Kitty Litter Box Problems

7 years ago

We have five cats. Maverick is 11 months old. He started using the floor after a litter change and even though we changed back, he didn't consistently use his box.

I had read some advice online about confining a cat to retrain. We confined him to our hall bath. He continued to use the litter box inconsistently. Finally I wondered if changing the surface of the floor would help. I bought towels and taped them to the floor. It worked! He used the litter box every time. I had read that 30 days was the minimum for this retraining. We left him in for 60 days.

On Sat. we decided that we had to find out at some point and so we let him out. A bit later, he pooped on the floor near one of the litter boxes. Sunday he did it again, this time outside my craft room. Monday morning I woke up to find that he'd peed in the floor outside the craft room. I cleaned it again and put towels down in that spot as well. This morning we had a water leak in our hall bath. I moved the litter box I'd left in there into the hall and saw Maverick get in and use it. Tonight when I got home DH reported that Maverick had done well. I was going into the hall bath to check it when I saw it - the towels had slid apart and Maverick had pooped on the floor between them.

Three vets that we've talked to agree that we're doing everything right. We have multiple litter boxes (at one time there were eight because I put one in every spot that Maverick had used). We've tried Feliway spray and diffuser. We've tried the Cat Attract litter. The boxes are scooped twice daily. He's know the other cats since birth, so there was no introduction of a new cat to cause this. He's neutered and has been checked thoroughly by a vet for health issues. We tried amitriptyline and he's now on Prozac. The floor is always thoroughly cleaned with an enzyme cleaner when he uses it. We've changed to an unscented litter. (A litter change was the catalyst for this behavior so we are wary of changing to crystals or anything like that). We can't figure out why Maverick usually uses the litter box but then will decide not to. We are thankful that he's not using the floor every tim. The vets are even perplexed.

We were sure that confining him and retraining would fix this, but it hasn't. The vet has now suggested getting an appointment with a behavior specialist. He almost always goes near a door or at least a wall, never just out in the middle of the floor. And it's usually close to a litter box. Has anyone tried this? Or have any other suggestions?

Thanks.

Featured Answer

annztoo

7 years ago

I don't know how long he's been on Prozac but if you haven't seen any improvement I'd be inclined to take him off it.

The only thing you didn't mention is the type and size of litter boxes you're using. If they're all uncovered you might want to offer him one that is covered and vise versa. Also, I would play with the the type of litter they're using. I've mentioned it before, but the the best I've found (and the one my cats chose) is Petco's unscented bulk litter, aka So Phresh.

One more suggestion: if you haven't watched My Cat from Hell, set your TV to record it. You'll be surprised at what you'll learn. My Cat From Hell

Comments (8)

Debbie Downer
7 years ago
What is his history - how long have you had him, it sounds like he was good for a while before this started? Is he pooping/peeing right outside the box or in random places? Are you seeing any signs of inter-cat tensions - and this can be quite subtle - any stalking or territorial behavior from the others, staring, poking, blocking access to things, . Five cats is kind of a lot... people do it, and its not unreasonable to think its possible to have a happy home with 5 cats... but the more there are, the more possibility of tensions arising.

I dont have a tv so have not seen the Cat from Hell.... books by John Bradshaw and Pam Johnson are pretty good too. Hope the behaviorist has some good insights - they should, since they would get to see first hand how the cats are interacting and how your house is laid out.
kittiemom thanked Debbie Downer
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kittiemom
Original Author
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
We've had him since he was three months. He came to us in May and was ok until we attempted to make a litter change. We changed back but he continued the behavior. We actually do think that the Prozac is helping. This was happening multiple times per day, now it's not always every day. We are using the unscented So Phresh. He's known the other cats since birth. We did bring two home after him, but he had been with them previously. There was a bit of tension with the introduction, but all was good after 24 hrs. That was in June and this started in Aug.

We haven't noticed any signs of tension and we've been looking for it. They all play together and interact.

He usually poops/pees near a box and pretty close to a wall. We've never found it just out in the middle of the floor. A few times he's used more random spots, but always near a wall. We have boxes in multiple places in the house. We actually think that he's gotten it into his head that the floor is an ok substitute, which is why we were hoping that the retraining would work. And it did - while he was in the bathroom. I think it's very interesting that he found the spot on the floor where the towels had come apart and used that, not the towel. I taped them together last night.

It seems random and I think that is the most puzzling and frustrating part for us and the vets. Sometimes he poops on the floor but doesn't pee, sometimes the opposite, sometimes he'll use the litter box consistently for more than 24 hours. We haven't been able to figure out the trigger for the times when he doesn't use it.
socks
7 years ago
Is he neutered? All kitties have had their surgeries? ( sorry if I missed this.)
kittiemom thanked socks
kittiemom
Original Author
7 years ago
Yes, he is neutered. All others spayed/neutered also. All done at approximately five months. He is definitely not spraying. He hasn't peed in the floor since Sun. night and it's now Thurs. so that's encouraging. He has pooped, but that's better than the peeing.
User
7 years ago
Sounds like you are doing everything right. I would have said to try Litter Attract and Feliway, but you have! I assume the vets have checked for a UTI (the biggest reason to avoid the box)..

I don't know what else you can do except put out a LOT of litter boxes and perhaps try different brands of litter in a couple extras. My cats love Nature's Miracle, fwiw.

For some unknown reason, this year one of my cats started pooping right outside of her box. She goes in to pee and then gets out to poop. Wish I had some magical advice for you.
kittiemom thanked User
kittiemom
Original Author
7 years ago
Well, he hasn't peed outside the box since last Monday during the night (found it when we woke up). So more than a week. He has been pooping on the floor most days. Always near a litter box. Obviously we'd prefer that he always use the box, but we can deal with the poop on the floor. If he starts peeing again we're going to take him to the behavior specialist.
Debbie Downer
7 years ago
The behavior specialist should be able to come to your house - so they can see your set up and observe how the cat is in his home. Are they proposing you bring him there - that would be kind of odd.

How close is the poop to the box? Ive noticed my cat sometimes hangs his big butt out over the edge of the litterbox and the poop doesnt always land in the box. Its just due to the way he positions himself - he's just squeamish about touching the litter so he kind of balances himself on the rim (hard to explain)

Kitty Litter Box Problems

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