Question:
Does anyone have a cat that has a litterbox issue to share?
I used to have a cat that would stop using his litterbox (would still urinate in it thankfully) whenever I was away from him for more than a day... at that time, I was in & out of the hospital alot so my absence was the cause.
Here is a list of Potential Reasons for Inappropriate Elimination...
-medical condition (always rule this out first)
-dirty litter box
-covered or inappropriately sized litterbox
-unacceptable litter substrate
-change in litter or litterbox location
-aversion to scent of product used to clean the litterbox
-anxiety/fear
-negative association with litterbox
-punishment by owner (this NEVER works.. only makes the matter worse)
-increase in owner's absence from cat
-tension or aggression between companion pets
-inadequate number of boxes for multicat home
-geriatric-related problems


Answer:
I had an unspayed female who went nuts when I moved. She became very bad w/ peeing on the carpet in a hidden place. We had formerly had hardwood floors. I am not sure whaty triggered her, as the other 4 cats were fine.


Answer:
the only thing that Aspen does that I dont like is he scratches on the wall next to the litter box... and it makes that icky scratchy sound like running your fingers on the chalkboard...


Answer:
Our Russian Blue, Pixel (hopefully happier across on the Rainbow Bridge), would go on the carpet of our old apartment. She was in fine health - just really old and miserable.
Then when we moved to this place (with hardwood floors, which she had never lived on before) she always went in her box, but was still old and miserbale.

We never moved the box or kept it dirty she was just...cranky.
Sweet sometimes though!


Answer:
Neuro.. the move was probably the reason. New surroundings can be overwhelming for some cats... they are creatures of habit and like things to be where they've always been. The carpet being a new thing for her (used to the hardwood floor) she felt like it didn't belong in her territory unless she sprayed it with her scent.
One thing you could do when bringing a new piece of furniture into the house is either cover the furniture with a bed sheet off your bed (for a couple of days).. your scent on the sheet will transfer to the new couch or chair and the cat will accept it and not feel the need to mark it as her territory. Or you could take a towel and rub it all over the cat then put it on the furniture.


Answer:
Originally Posted by pamm013
the only thing that Aspen does that I dont like is he scratches on the wall next to the litter box... and it makes that icky scratchy sound like running your fingers on the chalkboard...
Argh! I hear ya! My guys will sometimes scratch the wall, the floor, the side and top of the pan...they'll scratch everything BUT the litter to cover their poops! And I'll hear them digging in the litter for quite some time (I have to ask them to stop sometimes) and still their poops are not covered! I know they're not thick (well, okay, the boys are ) so there must be a reason why they do that


Answer:
lol.....


Answer:
My cat Wiley does that too Bridgit. It's always in the early morning (like 4 am!) and he sounds like he's playing the bongo drums on the side of the litterbox... he does manage to cover the poops though... he just keeps scratching until I tell him "Wiley.. ENOUGH!!"


Answer:
My female, Sydney, has never missed the box. My (neutured) male, Max, is a different story. If he steps into the litterbox and feels anything solid and/or wet, he will defecate on the floor right next to the litterbox. He will also go on the floor if there isn't at least 3" of litter in the box. He also doesn't cover his messes but Sydney does that for him.


Answer:
Aww yes...that never-ending scratching that wakes you in the wee hours of the morning...I know it well!
We had an old girl Fionagh who would, from time to time, do her poops in the bathtub. She'd never gotten along with Aoife and Hamish from the beginning so we tracked it down to times when Aoife 'guarded' the litterbox. We added a second litterbox, which confused Aoife (which one to guard? ) and that worked for awhile, but ultimately Fionagh was so miserable that she started messing everywhere, even peeing on the mattress. My fella at the time was sure it was all pyschological but I wasn't so sure. After Hamish had bit her paw and caused an abscess, we had isolated her in the big bedroom while she healed, and she was much more relaxed, but she was still messing all over the floor. I insisted on taking her a physical checkup at the vets and $400 later we took her home with antibiotics for an infection. Fionagh taught me a very important lesson that you're not always doing a stray a favour by taking him/her into your home And she taught my fella a very important lesson to not assume anything when it comes to the health of your pet.
It all worked out in the end, though, cos my fella was moving out and since she'd always been closer to him and really needed a home where she was the sole cat, she went with him and is much happier to this day.