reacting to the stress of this by inappropriate urination.
- Are you constantly bringing in foster kittens? This may be affecting her outlook.
- Aversion may be happening for various reasons but we need to observe how the cat is acting.
- Is the litter box scooped everyday? She may stop using the actual box due to the odor or because she associates the box with something negative.
- It could be stress related.
- Have you thoroughly cleaned the floor area by the box with a good cleaner to eliminate the smell?
- Have you tried Cat Attract or feliway which helps bring the cat to the box?
- On her medical check-ups, you stated she was fine so I assume no infection was found.
- Here is a great website that we always recomended to our clients with this problem this products really does help. http://www.catfaeries.com/feliway.html?gclid=COnOyanq4KoCFUP BKgodaUU69A
My only thought to add is she might need a bigger litter box. Is she a large cat? My cat is diabetic too and sometimes he poops outside the litter box (but luckily always pees inside) He is a large cat, overweight and old and its more helpful to him to have a bigger box - uncovered.
She might also just not be aware she has to go until shes going.
Valerie
She might also just not be aware she has to go until shes going.
Valerie
We had issues with our cat peeing outside the box. We tried everything you suggested and nothing worked. We finally ended up designating our basement the cat area. It was covered in tile. We would let him come and visit upstairs in the evening when we could keep a close eye on him. The rest of the time he lived down stairs. This was not an optimal solution, but I think it was better than the alternative.
BTW, Nature's Miracle works well to clean up carpets.
BTW, Nature's Miracle works well to clean up carpets.
If I had a basement, I'd totally do that. I've thought of confining her to one room, the spare bedroom that now has linoleum instead of carpet due to how much she peed on that carpet, and just let her out of that room when I was around to keep an eye on her. The room is small though and I don't know if I would feel OK about it.
Kelly
Please note: I AM NOT A DOCTOR. If you want medical advice, talk to your doctor. Whatever I post, there is probably some surgeon or other health care provider somewhere that disagrees with me. If you want to know what your surgeon thinks, then ask him or her. Check out my blog.
my inside kitty has this problem,,she has a touch of dementia as well but mostly her hips are bothering her and she cannot stoop to pea the way female cats do so when she did she would aim for the box but miss,,other times she just couldn't make the climb over the rim so she'd just stand on the side of the box and pee,, so now i fold three paper towels and lay them down next to her box on both sides and when she has an incident the towels at least catch it and i just clean it up, clorox the area. it doesn't stop her from doing it again,,but what can you do,,i love my baby,, she's almost 15 yrs old (that makes her somewhere between 80 and 100yrs old )and my bestfriend,,i hope someone treats me the same way when i start peeing and poopin'on the floor.
I love my kitty too and I am prepared to just clean up after her if I must, but I wish there was something else to do. I actually feel bad for her because I don't really think it's her fault, I think something is wrong but she can't tell us what. And I feel guilty because the problem started after she was left home alone for three weeks, which in retrospect probably was not the best decision I've ever made. At the time I was not aware that I'd be in the hospital so long, and I considered boarding them somewhere while I was away, but I thought being in a small cage with no one familiar nearby would be stressful for them. Especially the other cat I had at the time, she was very frightened of people she did not know. So I thought being in their familiar home would be the best option. Afterward, I thought that perhaps it would have been better to see if my former roommate would have kept them while I was gone. They both knew her and she was still in the apartment where my cats and I had lived for a few years.
Anyway, I don't think she's trying to be bad. I wish I knew what to do for her. But I do get tired of cleaning up pee.
Anyway, I don't think she's trying to be bad. I wish I knew what to do for her. But I do get tired of cleaning up pee.
Kelly
Please note: I AM NOT A DOCTOR. If you want medical advice, talk to your doctor. Whatever I post, there is probably some surgeon or other health care provider somewhere that disagrees with me. If you want to know what your surgeon thinks, then ask him or her. Check out my blog.
Have you changed the type or brand of litter? If not, maybe you could try maybe switching from scoopable to regular clay littler or one of the newer types of litter they have out now (crystals, cedar, etc.) I wish I had some more ideas for you. My cat will poop on the floor if he feels it is not clean enough for him. He is also a large cat and sometimes he will poop just outside the box almost as if he didn't know his butt was not completely in the box. Also, maybe try putting the litter boxes in different locations around the house. Maybe she doesn't like the current location. Some cats can be funny about stuff like that.
Tammy 
Luck 'o the Irish
HW399/SW362/CW219/GW130
*37 lbs were lost pre-op
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