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Litter Box Resistant

post #1 of 5
8/20/10 at 9:55pm
Thread Starter 
My family has acquired a cat which appears to be litter box resistant. Here is the present situation:

3 cats in the household
-- 1 male, old and decrepit (mostly sleeps)
-- 1 male, young and spry (about 3 years old, defiantly the alpha)
-- 1 female (the litter box resistant one, about a 18 months old, recently acquired)

For a long while, there were two litter boxes in the house. This worked fine for the two males, but we found that the new female would only use them intermittently.

Now, she won't use them at all.

We've tried adding additional litter boxes (taking the total to 4 - n cats + 1). We've closed her up in a room with only food, water and a completely fresh litter box (never before used, with fresh litter). In spite of all of this, she will still favor any cloth item (towels, laundry, etc) or even the floor to the cat box.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
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post #2 of 5
8/20/10 at 10:05pm
Hi!

4 litter boxes is the magic number.
1st step is to take her to the vet to rule out a possible UTI - cats do not like peeing outside of the litterbox.... there is almost always a reason, either health related or litterbox related. A "clean bill of health" will not do it - a urine test needs to be done.
If she doesn't have, the problem is likely to be litter or litterbox related.
What kind of litter do you use? Unscented litter, clumping or clay is best. Cat Attract litter performs miracles.
What type of litter box? they must be large, at least 1 1/2 times the length of the cat, and uncovered is better.
Where are they located? In a corner in a quiet room is best, not in a laundry room, or in a closet, where the kitty can get startled or feel trapped.
Make sure to clean them at least once a day...
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post #3 of 5
8/21/10 at 2:48pm
What Carolina said - I definitely second the vet check and try at least one box with Cat Attract litter.

Bless you for your patience - I know from experience it's maddening, disheartening and can just drive you to tears when kitty doesn't like the box - but try to stay calm, as your cat can pick up your stress, and please never yell at her for peeing outside the box - the most she'll figure out is that you're mad at her for peeing at all. I know it's hard to stay calm, believe me. But most of the time, when a cat doesn't use the box, he's trying to tell you something hurts or he really hates the particular litter, the location, or the box.

But, yeah, I swear by Cat Attract when faced with a problem kity.
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post #4 of 5
8/22/10 at 4:50pm
One of my kitties like peeing on cloth too. I just give him an empty litter pan with a clean rag. He happily pees there and since we've started that no where else. It saves me so much grief. I have a special box for the dirty rags which get washed with bleach every week and to make life simple I keep a stack of clean rags handy. I put a fresh one in each morning when I change out the regular boxes. It's so much easier than fighting with him and cleaning up random spots of urine.
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post #5 of 5
8/22/10 at 6:23pm
Is the younger male neutered and new female spayed?
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