Another Kitty/Litter Box Woe Thread

[bmccasland]

I'm having the same problem with Calypso. She's declawed - came that way. I cleaned her litter box this morning, and after her morning ritual of a brief romp outside (she goes out with the dog, Nala, but does she find a spot to "go" outside? NOOOO!), she runs to the bathroom and promply pees on the towel in front of the box. I could scream She also poops on the floor.

For some reason, Calypso refuses to use the litter box, she goes right in front of the box on the towel. I long ago gave up on bathroom rugs - which used to be her target. I either clean the floor with white vinegar or a non-ammonia cleaner, but I'm really getting tired of it. Let alone the laundry. Could the pee smell be lingering in the towel load? I rinse the towels with the hose, let dry, then when I have something of a load - towels + cleaning towels, everything goes in hot water with bleach. Lately I've been adding a good handfull of baking soda to the load as well.

Calypso had been an only cat for about a year, the first year of her life, then was surrendered to her vet by her previous owner. Lived there for a month before I adopted her.

I have two elderly kitties with health problems. Sometimes I wonder that in Calypso's eye's I'm "spending time" with them just because I'm medicating them (twice daily). Calypso does like to spend time outside, will meow to come in, run to the bathroom, go on the floor, then run back to the kitchen door, wanting back out again. ARRGGGH!

[Becky]

FWIW, my female hated that pine litter too. Come to think of it, she didn't like the corn-based ones either. I finally figured it out, and switched to Precious Cat, a clay litter with larger grain sizes than most- really good for digging (or so the cat tells me).

Cat Attract litter is made by the same company, and contains some kind of herbal attractant. I can vouch that it works miracles. I think we've solved our litter boxes issues (knock wood!), but I've continued using a little with every box change just as cheap insurance.

Good luck!

[Shara]

Some great responses in this thread. If you have the time/money/room/motivation you could set up several litter boxes with different litter in it and see which one she gravitates towards.

Also, I just wanted to mention that the company that owned Nature's Miracle sold a few years ago and the original Nature's Miracle formula is being sold as Petastic. Not that the new Nature's Miracle doesn't work -I haven't tried it- but you might find that interesting if you have not switched and noticed a difference.

[jesvetmed]

Aggie:

Sorry you are having troubles! There is some great information in this thread to try. I definitely second that you should visit the vet and make sure she doesn't have a urinary tract infection or crystals forming that are painful when she urinates.

As for the litter -- many have "preferred substrates" meaning they prefer to urinate on something that feels like sand, or carpet, or paper. If you can simulate that / find the favorite, you will go a long way! I have had clients cut up small carpet pieces and put them in the bottom of the litter pan by itself to start -- (get LOTS of scrap remnant pieces!) -- then slowly add litter after they begin using it -- a SLOW transition could get you where you want to go.

Try different litters -- I like Dr. Elsey's sandy stuff. I buy the "Precious Cat". And... IT'S CHEAP! Nature's Miracle also makes a litter and my cat loved it -- it helps a lot with odor, but is spendy! I now mix a little into the Dr. Elsey's to save $$

And always put enough litter pans -- especially put one in the exact place she is going -- even if it is inconvenient. Once she is using it routinely you can start nudging it inch by inch to a more convenient place for you.

Change the litter DAILY, or more! If you have more than one cat, get one more litter pan than you have kitties.

Make sure there is no stress in the area where the pan is, or on the way to the pan (ie, going by a noisy place, a dog, etc, to get there).

And a hardy +++++ to the Nature's Miracle liquid. Used correctly, it will enzymatically get rid of the odor in the pad and carpet (not only just to you, but also to the pet). They WILL continue to urinate in the same areas if they can smell it.

There you go -- that is everything I know! Your vet may be able to talk to you about anxiolytic drugs if it becomes necessary -- 99.9% of the time it is not. I hate jumping to drugs if not necessary. And it is almost always not!

GOOD LUCK! Start with a visit to the vet!

[bmccasland]

I bought some Precious Cat kitty litter the other day, and replaced most of the litter in the box that Calypso uses (bathroom box) with it - SUCCESS!!!

Thought it was a one day fluke, fresh litter and all. She's always liked new litter. Then yesterday I had a 14 hour day, came home to find the towel by the box all wadded up, but it was dry - no poo, no pee. Yippee! I'm really hoping for this trend to continue, and I'll be doing less laundry. Maybe, just maybe, I can even put the bathroom rug back!

Litters I've tried that she didn't like: Tidy Cats scoopable, Corn based, and Wheat based. I've come to realize that she absolutely refused to use the Tidy Cats. She would use the box if it had the corn based or wheat based, but ONLY when the box was clean, one use only. I wanted to use the corn or wheat based as I was trying to be able to put the waste in my compost pile, and flush the poo down the toilet - neither of which I can do with a clay based litter.

So Calypso gets Precious Cat litter here on out in her box. The other box will use up the mix of corn litter + Tidy Cats. Herald doesn't mind. Bonnie will use either box.

[Becky]

Yay! I love Precious Cat because my cats love it