Dysfunctional Cat won't use the litter box….HELP!?
I hope you can help me.
I have 2 indoor cats, brother and sister, who get along great. They are 3 years old and I’ve had them since they were kittens.
But in the past months (even over a year) I’ve had a horrible problem with the female pooping outside the litter box. It started with her pooping on an area rug. It became so consistent, that I finally just removed the rug. That worked for awhile, but then she started pooping on the stairs leading to my basement.
I’ve tried everything. Multiple boxes on multiple levels of the house. Different litters and differents kinds of litterboxes. Cleaning out the entire box twice a day. Putting foil and citrus-scented cotton balls on the area for aversion. Sometimes it works for a little while until the newness wears off, but then it’s right back to the same old thing. I even put the litterbox ON the stairs, but then she would poop on a different step. (never urine, though)
I suspect that she has an aversion to the smell of his male urine. That’s the only thing I can think of!
I took the female to my mother’s house and she’s been there a week and has used the cat litter every time, no problems. I’m getting the whole house carpet cleaned while she’s gone.
These 2 kitties have been together their whole lives and they love each other dearly. They are so lonely without each other. I don’t want to separate them or find another home for one. What can I do?
Do you have any ideas for how I can somehow keep their litterboxes separated without isolating them from each other? Or is there something that might keep his urine from smelling? (they’ve both been spayed/neutered). Is there anything else I’ve overlooked?
I’ve considered one of those self-cleaning litterboxes. But considering I can’t get her to use it AT ALL, I don’t think I could teach her to use some new contraption. The expense would be worth it if it works, though.
Thank you for any help you can send my way!
Tagged with: 3 years • area rug • aversion • brother and sister • carpet • Cat Litter • contraption • cotton balls • differents kinds • horrible problem • indoor cats • kittens • kitties • litter box • litterbox • litterboxes • litters • newness • spayed neutered • stairs
Filed under: Self Cleaning Litter Box
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If you haven’t taken her to the vet for a check up do so. I had the opposite problem – poo went in the box just fine but Petunia was peeing everywhere else because everytime she peed in the box it hurt. Since her brain is only the size of a walnut she didn’t realize that it hurt to pee because she had a urinary tract infection and would hurt no matter where she peed. But she diligently tried peeing everywhere in the house to find a place it didn’t hurt to pee. Since we have multiple cats, I thought of all the other possibilities first and didn’t think to go to the vet until she had been uncomfortable for more than a week. Boy do I feel like a jerk for making her suffer so long. But as soon as she felt better she went back to the box and has been good ever since. So ask your vet and see what she says.
Here are some helpful links:
I wonder if you could teach either of them or both to pee in the toilet?
TX Mom