This Is Driving Me Crazy

I've posted here before with my cat problems and you've all given wonderful advice, but unfortunately, not much of it has helped. I have three cats, all about a year and a half old. Two of them are litter box trained, never have a problem going anywhere else. One of them (the youngest and most active of the three) has issues with it. I've tried everything I can think of. Multiple litter boxes, kitten-attract litter, positive reinforcement, relocation of the box to her favorite pooping place... nothing is working! She'll use the box sometimes, which is great, but then things completely turn around and I'm at a loss as to what happened. She hates a dirty litter box, really picky about it, so the first time I see her start to scratch at the floor instead, I know it's time to clean it (the other two aren't nearly as bad). I have figured out that she hates scooping. I can't just scoop out the box; if I'm going to clean it, it's the whole thing. But she's getting worse; I cleaned the whole box this morning and filled it with fresh litter (I use a mix of regular litter and kitten-attract, I can't afford to fill a full box with the special litter, the three cats go through it too fast). She used it, and then 2 hours later, I come in my room and find that she's urinated on the bed. What is going on??

I know the other cats aren't bullying her away from the box, it's usually her that bullies them. They're well-treated and well-fed. I love her, but I can't tolerate a cat soiling my bed like that and I'm about ready to give her up. I really need some help here.

Afterthought: She's been to the vet about this and has been declared healthy. All the same solutions were suggested.

One of my cats hates a dirty litterbox too (but not to the extent you have described- scooping works as long as the litter is fairly new), and I finally broke down and bought a Litter Robot (there were other reasons too, but I'll keep it fairly short for a change ). It's really easy to wipe down on the inside, and it cleans the clumps out 7 minutes after a cat has gone, and my litter has stayed much fresher, much longer. I got a reconditioned unit, btw- considerably less $ . I also found out that she has a bladder condition where the lining stays irritated, with no infection and no cancer. You might want to ask you vet about that...I'm blanking on what it's called at the moment... but there are medications and supplements that can help.

I have no advice, but I just wanted to say that I hope you find a solution....it is so disheartening to have a cat soiling everywhere.

I agree a vet visit is in order to rule out a UTI. I'm not sure I understand what you are saying about scooping, but I use World's Best Cat Litter and scoop once per day (weekends I may scoop a couple times). By scooping daily and adding new litter (about 4-5 cups every week), I find I only have to completely change and wash out the litter box about every 6 weeks. I keep the litter in our bedroom and there really is no smell. I've asked trusted friends to be honest and tell me if they detected any odor and they assure me they do not. I recently got our neighbour to use WBCL and she is thrilled with it.

This is what Bird apparently has- I had to read the article a few times- slowly, lol, but it seems to be a pretty good explanation (bold is mine, and describes what Bird's symptoms are):

Idiopathic cystitis is a disease of irritative voiding signs (dysuria, pollakiuria, hematuria, urination in inappropriate locations), bacteriologically sterile urine, urine that contains epithelial cells without cellular atypia (if any epithelial cells at all), and failure to find a more objective cause for this clinical picture after appropriate lower urinary tract diagnostic procedures including plain and contrast radiography or ultrasonography. The diagnosis of idiopathic cystitis is a diagnosis of exclusion. Idiopathic cystitis is classified as a non-infectious inflammatory lower urinary tract disease. Inappropriate urination was the most common owner-reported clinical sign in our series of cats with idiopathic cystitis. Most cats with non-obstructive idiopathic cystitis spontaneously resolve their clinical signs within 5 to 7 days regardless of treatment, though signs recur in about 50% of cases. A small group of cats affected with idiopathic cystitis continue to display signs of inflammation either continuously or intermittently. Urethral obstruction develops in some males secondary to the inflammatory process within the bladder and urethra. Whether this is a self-limiting disease or a chronic disorder with acute attacks remains to be determined. Some affected cats have a striking increase in severity of clinical signs that appear to be associated with stress, while others display waxing/waning of clinical signs without known change in stress.

Click to expand...

From:

http://www.google.com/search?q=cache...lnk&cd=1&gl=us

She also developed an obsession with having a perfectly scooped box, everytime she used it, and scooping everyday was not enough to make her happy- hence, the Litter Robot (there were other reasons for us buying it, but that was the "last straw" ).

Good luck!

I hope that helps.