Question:
my old man perseus(he's about 7 or so) has been very litter box shy lately. If i'm in the bathroom, where the litter box is kept, for awhile i'll come out and he'll be "popping a squat" on our laundry basket or blanket (kept in the same spot).
My boyfriend and i used to think that he'd pee on people's stuff if he was mad at them, b/c he did do this at our first house, but after really thinking about it last night we figured out that he only does this if one of us are in the bathroom. Has anyone ever heard of this? it's really hard to keep out of there cuz that's where our dressor and stuff are. We've thought about setting up the litterbox somewhere else in the aparatment, but b/c we're in a studio there's not much room for it besides the bathroom.
Anyone have any advise on how to help? Washing the same clothes every other day is really putting a toll on my sanity....

Answer:
Maybe he just doesn't like the type of litter that you are using? My one cat is very finicky about the litter she uses and wouldn't poop in it until I changed to a different type.

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the litter box should be kept in a place that is low-traffic and quiet. Your best bet would be to move the litter box to a quiet location and see if things improve. if not, then a checkup at the vet should be next on your list.

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Perhaps maybe a covered litter box pointed towards a wall so he just has to slide in and then isn't seen doing his business? Just a thought.

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Originally Posted by abudamunky
"popping a squat"



My boyfriend and i used to think that he'd pee on people's stuff if he was mad at them, b/c he did do this at our first house, but after really thinking about it last night we figured out that he only does this if one of us are in the bathroom. Has anyone ever heard of this?
Not specifically ... but ... we have noticed some similar behaviours from two of our cats, the males, even though the litterbox has never been in the bathroom.

Diablo is weird about the bathroom. Or running water for a long time in the kitchen (eg dishes). Sometimes he will just come and lick your leg while you're on the toilet. Sometimes he will come and hover at the edge if you're taking a bath, and occasionally tries to drink the bathwater. If the door is closed, he races around the house, caterwauling very loudly ... "brrrr ROWROW!!! brrrrrRAUUUUUUW!! brrrROWROW!!!". He does the same thing if water is running for a long time in the kitchen (for dishes etc). However he has never expressed his displeasure any way except vocally.

The other cat, Feather, is rather new. We've had him about 4 months now. I haven't got him entirely figured out. He does spend alot of time in the bathroom (he really likes to play with drips or a small stream from the bathtub faucet, or just lounge in the tub) and if anyone is in the bathroom, he'll wait out by the door. He doesn't seem to get particularly upset about anything to do with the bathroom though. However, we have a tarp on the bed all day because about once a month - for reasons unknown (not related to the bathroom) - he pees on the bed. Always in the same spot - right where my wife (who he is fixated on) sleeps. This is usually preceded by what we call "racecar mode".

You might just have to move the litterbox out of the bathroom. My experience is that location is really very important for the litterbox and one thing they do NOT like is feeling trapped when they're doing their business, and bathrooms are usually quite confined spaces with lots of scary noises (toilets, showers, faucets blasting water) for cats. Also because Diablo has puzzling "issues" with the bathroom in general ... maybe other cats do too. Who knows what happens when you add a litterbox to that equation ...

Could also be the litter. I don't know what you're using but alot of cats are really picky. One of our cats will not use any of the clay based litters, she must have pellet litter (it was really funny when Feather first came to live with us - for the first few days he thought the litterboxes were beds!). If he seems to not want to stand in or paw in his litter he may be uncomfortable with it. Also it is important to keep it very clean at all times, if it is not as clean as he has decided it should be, he may not use it and just poop and pee somewhere else.

Or it could be a medical problem. We had Feather tested to see if he was having any urinary problems first thing - nothing turned up, but our vet was able to do a urine sample and a basic check of his functioning somehow (they can make them pee) which was not very expensive, around $100 if I remember right, no overnight stay just a visit and consultation. Nothing came up but at least we eliminated it as a problem and we can be sure it's behavioural.

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I have six and they all are finicky about the poopers in different ways. All you can do is try a few things. There are great covered litterboxes out now... like top entry, corner style and my favorite the "budda", I got it at PetSmart for about $30, it is round and covered... one half is stairs leading to the main litter area... it's like having their own secret litter room, my guys love it. And try new litter, there are ones that are made to help cats who are obstinate about the box, and more natural ones like wheat with superior odor control so that if you had a covered box you could have something like the budda right out in the open (or in a quiet corner) and company would never know what it was. (A friend thought my mom's covered box was some sort of foot spa- lol - so thats what we call our litter boxes around here.)

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i thought it could be the litter too, but when i had him at my last house he had no problem w/ it. the box was in my bedroom at that house (i've lived in 3 places in the last 3 years so very stressful on the kitties) and he usually used that one. It is only him and patty cake here, wheras at the last house there was 8 total (5 were kittens). He doesn't poo on the blankets, only pee.
Before he was my cat(he was my boyfriend's sister's) they tried the covered box and he HATED it, so that's outta the question.....
He doesn't have a fear of the bathroom cuz he and patty cake will come in and visit me while using the toilet or in the shower, wait outside the door, or he'll lick the drips off the faucet. I just don't get it. Could he just think that since the blanket still smells like pee (he did it again last night) that it's ok to pee on it? i'll triple wash it tonight when i get off work...

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My Windy did do something similar with the bed, she peed on it once when she was angry that I was away, and no matter how many times I flipped it or used my green machine on it, she continued to pee in the same area (we took her and had a urine sample tested at the vets and she was a-ok). Their noses are WAY better than ours so maybe the blanket will just have to be retired. Sometimes no amount of washing will work, we had to get a really thick matress cover and even then if I walk away for a second when changing the sheets and cover, I come back to a pee spot. And its a king size matress so I am NOT throwin it out. lol Thank goodness for that green machine, every pet owners best friend!

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