Litter training setback troubleshooting

I posted earlier this month about difficulty training a former stray to use the litter box. I tried the confinement method, and it worked wonderfully, until today. She was in a 3' diameter pet playpen with a litter box for a week and a half and then had the run of a small room--my office--for another three or four days and there were no further accidents. She's had access to the rest of the house since Sunday morning. Both Sunday and Monday, there was clear evidence of her returning to one of the two office litter boxes (I can tell her from the other cat because she doesn't bury and he does). However, today I found no such evidence. I was optimistic that she'd started using the covered litter box in the bathroom but this evening I found a fresh poop in her preferred corner of the living room, which I had previously cleaned with Nature's Miracle and carpet shampoo.

I made two changes today and I wonder if they contributed:

-First, when I cleaned the office I switched the locations of the litter boxes so the one with the clay litter is where the one with World's Best was and vice versa. Seeing as she didn't show a preference for litter type when in the pen, I didn't think this would be an issue, but I wanted to move her preferred box (the World's Best) into a more perminent location in the hopes she'd follow it and I could retire the other box.

-Second, I fed her down in the kitchen tonight rather than in my office, where I had continued to feed her even after she had access to the rest of the house. It's worth noting that her favorite "bathroom" in the living room is just on the other side of the wall from the kitchen. I don't know whether we have causation or correlation here. If it is causation , I don't know if she just has to go right after eating and looks for a convenient spot or whether it's a territorial thing.

Anyway, at the moment, she's been returned to my office for--I don't really know how long for second time around litter conditioning. A few days? A week?

Could any of the tings I describe above be triggers? What would be the best way to proceed?

Update: She just used her preferred litterbox in my office.  I rewarded her with a treat (we've been using clicker training with the litterbox when I catch her "in the act"). 

Anyway, it was diarrhea--she was started on a new broad spectrum antibiotic this week and I suspect that has something to do with it--and, even though the stool downstairs was formed, I suppose it could still have been an "uh oh."

(FYI, she's on antibiotics for a chronic dental infection. Definitive surgery is next week. And yes, before anyone asks, she is intact--she's due to be spayed next week as well--and, no, she's not in heat.)

It's certainly possible that either change could have caused the setback. If she is consistently using the box in the office for a day or so, progress in expanding her territory; BUT, make no changes in litter box position or type of litter in each box. Also, continue feeding her in the office.

If she continues to use the box after 2 weeks or so, then you can try either feeding her in the kitchen OR changing position of litter box OR type if litter used. If you notice any accidents with the one change, then you know that you will need to go back a step.

I agree with CatPack; I'd back up and just take it really slow with only one change at a time.  And I'd wait till after she heals from the spay to get started.  That is enough facing her and having a quite, familiar room might do her a lot of good while she is first home healing.  

Good luck!!

Update: I re-confined her to the office for a few days and went back to feeding her upstairs. As soon as she was back in the office she resumed litter box use. But, again, within days of having her territory expanded to include the first floor she regressed.

Tonight I tried moving one of the office litter boxes (she's using both interchangeably so I don't think this will be a problem up there) to her favorite corner of the living room. I tried this once early on with no luck (she went next to the box) but I am hoping that the positive progress we did make might she's more likely to use a litterbox on the first floor if it's made convenient. 

Beyond this, I'm not sure what to do because the skill she's clearly mastered the idea within the office, but she's not transferring it to the rest of hte house. I don't know how to make the connection for her. Any ideas would be welcome.

CanOpener said:

I posted earlier this month about difficulty training a former stray to use the litter box. I tried the confinement method, and it worked wonderfully, until today. She was in a 3' diameter pet playpen with a litter box for a week and a half and then had the run of a small room--my office--for another three or four days and there were no further accidents. She's had access to the rest of the house since Sunday morning. Both Sunday and Monday, there was clear evidence of her returning to one of the two office litter boxes (I can tell her from the other cat because she doesn't bury and he does). However, today I found no such evidence. I was optimistic that she'd started using the covered litter box in the bathroom but this evening I found a fresh poop in her preferred corner of the living room, which I had previously cleaned with Nature's Miracle and carpet shampoo.
I made two changes today and I wonder if they contributed:
-First, when I cleaned the office I switched the locations of the litter boxes so the one with the clay litter is where the one with World's Best was and vice versa. Seeing as she didn't show a preference for litter type when in the pen, I didn't think this would be an issue, but I wanted to move her preferred box (the World's Best) into a more perminent location in the hopes she'd follow it and I could retire the other box.
-Second, I fed her down in the kitchen tonight rather than in my office, where I had continued to feed her even after she had access to the rest of the house. It's worth noting that her favorite "bathroom" in the living room is just on the other side of the wall from the kitchen. I don't know whether we have causation or correlation here. If it is causation , I don't know if she just has to go right after eating and looks for a convenient spot or whether it's a territorial thing.

Anyway, at the moment, she's been returned to my office for--I don't really know how long for second time around litter conditioning. A few days? A week?

Could any of the tings I describe above be triggers? What would be the best way to proceed?

Click to expand...

I have two ferals and they do not like covered boxes, because they need a quick escape. Try a triangular litter box (from amazon). For the corner she seems to like.

You need one box per cat per floor plus one. Two cats 2 floors equals 6 boxes

Do not move them around and take cover off if one she originally had had no cover

To clarify, only one of the three boxes in the house is covered. This is my other cat's preferred box. It is on the first floor in the bathroom.

Tonight, I moved one of the two open litter boxes from my office (she uses either happily) to the first floor in the living room where she has gone a number of times. The first time I tried this--pre confinement training--it didn't help, but my hope is that now, when presented with a litter box she's already used to using, she will choose it over the floor even though she wasn't specifically conditioned to use it in this room.