Desperate....need advice Please!

laurie314

laurie314

TCS Member
Thread starter
Alpha Cat
Joined
Nov 5, 2006
Messages
327
Purraise
1
Location
In Ohio, with a houseful of Kitties
A co-worker of mine is beside herself! She has 5 cats...two of them, both females are really giving her a hard time. Here is the problem.
She has covered litter boxes and the cats go inside and stick there behinids out and pee and poop on the outside. She uncovered the boxes , thinking they might be to big, and that to did not work, they still did the same thing. I never heard of such behavior..but she is at her wits end and they might be on there way out the door.
Does anyone have any suggestions? I want the problem solved, our cat population in my area is exploding, I know they will be killed if she takes them to the A.P.L..
 
B

benthicat

TCS Member
Young Cat
Joined
Jul 19, 2007
Messages
54
Purraise
1
I can think of a few options here.

1. Maybe it's a litter aversion. They want as little contact with the litter as possible. Set out a second litter box and try two different kinds of litter.

2. The litter box might be too small. I read a book, Cat vs. Cat, where the author recommended using large rubbermaid containers so that the cats have plenty of room to do their business. (I think i'm going to take the advice. seems like it would prevent the cats from knocking litter out of their box.)

3. The only other thing i can think of is to make sure the box is REALLY clean. I mean, scoop it twice a day. Cats are finicky about cleanliness.

OH oh! i got another idea. I had a cat who went through a phase where she would only pee in one box and poo in another. I guess two boxes would help that.

It sounds like a fixable problem, though. i guess they're in the right vicinity. I had a cat who peed ALL over the carpet, down the stairs, behind couches. She had to be retrained. 13 years later, and she hasn't had a problem since then.

Good luck!
 
mybabyphx

mybabyphx

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Mar 19, 2007
Messages
1,884
Purraise
2
Location
Arizona (PM me if you are from AZ too)
Originally Posted by benthicat

I can think of a few options here.

1. Maybe it's a litter aversion. They want as little contact with the litter as possible. Set out a second litter box and try two different kinds of litter.

2. The litter box might be too small. I read a book, Cat vs. Cat, where the author recommended using large rubbermaid containers so that the cats have plenty of room to do their business. (I think i'm going to take the advice. seems like it would prevent the cats from knocking litter out of their box.)

3. The only other thing i can think of is to make sure the box is REALLY clean. I mean, scoop it twice a day. Cats are finicky about cleanliness.

OH oh! i got another idea. I had a cat who went through a phase where she would only pee in one box and poo in another. I guess two boxes would help that.

It sounds like a fixable problem, though. i guess they're in the right vicinity. I had a cat who peed ALL over the carpet, down the stairs, behind couches. She had to be retrained. 13 years later, and she hasn't had a problem since then.

Good luck!
Click to expand...
That's good advice. Good luck!
 
twstychik

twstychik

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Sep 27, 2006
Messages
5,720
Purraise
4
Location
Northern IN
I would suggest a high sided liter box or (and this is cheaper) a deep & large rubermaid type tub. If it's big enough and the sides are hig then the cats can't get their behinds over the edge.
 
L

larke

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jul 9, 2005
Messages
2,278
Purraise
6
Location
SE Canada
First - she needs as many boxes as possible (ideally one per cat & one) but at least way more than one. Second, get litter called 'Cat Attract' and just keep the cats inside for as long as it takes them to 'get' it.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #6
laurie314

laurie314

TCS Member
Thread starter
Alpha Cat
Joined
Nov 5, 2006
Messages
327
Purraise
1
Location
In Ohio, with a houseful of Kitties
she has 4 litter boxes.and they have those filter/strainer that u just lift out and the box is clean....I will tell her about the rubbermaid tubs though..thats a good idea...I think she tried changing the litter brand...she got them vet checked for a UTI...she has tried almost everything. thanks for the advice!!
 
S

seaturtle

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
Jun 27, 2007
Messages
196
Purraise
10
Location
VT
Try large, large boxes. I use the big ones I get at Home Depot, black plastic containers which are meant for mixing cement. That gives them room to stand in the middle of the box and still pee and poop inside. The boxes might be too small.

The other thing I've heard of is to confine them to a small space, say a bathroom, with a litter box in it, food and water, and not much room to move around in. They won't soil their living or eating area, and can learn to use the litter box this way.

CAn you check with a behaviorist?
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #8
laurie314

laurie314

TCS Member
Thread starter
Alpha Cat
Joined
Nov 5, 2006
Messages
327
Purraise
1
Location
In Ohio, with a houseful of Kitties
Thats exactly what she did was confine them to a bathroom...but they still stick there behinds out..i think a bigger container would do the trick.. i know she is willing to try anything. It is tearing her up inside to have to get rid of them. I know she does not want to. thanks for the advice!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top