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How to litterbox train a cat?

post #1 of 8
10/16/10 at 5:14am
Thread Starter 
Ok, so the vet gave Archie (Archimedes) the all-clear on Bladder health. No UTI any more, no crystals. She says that the reason he might still be peeing outside the litterbox on occasion is poor upbringing. Maybe he was taken from his mom too soon. I really don't know.

Last night he was in for a couple of hours (yes, he is back to living in the mudroom when we can't supervise him) and he was very good. Then, just before I went to bed, I was using the toilet (TMI, I know) and Archie jumped into the bathtub, squatted, and peed. No sniffing - just peed. Granted, that is a best case scenario for peeing outside of the litterbox, but it is still unacceptable.

How do I get him to use the litterbox all the time instead of just most of the time?
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post #2 of 8
10/16/10 at 7:19am
Have you tried Cat Attract litter? I've heard really good results from the folks here on the board who've used it.
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post #3 of 8
10/16/10 at 11:50am
I hate to say it, but peeing on hard surfaces is usually a health problem, not a behavior problem. Not always, but usually.

I'm assuming he had a full check up, blood work &etc.? How old is he now?

Litter box training is usually done with kitty in a confined area (like the mud room), and giving him positive reinforcement for using the box, and cleaning up whatever he did outside the box and putting it IN the box without scolding him (scoop poop and put it in the box, or blot up pee with a paper towel and mostly bury it in the box - get the scents in the right place, and the positive reinforcement (or treats or something) to get him associating the box with good things.

Maybe he still associates the box with the pain from before? If you're not already using Cat Attract litter, I would definitely make that switch. I'd also consider buying a new litter box - different color, maybe different shape (rounded corners if these were square, like that).

I'd also consider a second vet opinion. Peeing outside of the box, when a health problem, is not always a UTI or crystals. Spooky pees outside of the box when her teeth hurt. Also, Tuxie wasn't peeing outside of the box, but he was trying to pee every few minutes. We rushed him to the vet thinking blockage. His bladder was empty. Did a round of meds &etc. even though nothing turned up in his urine. Problem continued - something was wrong. Turns out he had a few crystals embedded in his urine wall that an X-ray and the vet's MRI could not see. We had to pay over $1,000 for a high resolution MRI to find the problem, and had to pay for surgery to correct it.

Sometimes the 2nd opinions of a different vet at a different vet practice have been a waste of our time and money. But 2nd opinions also saved both Flowerbelle's and Tuxedo's lives.
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post #4 of 8
10/16/10 at 5:46pm
Thread Starter 
Hubby and I looked around today for the Cat attract litter but couldn't find it. Where do I get it? Who carries it?

Both the vets at the practice have looked at Archie and have pronounced him healthy. His peeing is not limited to hard surfaces. He has peed on the bed 3 times since we got him a month ago.
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post #5 of 8
10/16/10 at 6:09pm
Petsmart carries Cat Attract, and I've seen it at Pet Supplies Plus. I think Petco may be carrying it now, but watch the pricing.

Good luck - I've been through this and I know how disheartening it can be.
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post #6 of 8
10/16/10 at 7:01pm
Yes, and he had a UTI. I was just sharing info you may not know. I didn't know he'd seen two different vets already.

That said, having had a cat with behavioral peeing problems that went on for quite some time, I know how frustrating it can be. But given Spooky was the one with the behavioral peeing problem, and the kitty who pees outside of the box when she's in pain, she'd be suffering if we didn't keep pursuing the health aspect and assumed that every time she peed outside the box it was behavioral.

Here's the website - you can type in your zip to find a dealer: http://www.preciouscat.com/

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post #7 of 8
10/17/10 at 6:28am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by LDG View Post
Yes, and he had a UTI. I was just sharing info you may not know. I didn't know he'd seen two different vets already.

That said, having had a cat with behavioral peeing problems that went on for quite some time, I know how frustrating it can be. But given Spooky was the one with the behavioral peeing problem, and the kitty who pees outside of the box when she's in pain, she'd be suffering if we didn't keep pursuing the health aspect and assumed that every time she peed outside the box it was behavioral.

Here's the website - you can type in your zip to find a dealer: http://www.preciouscat.com/
I appreciate you sharing about Spooky - I didn't mean to sound like I don't appreciate your advice. I really will keep what you said about pain in mind if this keeps on for any length of time.

I have never taken in a kitty that didn't have some sort of "known" heath history before, so everything is a guess with this little guy. He gets neutered this week, so we hope that maybe that will help. We are also going to go down to PetSmart about 30min away to get some cat attract.
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post #8 of 8
10/17/10 at 7:32pm
Hope between the Cat Attract and the neuter the problem gets solved!!!
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