I feel like the worst Meowmy ever!

So Jinkers has been having some trouble with the litter box so we decided we needed to re-train him on it. To do this we have had to confine him until he can get the hang of it. We use the TidyCats Breeze litter system, but Jinkers doesn't poop in it, he never has been willing to. (Apparently this is a common problem with cats who didn't take the transition to the different box right the first time, but we have checked with the vet for parasites, etc.) So we have to provide him regular litter to re-train to use the box for poop, and then re-do the Breeze transition which we HOPE will solve the problem. We think that having the other two cats using his regular litter box will confuse him and them (who are using the Breeze just fine and have been for years), so he is being confined to his own room.

Don't get me wrong, its a nice room. We call it the "Cat Room" because it is just for the kitties. Shelves to climb on, kitty box, lots of toys, cardboard boxes, tunnels, etc. He has a big open window with lots of sunshine, food, water, and we are going in to spend time with him and give lots of love and treats. I brought in his favorite kitty bed and his favorite toys. But all the same I feel awful.

Apparently all three of my boys are very bonded to one another. Jinkers is miserable in his "prison" and the other boys sympathize. He sits in there and meows at the door to be let out, and they sit at the door and meow at him. If I'm not paying attention they will run to find me and then go back to the door as if to tell me Jinkers has accidentally been locked in. Earlier today I saw Mulder lying in front of the door, with Jinkers sticking his paws under the door for Mulder to groom. Later Jinkers had his one paw sticking out and Spooky was "holding" it with his paw. Spooky and Mulder are both sleeping at the edge of the door, and from the buildup of grey fur on the inside, he is sleeping against it on his side too.

It makes me want to cry I feel like the worst Meowmy in the world! But Jinkers has to re-learn to use the litter box or his Daddy (DH) is going to have my head. He told me if Jinkers won't start using the box I have to get rid of him, even though he loves him he won't have him ruining our house. Have you ever had to enact some "Tough Love" on your kitties? How did you live with the guilt?

ETA: I am not sure how this got in the wrong section. Can a mod please move it for me, please?

Oh that is sooo sweet!!!
You do what you have to.

Have you tried putting in Dr. Elsey's Cat Attract litter or additive in the regular box to help him along? I have never used it but people who have swear by it. I don't think you can use it in the Breeze system.

Maybe he needs a different type of box or litter.... One of mine uses clay far better than the chicken feed , thus I have one clay box and 2 chicken feed boxes..
You may just have to provide permanently a extra Non breeze box.. the additive is a great idea

Hummm.... I don't understand.... I am sorry to ask - so this is a cat who doesn't have litterbox problems on regular boxes, right? He just doesn't like the Breeze System? Otherwise he uses the litterbox just fine with no problem?
Why exactly does he need to use the Breeze system?

To answer your question, I don't think this is a matter of tough love... IMHO, I always considered myself fortunate for not having litter problems and having cats using the litterboxes faithfully...
When I changed my litter to pine litter, Lucky didn't like and started to pee in the living room - as soon as I realized I changed to litter back to what made her happy... As long as they use the box, they are happy, and the odor control is fine, I am happy too...
I guess what I am saying is... If he uses other boxes fine, is this really necessary?

We have five litter boxes....four of them have regular cat litter and the fifth has scoopable litter. The cats like the regular litter, except for Bootser. If we don't have scoopable in that fifth box, she'll pee and poop on the floor, right next to that box. I think that's her way of telling me that she is not amused.

If Jinkers really doesn't like the Breeze system, I wouldn't try to make him use it. JMHO

We have two regular litter boxes and keep them very clean. The cats aren't confused and don't mind sharing. IMHO, Jinkers isn't comfortable with this other type of box and that's why he doesn't want to use it. Since he's willing to use a regular box, that's what I'd give him. The other cats may use it occasionally, or even frequently, but I don't think it would be a big deal for any of them.

