Prairie Mom
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Sep 13, 2014
- Messages
- 4,339
My advice regarding cats making messes outside of their litter box.
First off:
Rule out all medical conditions with a qualified Veterinarian!!!
If your sweet kitty is truly facing a degenerative disease, then there is no point in reading my advice on cats and litter boxes. The most important thing is to love, spoil, provide comfort, and quietly clean up any messes.
If your cat is recovering from a health issue or has developed some bad habits, I have some advice...
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
My Advice and Some Different Options
I have LOTS of thoughts and sadly LOTS and LOTS of experience with cats going outside the litterbox.
I have six cats (yup... call me crazy!)
This is one of the better articles about cats going outside the litter box I have seen. It addresses a lot of issues most people don't think about. You are exceptional and have already thought of a lot of the issues that cause this, but I suppose it doesn't hurt to take a peek just to be sure.
http://www.catbehaviorassociates.com/some-common-reasons-why-cats-stop-using-the-litter-box/
Make your own litterbox
-Right now, I have four litter boxes for my six beasties and they are located through out my house. One litter box is actually a huge clear Tupperware in my laundry room that the cats really seem to favor. I highly recommend giving one of those a try. I also think they feel safer because it is clear and can see around themselves as they do their business.
Picky about his toilet!
- I have one cat that will go outside of the litter box if they are the tiniest bit dirty and if I don't have what he thinks is the "perfect" amount of cat litter. The little stinker will actually WATCH ME as I clean the litter boxes like he's making sure I do a good job! Even with scooping 1-2 times daily, I actually struggle to keep the litter boxes up to this picky cat's standards and occasionally will do additional spot cleans. Grrrr...argh, but I love him.
Breaking the bad habit after an uncomfortable medical condition
-One of my cats had a serious health threat and developed a bladder issue that nearly killed him. He had to have surgery and be put on a portable catheter for a while.--It was awful. (This wasn't my FIV cat! He was a normal healthy guy!) Sadly, he associated his illness and discomfort using the bathroom with litter boxes. There was a while when my family had to have 13 LITTER BOXES! -YES, THIRTEEN!!! It was a nightmare, but the situation serves as proof that you shouldn't just give a cat to a shelter for "naughty peeing..."
"Training your cat to 'Go' where he's supposed to"
-Here's my very crazy and very important advice...buy additional litterboxes (just for now!) and put a litterbox in EVERY WACKY place the cat goes. Please humor me and check out what I have to say...
We started putting litter boxes everywhere he relieved himself (some in the craziest places! On top of the fridge etc). Remember I mentioned we had THIRTEEN!??!?! We tried lids on and off etc. Once his health improved and he was obviously USING the MILLIONS of litterboxes, we started slowly inching the boxes in crazy locations to where we hoped to keep a box permanently. We were able to essentially train him to use specific boxes by slowly inching the crazy-placed box next to a box located at a better spot. We'd keep BOTH boxes in the same place for a while, and then eventually remove the undesired box next to the permanent box. I hope you never need thirteen, but just know there are ways to deal with it.
Targeting specific furniture...
-Our cat did target specific furniture and there were some pieces that we were NOT able to get him to stop peeing on, no matter what we did. We used all the chemical cleaners, "Feliway spray" as a deterrant, and even covered things in chicken wire). Eventually we gave up and got rid of the targeted piece of furniture ( We actually got rid of a LOVESEAT -at least it was old and ugly!) Once the furniture was gone, we did the thing where we put a litter box there and slowly "inched it" where we wanted the cat to go.
I thought this was an amazing idea...
I have friend who had a simpler litterbox issue. The cat always went on a particular rug. She used a urine sensing alarm mat for kids who wet the bed!!! Something like this: http://www.amazon.com/Vigilant-Wetting-Nocturnal-Enuresis-Bedwetting/dp/B00CORG04M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1417035794&sr=8-1&keywords=urine alarm mat&pebp=1417035799964
Whenever the cat went there, the alarm sounded and it trained the cat to stay away! Genius!
-And finally, my enclosure post here on the forum:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/our-small-outdoor-cat-enclosure.103535/
We built this small outdoor cat enclosure just to make our old indoor cats happy and I have found that it makes >ME< VERY HAPPY! My picky litterbox cat has NOT gone outside of his box since we have installed this!!! It's a miracle! He uses the boxes inside and ALSO does his business in the mulch bark outside. He'll even sit by the window (which is closed a lot because of the winter weather) and ASKS TO BE LET OUT. This enclosure may have been the answer to all my problems and would have probably saved me a lot of heartaches after cat surgeries etc.
