I am ecstatic tonight and just had to share with you guys!!!
We have been having sooooo many problems with Arek and his litter box habits, and I think that the end is finally near!!! I “caught†him using his litter box during the day for the first time today and Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m soooo glad! Weâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve been keeping him in the bathroom every night because we couldnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t tell whether he was using the box during the day (I could never catch him in the act) and we didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t want to give him the option of having complete access to the house at night where he could find a nice little corner to squat in while everyone was asleep.
What a huge process this has been… itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s been crazy! From the very beginning, if Arekâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s litter box had other waste in it he would just poop on the floor. I had to clean the box *EVERY* time he used it to avoid this. We got a bigger litter box, and that helped some. We decided to switch to Feline Pine, however, because I was still having to change the box very frequently and I was hoping that he would have less “clumps†to doge with the FP and be okay with less frequent changes. Also, because Arek LOVES to play in water and would get litter everywhere when he went to potty with his wet fur, we needed to find something that wouldnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t clump. Weâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve had FP around here for about a month and it has taken absolutely forever to get Arek to use it. First I switched him to it “cold turkey†and woke up to find poop and pee on the floor of the bathroom.
Then we tried the gradual approach, but to no avail. The old litter would reach a certain point and weâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]d start finding poop in the bathtub (at least this time he was going in an easy spot to clean!)
So then we decided not to give him a choice and started crating him with his litter box so that he either had to pee where he slept, or use his box. He started using his box, but even after two weeks of being crated, he pooped in the floor again as soon as we let him out.
So we started keeping him in the bathroom with water in the tub (so that he wouldnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t potty in there) and all towels/rugs/etc. taken up so he wouldnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t be tempted. For days he refused to poop in that box! But finally he used the it and after keeping him in the bathroom for a week, we were able to let him have access to certain parts of the house and continue keeping him in the bathroom at night. Gradually, we let him have access to more of the house (still keeping him locked up at night) and then today for the first time I let the water out of the bathtub to see if heâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]d go in there. But he didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t!!! And I finally caught him using the Feline Pine during the day!!!
Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m still waiting on a larger litter box to arrive (we had to order it through the mail, itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s a very large tupperware container with low sides) but as soon as it comes Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m going to be able to let him out during the night again!!! Yay!!!
I am sooooo thrilled - we have been waiting for this for MONTHS!!! Weâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve found a litter weâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]re happy with, and all of our cats are finally using it!!! Just for the record, Feline Pine really does work great and itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s been wonderful for us as our water-loving Maine Coons arenâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t getting their clumping litter stuck to their fur any longer. It does have its drawbacks, however. The cats have a hard time covering their poo and it can get really stinky!
The funny thing is that I originally tried FP so that I wouldnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t have to clean the litter box so often. But now, because of the smell when they have solid waste, I have to clean it every time they poop!
Even so, itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s worth it not to have the clumping cat litter tracked all over the house, the kitchen sink, and my cats paws.
So anyway, I just wanted to share that with you guys!!!
We have been having sooooo many problems with Arek and his litter box habits, and I think that the end is finally near!!! I “caught†him using his litter box during the day for the first time today and Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m soooo glad! Weâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve been keeping him in the bathroom every night because we couldnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t tell whether he was using the box during the day (I could never catch him in the act) and we didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t want to give him the option of having complete access to the house at night where he could find a nice little corner to squat in while everyone was asleep.
Even so, itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s worth it not to have the clumping cat litter tracked all over the house, the kitchen sink, and my cats paws.
So anyway, I just wanted to share that with you guys!!!