I'm another who uses two litter systems. I've got the safflower seed system, but Mazy has been unable to adjust to that so I still have a couple of clay boxes too.

Cats have very definite likes and dislikes on litter.

In my opinion you just can't force a cat to use something he doesn't like, it can backfire into far worse problems, not only box avoidance but serious health problems.

If it's for convenience I'd just use the breeze box where the other two cats will mostly use it (I've found cats have favorite rooms to use the boxes in, too). Let Jinker's have his preferred litter in a box where he prefers to go.
If it's health related, maybe try another system that uses something softer/smaller than the breeze pellets?

I've been very lucky. I switched to safflower seeds, too, and did so rather quickly. I have a couple who would have preferred that I kept litter in at least one box but I can't risk it.

On a related note, pine is terrible. Only slightly better than using cedar around an animal - which you can actually get to use in cat boxes...

I have no idea what the TidyCats Breeze system is. I know that when Spooky was stressing and peeing outside the box we put her in the cat room to do the litterbox retraining. She started overgrooming in a HUGE way. We nixed that approach.

If this is about the type of litter box, then I agree with the others. Just provide him with a regular litter box and a type of litter he likes! Seems like a pretty simple solution. The threat to rehome a kitty seems kind of... drastic if this is just about the litter box and not any other stress problem.

Originally Posted by Carolina

Hummm.... I don't understand.... I am sorry to ask - so this is a cat who doesn't have litterbox problems on regular boxes, right? He just doesn't like the Breeze System? Otherwise he uses the litterbox just fine with no problem?
Why exactly does he need to use the Breeze system?

To answer your question, I don't think this is a matter of tough love... IMHO, I always considered myself fortunate for not having litter problems and having cats using the litterboxes faithfully...
When I changed my litter to pine litter, Lucky didn't like and started to pee in the living room - as soon as I realized I changed to litter back to what made her happy... As long as they use the box, they are happy, and the odor control is fine, I am happy too...
I guess what I am saying is... If he uses other boxes fine, is this really necessary?

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I agree with this.

Forgot to mention, my cats are so big that when I say "regular" litter boxes I mean Sterlite containers.

Apparently I have been misunderstood. Jinkers is doing fine in his isolation room, he's just lonely without his two kitty companions.The cat is in a 10x12 room with cat shelving, scratching posts, sunbeams, toys, treats, two litter boxes, cardboard boxes and mesh tunnels for playing in. I spent half the day in there with him reading and loving on him. I think everyone here has overreacted. From the responses I've gotten you would think I came on here and said I was refusing food, screaming at him and beating him every time he didn't use the right box. I am just isolating him to re-train on a litter box, as has been suggested several times to other people with bathroom problematic kitties on this site. I don't understand why just because I am using a different litter system than a lot of people use why I am getting so much negativity.

I have discussed this problem with my veterinarian as well as one of the specialists from the Tidy Cats Breeze company to consider options in making the switch successful for Jinkers, but the switch is NOT optional or merely for my convenience.

I am unable to use a regular litter due to a lung condition. After trying several litters and repeatedly having asthma attacks which endangered an underlying lung problem, my doctor suggested that I give my cats away because I was putting my health in danger using litter. I tried using masks and having my husband pour the litter in, but even just scooping was too much for me sometimes. Reduced dust litters weren't working either. Yesterday's News and Pine pellets didn't control the odor, nor did any of the conventional litters really cut it that much. Finally I found the Breeze system and it is something that fits in with my lifestyle as well as my health, and controls the cat box odor so well you don't even know I have one. Spooky and Mulder took to it right away and have had no problems for 2 years on it.

The problem of pooping outside the Breeze box is a common one with cats who haven't been given enough time in their transition period. It was suggested that I re-start the transition. The directions that come with the box say to give him a clay litter box with some Breeze pellets mixed in it, and when he starts using that regularly to put the Breeze box next to it, and stop cleaning the old box. Eventually he will start using the Breeze box because it is cleaner. He is already using the clay consistantly, and has started peeing in the Breeze box. Hopefully it is just a matter of time until he starts doing #2 in it too.

