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Desperate Problem w/ a house Cat

V

VikingBerserker

Member
My wife has a cat that for a long time now chooses to use a few places in the house as her litterbox.

We have tried all kinds of things (sprays, putting a rug over the area, change of diet etc), but to no use.

The situation is getting out of hand and I don't want my wife to lose the cat.

Please help with any suggestions you have.

ty
 
Have you tried placing the litter box in one of these places to see if you can train it to use the litter box?
 
Originally posted by: Thraxen
Have you tried placing the litter box in one of these places to see if you can train it to use the litter box?
Click to expand...


No but that is a good idea. I would have to put about 4 litterboxes around the house. Would that be good? Will the cat get to used to that?
 
A few questions before I can give advice:
1) Is the cat a male or female?
2) Do you have other pets in the house? If so, what?
3) Is the cat neutered or spaid?
4) Is the cat declawed?
5) Is the cat inside only, or both outside and inside?
 
No but that is a good idea. I would have to put about 4 litterboxes around the house. Would that be good? Will the cat get to used to that?
Click to expand...

Well, I would hate to have to buy 4 litter boxes, but that might be the only to train it. Then you could remove them one at a time and see if the cat keeps using the remaining litter boxes or keeps using the areas whether they have the box or not.
 
Originally posted by: fonzinator
A few questions before I can give advice:
1) Is the cat a male or female?
2) Do you have other pets in the house? If so, what?
3) Is the cat neutered or spaid?
4) Is the cat declawed?
5) Is the cat inside only, or both outside and inside?
Click to expand...

6) Age of the cat?

amish
 
I would just put it to sleep.

did you move the litter box to that location for it to use it? Will it use the litter box there?
 
Originally posted by: Electric Amish
Originally posted by: fonzinator
A few questions before I can give advice:
1) Is the cat a male or female?
2) Do you have other pets in the house? If so, what?
3) Is the cat neutered or spaid?
4) Is the cat declawed?
5) Is the cat inside only, or both outside and inside?
Click to expand...

6) Age of the cat?

amish
Click to expand...

1 - Female
2 - No. We are a family of 3 adults and 2 children. Mom-in-law lives with us to take care of baby.
3 - spaid
4 - front claws are declawed
5 - inside only
6 - about 8 years
 
Originally posted by: VikingBerserker

1 - Female
2 - No. We are a family of 3 adults and 2 children. Mom-in-law lives with us to take care of baby.
3 - spaid
4 - front claws are declawed
5 - inside only
6 - about 8 years
Click to expand...
Based on your answers, I have no other advice than to try the already suggested multiple litterbox idea. Don't make your cat an outside cat - that would be a death warrant for it. My family once had 2 cats that would regularly pee in the air vents. We tried everything we could think of, nothing worked. Finally, we had them put down because there was no other option. It sucked. 🙁 If your cat is a particular breed, you might try researching the breed to see if they are habitual territory markers or other random things that may be causing this behavior. Good luck, and give the multi-litterbox thing a long try before you have the cat put down.
 
You might want to take it to the vet to rule out a urinary tract infection. These are quite common in cats and the irritation of the infection will usually make them "go" everywhere.
 
Originally posted by: fonzinator
Originally posted by: VikingBerserker

1 - Female
2 - No. We are a family of 3 adults and 2 children. Mom-in-law lives with us to take care of baby.
3 - spaid
4 - front claws are declawed
5 - inside only
6 - about 8 years
Click to expand...
Based on your answers, I have no other advice than to try the already suggested multiple litterbox idea. Don't make your cat an outside cat - that would be a death warrant for it. My family once had 2 cats that would regularly pee in the air vents. We tried everything we could think of, nothing worked. Finally, we had them put down because there was no other option. It sucked. 🙁 If your cat is a particular breed, you might try researching the breed to see if they are habitual territory markers or other random things that may be causing this behavior. Good luck, and give the multi-litterbox thing a long try before you have the cat put down.
Click to expand...

Declawing sometimes makes them stop using the litter box. Was the declawing recent? In either case you may want to experiment with other litters, I've heard the crystal kinds work well with declawed cats.
 
Originally posted by: fonzinator
Originally posted by: VikingBerserker

1 - Female
2 - No. We are a family of 3 adults and 2 children. Mom-in-law lives with us to take care of baby.
3 - spaid
4 - front claws are declawed
5 - inside only
6 - about 8 years
Click to expand...
Based on your answers, I have no other advice than to try the already suggested multiple litterbox idea. Don't make your cat an outside cat - that would be a death warrant for it. My family once had 2 cats that would regularly pee in the air vents. We tried everything we could think of, nothing worked. Finally, we had them put down because there was no other option. It sucked. 🙁 If your cat is a particular breed, you might try researching the breed to see if they are habitual territory markers or other random things that may be causing this behavior. Good luck, and give the multi-litterbox thing a long try before you have the cat put down.
Click to expand...