I sincerely wish you the best of luck and am glad you care for your animals so much!
First off:
Rule out all medical conditions with a qualified Veterinarian!!!
If your sweet kitty is truly facing a degenerative disease, then there is no point in reading my advice on cats and litter boxes. The most important thing is to love, spoil, provide comfort, and quietly clean up any messes.
If your cat is recovering from a health issue or has developed some bad habits, I have some advice...
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
My Advice and Some Different Options
I have LOTS of thoughts and sadly LOTS and LOTS of experience with cats going outside the litterbox.
I have six cats (yup... call me crazy!)
This is one of the better articles about cats going outside the litter box I have seen. It addresses a lot of issues most people don't think about. You are exceptional and have already thought of a lot of the issues that cause this, but I suppose it doesn't hurt to take a peek just to be sure.
http://www.catbehaviorassociates.com/some-common-reasons-why-cats-stop-using-the-litter-box/
Make your own litterbox
-Right now, I have four litter boxes for my six beasties and they are located through out my house. One litter box is actually a huge clear Tupperware in my laundry room that the cats really seem to favor. I highly recommend giving one of those a try. I also think they feel safer because it is clear and can see around themselves as they do their business.
Picky about his toilet!
- I have one cat that will go outside of the litter box if they are the tiniest bit dirty and if I don't have what he thinks is the "perfect" amount of cat litter. The little stinker will actually WATCH ME as I clean the litter boxes like he's making sure I do a good job!
Even with scooping 1-2 times daily, I actually struggle to keep the litter boxes up to this picky cat's standards and occasionally will do additional spot cleans. Grrrr...argh, but I love him.Breaking the bad habit after an uncomfortable medical condition
-One of my cats had a serious health threat and developed a bladder issue that nearly killed him. He had to have surgery and be put on a portable catheter for a while.--It was awful. (This wasn't my FIV cat! He was a normal healthy guy!) Sadly, he associated his illness and discomfort using the bathroom with litter boxes. There was a while when my family had to have 13 LITTER BOXES! -YES, THIRTEEN!!! It was a nightmare, but the situation serves as proof that you shouldn't just give a cat to a shelter for "naughty peeing..."
"Training your cat to 'Go' where he's supposed to"
-Here's my very crazy and very important advice...buy additional litterboxes (just for now!) and put a litterbox in EVERY WACKY place the cat goes. Please humor me and check out what I have to say...
We started putting litter boxes everywhere he relieved himself (some in the craziest places! On top of the fridge etc). Remember I mentioned we had THIRTEEN!??!?! We tried lids on and off etc. Once his health improved and he was obviously USING the MILLIONS of litterboxes, we started slowly inching the boxes in crazy locations to where we hoped to keep a box permanently. We were able to essentially train him to use specific boxes by slowly inching the crazy-placed box next to a box located at a better spot. We'd keep BOTH boxes in the same place for a while, and then eventually remove the undesired box next to the permanent box. I hope you never need thirteen, but just know there are ways to deal with it.
Targeting specific furniture...
-Our cat did target specific furniture and there were some pieces that we were NOT able to get him to stop peeing on, no matter what we did. We used all the chemical cleaners, "Feliway spray" as a deterrant, and even covered things in chicken wire). Eventually we gave up and got rid of the targeted piece of furniture ( We actually got rid of a LOVESEAT -at least it was old and ugly!) Once the furniture was gone, we did the thing where we put a litter box there and slowly "inched it" where we wanted the cat to go.
I thought this was an amazing idea...
I have friend who had a simpler litterbox issue. The cat always went on a particular rug. She used a urine sensing alarm mat for kids who wet the bed!!! Something like this: http://www.amazon.com/Vigilant-Wetting-Nocturnal-Enuresis-Bedwetting/dp/B00CORG04M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1417035794&sr=8-1&keywords=urine alarm mat&pebp=1417035799964
Whenever the cat went there, the alarm sounded and it trained the cat to stay away! Genius!
-And finally, my enclosure post here on the forum:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/our-small-outdoor-cat-enclosure.103535/
We built this small outdoor cat enclosure just to make our old indoor cats happy and I have found that it makes >ME< VERY HAPPY! My picky litterbox cat has NOT gone outside of his box since we have installed this!!! It's a miracle! He uses the boxes inside and ALSO does his business in the mulch bark outside. He'll even sit by the window (which is closed a lot because of the winter weather) and ASKS TO BE LET OUT. This enclosure may have been the answer to all my problems and would have probably saved me a lot of heartaches after cat surgeries etc.
I sincerely wish you the best of luck and am glad you care for your animals so much!
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