You know, it's amazing. Our 2 cats came from clay litter households and we never went through the transition period. I brought home some of their used litter in baggies (I know gross), sprinkled it over the Breeze pellets and we never had a problem.

The kitten took to it immediately. I hope you can get all your cats over to it soon, it's really the best litter system I've ever seen.


And don't feel like a bad mommy at all.

Originally Posted by CruiserMaiden

I am unable to use a regular litter due to a lung condition.

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Completely understandable then. Look at The Smart Cat Box system, too. I'm using safflower seeds for all of my cats and they are smaller than the breeze pellets. He may like them better - plus you can restock the seeds from anywhere. (I can get 20lbs bags for $19.99, that's enough for 6-7 boxes worth).

I too had to ditch litter completely, no other choice.


I hope it works. If you can, make sure he has time with the other cats several times a day, either bring them into the room or let him out with them. Maybe he'll feel better.

I don't think anyone was trying to be negative. They just didn't understand or know that you are allergic to regular litter.

That being said, when we first got Lilly she would keep us up all night long. I had to isolate her in the bathroom overnight or we wouldn't get any sleep. I had a hard time dealing with the guilt so we decided that only Pandora would be allowed in the bedroom at night and Lilly can be out with Hurley and at least she would have a buddy to play with.

Maybe you could let Jinxer have some supervised visitation. That might help alleviate your guilt. I hope he gets trained soon! ~hugs~

I don't think any of us reacted in a way that indicated we thought you were torturing your cat. What you did not include in your initial post was the crucial piece of information - you have a lung condition and cannot use traditional litter. The advice we all provided didn't take that into consideration.

I'm really sorry litter is a problem, and I'm really glad two kitties transitioned without any problems.

Jinkers will come around without further problem!

As Strange Wings suggested, perhaps offer him another type of litterless system in addition to the one you're using.

P.S. Obviously my lung problems aren't as severe as yours, but I do have a gazillion allergies. We keep masks handy so if I feel like mowing the lawn or raking the leaves, I can. I also use them when I scoop litter. Don't know if your allergies are so severe that litter can't be in the house, but there are litters that are pretty dust free (like Precious Cat) and in combination with a mask when scooping... just a thought if Jinkers continues to have a problem.

OK, I get it. I didn't realize that you had a lung condition. I don't think anybody was really trying to be negative or down on you at all.

I'm glad he is using the system and I know how difficult it is to pen a kitty up in one room. He's missing his buddies and they miss him, too.

No, no, I understand about retraining. That wasn't the way my thoughts were going. I know you and I talked about changing litters, when you brought up the Smartcatbox system. I was just thinking of Jinkers, and if he couldn't adjust to the pellets.

The safflower seed is much more like clay litter than those pellets. You don't have to buy the SCB system, you can make your own, or get the litter boxes made for the pine litter system..

Mazy got very depressed when I took away all the clay litter boxes and would not pee at all. Mazy has FLUTD and I cannot have her holding her urine for so long so I gave her back a clay box.

I intend to try again, but not for a little while.

Originally Posted by LDG

I don't think any of us reacted in a way that indicated we thought you were torturing your cat. What you did not include in your initial post was the crucial piece of information - you have a lung condition and cannot use traditional litter. The advice we all provided didn't take that into consideration.

I'm really sorry litter is a problem, and I'm really glad two kitties transitioned without any problems.

Jinkers will come around without further problem!

As Strange Wings suggested, perhaps offer him another type of litterless system in addition to the one you're using.

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We all know you love your cats. I hope I didn't come across as saying anything that was hurtful to you. That was not the way my comments were intended. (I was trying to help, not realizing you had a lung problem and my suggestions wouldn't be practical.) I am sorry if I made you feel bad in any way.