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Just want to know if I'm doing this right...

post #1 of 9
10/8/10 at 11:20am
Thread Starter 
Alright, so my cat Sho had a blockage and UTI that was taken care of. He's been checked out as healthy by the vet. Problem is, while he had UTI, he like many other cats had associated the litter box with pain during that period. He'll often go to the bathroom in his litter box, but he also has a terrible habit of peeing on soft surfaces now like pillows and blankets. Or even the floor. The floors are easy enough to clean, but I hate having to wash pillows every few days. I have no choice but to lock him out of the room at night when I can't watch him. He cried about it the first two nights, but has taken to sleeping in the kitchen.

Now, I'm following some of the advice of one of the stickied threads. I've cleaned the areas he's peed on with enzyme cleaners as best as I can. I just ran out of NOK-OUT, and I ordered another bottle just yesterday. After the enzyme cleaner air dried, I also wiped down the areas again with lemon scented cleaners.

I wiped down all the likely to be future pee spots with lemon scented wipes. To deter him from using the spots as his bathroom further, I placed a wipe in the area.

After reading around a bit and doing some research, I ordered a bag of Cat Attract litter. I'm planning on replacing my current litter with it entirely.

Is there anything else I should do? Am I missing anything?
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post #2 of 9
10/8/10 at 1:01pm
You might also want to get a whole new box that looks different to see if that helps as well.
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post #3 of 9
10/9/10 at 5:53pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by clowangel View Post
Alright, so my cat Sho had a blockage and UTI that was taken care of. He's been checked out as healthy by the vet.
When was he last checked and is he on a prescription urinary health food? There may still be something low level going on that's causing the litter box avoidance to persist.
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post #4 of 9
10/9/10 at 6:08pm
And maybe add another box or two in a different area if you can possibly manage. When my boy had his UTI, I noticed that post-treatment that he used the new boxes I added far more than the original boxes. Now he's back to using whichever box strikes his fancy, but I really think he associated the original two boxes with pain.

Good luck, I know from experience how hard it can be to deal with box issues and try to stay calm for the cat's sake. Just remember he's probably not that much happier than you that the box is just not appealing any more.
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post #5 of 9
10/10/10 at 3:44pm
Thread Starter 
He's been healthy for the past 3-5 months. And no, he was never on prescription urinary food. The Cat Attract litter came in the mail the other day, and I immediately changed to the new litter. I didn't replace the box. I figure I'll do that if he continues to pee outside the box. Why do everything at once when you can take it one step at a time? Plus, I don't have a lot of money to burn.

I cannot get another litter box or two. There is no room for another one. I live in a tiny apartment. I wiped down the old pee areas again with some lemon scented cleaners just to be on the safe side anyway.

So far, it is day two and no accident yet! It's somewhat of a record. @@;
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post #6 of 9
10/10/10 at 6:17pm
I strongly recommend you have another urinalysis done, and have the urine sent out for a culture. It's the only way to know for sure if he is having trouble again.

What are you feeding him?
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post #7 of 9
10/10/10 at 6:33pm
Thread Starter 
I'm feeding him Fancy Feast for wet food and Wellness Core for dry food.
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post #8 of 9
10/10/10 at 6:36pm
You might want to try the Wellness canned instead of FF. It's a higher quality than FF. Also, you might want to go to more canned than dry since dry food zaps the water from their systems and contributes to several different urinary issues.

If you need/want additional or new boxes, go to the dollar store and get the smaller storage tote that's about the size of a litter box. Use that instead of or in addition to the litter box you're currently using.
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post #9 of 9
10/12/10 at 6:23pm
Thread Starter 
^ Not sure if you read one of my previous posts, but I mentioned I cannot get another litter box.

And I cannot afford getting both Wellness Dry and Canned. I'm a young college student. I can only afford so much. I'm still paying off his vet bills of $4,000. Emergency Vet visits and overnight stays cost more than an arm and a leg. So he'll be sticking to FF and Wellness dry. I give both equally anyhow. He also drinks plenty of water.

Anyway, ever since changing to the Cat Attract litter, he hasn't peed on any soft surfaces or the floor...yet. It used to be that every other day, I'd have to clean the floor of a puddle. Now, it has been several days, and the floors have remain untouched by urine. Thank you for the replies though I haven't used any of the suggestions as it didn't fit with my financial situation or living space.

And also thank you for the helpful stickies regarding litter box problems. They have helped a lot.
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