unsual litterbox problem???

i have a calico tabby mix, who is about 8 years old. about 2 months ago, we moved her litterbox from under a large sink in the laundry room, to a enclosed plywood box in the garage. she walks through a kitty door in the wall to get through to it. one side has a peice of trellis for ventilation and light. for these past 2 months, it has been perfectly fine with her once we showed her where the litterbox was. these past 3 weeks or so, she has not been using her litterbox, but rather our dining room, and living room. we have covered our entire dining room floor with aluminum foil to stop her from goin in there. she has had numorous past accidents in that room, even before we moved her litterbox. i think it was because the people in the house before us had a dog. also, we changed her litter to a different brand, but then changed it back to her normal brand. any ideas on how to stop this problem, becuase right now she is not using her litterbox at all.

Your first action is to take this cat to your vet, as there could be an underlying health issue. Sometimes, the only way our cat can get our attention is to pee outside the box. If after you take her in and find out she is healthy after all, then it becomes another issue to solve, but first and foremost, if you haven't taken her to the vet recently, please do that and don't delay.

I agree with Hissy, please take your cat to the vet. Peeing outside the litter box is the number one symptom of urinary tract infections and blockages. A blockage can be quickly fatal, so it is vital that you take her in right away.

If the vet finds that she is healthy, please click here for a thread full of ways to stop inappropriate urination. But, it is vital that she be checked by the vet first because that is most likely the problem.

Why did you move the box?

In the meantime while you wait for the vet appointment, one suggestion would be to put a second litter box exactly where it was previously in the laundry room.

Once she is cleared of health issues, I can think of several reasons why she wouldn't want to use the new box: the weather may have changed and it is getting too cold outside; maybe with the box being outside now it doesn't get cleaned as often and she doesn't like using a dirty loo; something scared her at the kitty door one time and she has bad associations with it, etc.

My gut feeling is that the answer lies in the original reason of why you moved the box outside. A properly cleaned box shouldn't need "ventilation" and should have no smell at all.

Kitties are so particular about their loo, it's often best not to change things if they are working. You can always ADD more boxes but be careful about moving one.

Just a few ideas.