Litter box Issue (long)

I have 2 cats, Lilly & Leo. Lilly is a spayed 2 year old, and Leo is a neutered 1 year old. Lilly has never had any litter box issues; she is almost OCD about using the box and covering her business.

Leo, on the other hand, has had numerous issues. He started peeing outside the box, straining, cleaning his genitals a lot, etc. several months ago. We went to the vet, where they determined he had crystals, catheterized him, kept him overnight, etc. I changed their diet: more wet food (now 2x daily Wellness grain free) and started mixing Nutro Max (uti) with their Wellness dry. I also used Cat Attract litter to encourage him to use the litter box.

Fast foward --> another bout of straining and attempting to pee on the carpet. Repeat vet trip, catheter, hospital stay. This time, there were no crystals, so they considered it cystitis. After they pulled his cath that time, he blocked again within 12 hours. Because of his young age (1.5 yrs) and the frequency of these issues despite diet changes, we opted for PU surgery.

Post-surgery, he spent 2 weeks confined to the bathroom with an e-collar and Yesterday's News in his litter box. After having his sutures removed, I re-introduced him to the rest of the apartment and the other litter box, which had Tidy Cats & Cat Attract litter(and to Lilly). The 2nd day, he peed on the carpet again. The volume of pee indicated he was *not* having a medical issue (and the vet agreed).

The only thing I could think was maybe he associated the Tidy Cats/ Cat Attract litters with pain, so I started using Yesterday's News in the litter box. End of problem (or so I thought).

I have now discovered, 6 weeks later, that he has peed on the carpet again (same area). I have doused and cleaned with Nature's Miracle previously. Concluding that I may not have gotten every spot, I got a black light to find all the stains.

I also set up an additional litter box, which is where my question (finally!) comes in: Lilly has taken over this new litter box as her "hang out". Leo pooped in it (which I cleaned up) and then Lilly turned it into her rest area (eww!).

I don't think Leo is crazy about the first box (one like http://www.petsmart.com/product/ind...v_dropdown1_link12&parentPage=family&keepsr=1this) and so I'd really like him to use the totally open box. However, that will be difficult if Lilly is using it as her personal fortress.

Anyone have experience with this or suggestions? I've never dealt with anything like this before; my previous cats never had litter box issues!

Thanks for reading; I know this is a novella, but I think the more info, the better!

Update: Leo used the uncovered box when Lilly hopped out. Then Lilly hopped back in to cover it up, but (thankfully) didn't decide to lay in it!

Meanwhile, I have used an entire gallon of Nature's Miracle on the carpet based on the stains I found with the black light. Eww! So far, I've been able to keep both cats away from the areas. Leo might go on "confinement" until I get those areas dry.

Seeing as how no one has responded, I'm guessing people on the forums tonight haven't had this situation. I'll update as things progress in case it's helpful to others.

you doing the right thing but something you could try is changing litter or putting things in the litter to make him use it but otherwise just keep trying

sorry to do anouther post but i forgot somet


IS there anything near the litter box that could scare him and it should be far away from his food a bed or he wont use it

Update: I set Leo up in the bathroom over night with his food, water, and the open litter box so he wouldn't pee on the areas that I saturated with Nature's Miracle. I think he will need to be confined when I'm not home or not able to watch him until the areas are completely dry. I also bought a Feliway spray (I already use the diffuser, which makes a big difference with him), and am spraying the areas he peed on. Not sure if it will have an effect, but thought it was worth a shot.

Lilly is doing fine, other than being perturbed by the Nature's Miracle, and working tirelessly to "cover" the areas with some invisible pile of something she keeps trying to scratch on top of the wet spots! Silly girl!

Originally Posted by Jean44

It sounds as though you're on the right track with the open box. Leo is obviously willing to use it. What about another open box so that there would be a total of three boxes? Lilly can only set up camp in one box at a time.

I've never had a cat use a litter box as a resting spot so I'm not sure how to approach that. I wonder if it has something to do with intimidating Leo and preventing him from using the box. Are either of them using the original box?

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I only have 2 boxes right now. I've heard the # of cats + 1 rule before. I'm trying to figure out where else in a small 1 bedroom apt I can put them!

It could have been an intimidation thing ; I'm not sure. She's never done it with the partially covered box. I haven't seen her in it since he peed in it. Lilly is using the original box.

Leo is willing to use it. I think the open box is key for him; I just put it together last night that when he was confined post-surgery, he started balancing all four paws on the edge of the box, trying to lower his butt into the box, in order to pee or poop. At the time, I thought it had something to do with the size of the box and the fact that he was wearing an e-collar, which hampered his ability to sniff around in the box. I think those behaviors became habit for him. The spot with the biggest stain was behind an end table that has a series of vertical legs with horizontal connecting bars. I think he was probably "perching" on the bars and peeing on the carpet from there.

Originally Posted by alcool9999

you doing the right thing but something you could try is changing litter or putting things in the litter to make him use it but otherwise just keep trying

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The only litter he has used successfully since the surgery is Yesterday's News. I still have some Cat Attract that I might try sprinkling in with the News, but I think the texture of the litter he was using when he had uti's (Tidy Cats, and then Cat Attract) is now being associated with the pain he had... so he won't use them.

What do you mean when you say "putting things in the litter"?

Originally Posted by alcool9999

IS there anything near the litter box that could scare him and it should be far away from his food a bed or he wont use it

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The original box is in a closet. It is not near their food or where he likes to sleep. The 2nd box is now in the little area right outside the bathroom. Again, not near his food or sleeping area. As I mentioned earlier in this post, it's requiring some creativity to figure out where to put them in a small space!

A lot of male cats like a flat 'box' - I've used the upside down cover of a Rubbermaid box with 1/2-3/4" sides and just a little litter scattered in there so he gets the point. You do have to clean up a lot, but at least he'll use the same place.