Ty. Do you or anyone else know of a good cat research site? The cat is a Himalayan.

 
Originally posted by: VikingBerserker

Ty. Do you or anyone else know of a good cat research site? The cat is a Himalayan.
Click to expand...
Sorry, I don't. I would just Google it, and see what you can find.
 
I'm not feline expert or much of a pet lover myself, but wha'ts this business with putting it to sleep? Have you people heard of Pet adoptions, i.e Humane Society? I don't know, but putting a cat to death, because it won't pee in the litter box seems inhumane 🙁
 
Originally posted by: jazzhound
I'm not feline expert or much of a pet lover myself, but wha'ts this business with putting it to sleep? Have you people heard of Pet adoptions, i.e Humane Society? I don't know, but putting a cat to death, because it won't pee in the litter box seems inhumane 🙁
Click to expand...

If a cat has been declawed, and it won't go in it's litterbox, then you really have no chioce but to put it down.

Viking:
We have two cats. Both are female/spayed. One is two years old, and the other is about 7. The other one is a no-name black cat that was adopted. Old = black cat; Grey = young cat.

We had the black cat for a year and a half, and then got the grey one. Nearly as soon as we got the grey one, the black cat started going on every damn bathroom rug we had. On top of that, she started going on the bed. After the 2nd time she went on the bed (this was about six months after we got the grey cat).....I told my wfie to go take he to the SPCA, and say that we can't keep her anymore. If I told them that she was peeing everywhere, no one would take her. MY wife was really heartbroken to do this, but she did. After this my wife went on a crusade to local vets, and forums and found a lot of reasons why cats do stuff......

So, she was convinced we could "fix" her. She talked me into getting the cat back from the SPCA (in 3 days mind you), and I told her th efirst time it goes on my bed, it's gone. Anyway. She blamed the cats behavior on getting the new cat, plus the fact that we'd moved. So, she ended up buying all new rugs for the bathrooms, and getting two new litter boxes, one for each cat. And it worked.

One thing I wasn't prepareed for with cats is that they get mad at you and do things on purpose. I caught that damn cat pissing on my bed before we sent her away, (thankfully, by then we had already put a plastic layer underneath the sheets), and as soon as she saw me in the doorway, she shot off like a rocket. There ususally is something going on (other then a unrinary infection) for them to start acting insane. We've had a few accidents with carpet rugs in the bathroom only.......and as it turns out, my wife found out the cat only does it when she thinks the litter box is full, so she cleans it every day now.

I know my story won't help you very much, but I'd just like to share because cats are strange animals. My wifee's the cat person, and if it weren't for her, they'd have been long gone. I'd have never known how damn moody, pissed off, and evil cats can be.....but like my wife found out eventually, there usually is a reason why they do something.
 
Declawing only comes into play in this situation if the cat was very recently declawed.
A healthy cat will always use its litter box. Cats are instinctively very clean. All they have to do is be shown where the litter box is and they will go right to it everytime. I have seen this in kittens as young as 2 months to an old tomcat who lived outside for 8 years (and never used a litter box in all that time) and had to be brought inside full-time due to age. The only exception to this is that male un-neutered cats will occasionally spray to mark their territory.
The fact that your adult female cat has suddenly stopped using the box makes me think only 3 things: (1) you are not keeping the box clean enough or (2) the cat is emotionally upset by something, like a recent change in the household, or (3) there is something wrong with the cat's health. In any case, you need to take the cat in to see a vet.
Good luck.
 
A spray bottle with a nozzle adjustment for a stream to a fine mist is a great kitty control device. When you see the cat about to do whatever you want to stop, a quick blast of water will usually change its mind. Eventually, many cats will understand that just sight of the bottle means an impending control action, and you can reduce the setting to a mist, or just point the bottle, and say "psssst."

It gets their attention from a distance, and it's a lot more gentle than any kind of swatting action or other physical punishment.
 
Originally posted by: jazzhound
I'm not feline expert or much of a pet lover myself, but wha'ts this business with putting it to sleep? Have you people heard of Pet adoptions, i.e Humane Society? I don't know, but putting a cat to death, because it won't pee in the litter box seems inhumane 🙁
Click to expand...
Who would adopt an 8 year old cat that doesn't pee where it is supposed too. Even if he gave it to one of the adoption agencies, they would have to put it down because no one would adopt it. It would cost too much to keep it around.
 
Is it a covered litterbox?

I'm a brand new cat owner thanks to my wife - had the wife 2 years...the cat 2 weeks...BUT I asked cat owners lots of questions and the covered litterbox may be a problem if the cat perceives it to be too dirty, stinky, confined, etc...good luck.

~AJ
 
the cat may have or had a urinary tract infection which causes pain when they pee. They associate the pain with the box and begin avoiding the box.

You might need to reinforce whenever she gets near the box (at first) and in the box (eventually). She will unlearn the negative association and start using the box again. Also keep the box as clean as possible.
 
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