Using a "scat mat"

kat hamlin

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Here is my dilemma: last January, my partner and I adopted a pair of flame point girls from a different rescue (not our own, and not a local one).  The lady was nice but not, in my opinion, particularly honest about the girls.  They came to us with fleas (ok, that's treatable) and serious litter box issues.  We were told that they had been from a hoarding situation and had been living with this foster parent for almost a year.  So I'm guessing that this foster mama SHOULD have noticed the litter box issues.

Sara and Shoshanna don't particularly feel the need to poop in litter boxes.  Shoshanna's problems have been mostly solved, because she chooses to poop on the basement floor.  I plop a litter box down wherever she seems to be concentrating on and scrub the heck out of the area.  She uses the litter box(es) pretty well now, even though it meant expanding from five boxes to nine in the basement.  Unfortunately, I cannot do the same with Sara's chosen potty area since it does not lend itself to adding a litter box.  She wants to poop under the table in the back room, where my grandmother, who stays with us in the summer, likes to sit, eat, do puzzles, listen to music, etc.  So she basically lurks in the back room until my grandmother isn't there and then poops under the table, every other day or so--so she is sometimes pooping elsewhere.  My normal response would be to put a litter box under there but my grandmother objects to the idea.  Every time she does it I clean the area well with enzymatic cleaner but Sara isn't taking the hint.

The idea came up for a scat mat.  I am willing to give it a try, having tested the ones a friend used to keep her cats off the pool table, because I have put my hand on it and felt the strength of the shock.  It's not like touching an electric fence.  The lowest setting is a tingle, and the highest setting is a mild static shock like you might get in the winter when the air's too dry.  But I feel bad that anybody needs to be shocked to get this accomplished.  If I could stand vigil there with a squirt bottle I think Sara would get the idea but I can't guard the table 24-7.

I guess my question is not so much are they inhumane...I've come to the conclusion that they aren't...but does it mean that I've failed as a cat parent because I couldn't train my way out of this without using a scat mat?

Also, I'm worried a little bit that it would malfunction and shock somebody too hard...but I suppose you load it with a 9V battery so it wouldn't have enough power to really do much damage.

Does anyone else use scat mats?  I hope the lowest setting will be sufficient, because there are often young kittens in the house and I don't want to traumatize them.
 

abbybaby

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I don't know anything about scat mats, but what I do know from reading this is that you haven't failed as a cat parent. You have had success with one of the cats and might have more success with the other if she had selected a different spot, or if your grandmother had no objections. Clearly the individual personalities of the cats and the circumstances have to be taken into account, but that doesn't have anything to do with you. So please don't be hard on yourself.
 

Columbine

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I've never come across scat mats before. I do have a few other suggestions though. First of all, have both cats been thoroughly checked out by a vet? Litterbox issues are often connected to physical problems. Other than that, have you tried Dr Elsy's Cat Attract litter? It often works where other things have failed. I'd also consider getting a litterbox close to the area she likes to poop. If your grandmother won't accept a box under the table, how about elsewhere in the room, or even just outside? Before trying a scat mat, what about putting crumpled foil under the table? That might achieve the same effect as the mat, but without shocking anybody. You can also get acupressure mats that I imagine would be very uncomfortable for a cat to walk on. Again, no shocks, and considerably cheaper than the scat mat.

Remember that for every 'No' you give, you have to give a 'Yes'...and that 'Yes' has to be one that the cat finds acceptable. Make sure you give Shoshanna an appropriate alternative to under the table.

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kat hamlin

"RESCUE" is my favorite breed
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Thanks for the links and advice, @Columbine.  Both Sara and Shoshanna got checked out by the vet in Jan when we adopted them....and this has been an on-going problem since then.  I am fairly sure, and the vet agrees, that they are not physically ill, just unaccustomed to using litter boxes.  Sara has her choice of nearby litter boxes, one in the living room and one in the book room just around the corner.  As they are the main floor boxes, they get scooped sometimes multiple times a day to ensure that they're not offensive.  There are an additional three litter boxes in the upstairs bathroom as well as the ten or so in the basement.

I am not sure how I would place foil in the area in such a way that she wouldn't just walk around it.  One of the benefits of the scat mat is that it covers a fairly large area.

Can you explain what the acupressure mat is and where I might find one?

I understand that I need to provide an acceptable outlet for the behavior that gets 'punished' but if I don't catch her in the act, I can't redirect her to a box.  My grandmother is already unhappy about the availability of litter boxes on the main level...I explained that the babies we foster can't always make it up or down stairs in time, and that my old man Caedwyn is the same.  Unfortunately because my toy poodle can access the back room (the other dogs can't), a litter box in that very room is a double no--Bubbe doesn't want it there, and Mhina would consider it a buffet.  We can consider other options once Bubbe goes back to Florida but until then--I need something to keep Sara from going under the table at all, since no amount of cleaning seems to make it less appealing a place to poop.
 

red top rescue

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Although some people are against them and think scat mats are a terrible thing, I DID use them in the past and although I still have them, have had no more need for them.  Cats learn.  They are not hurt by the low setting that buzzes but it startles them.  It makes them want to move elsewhere.  In your case, you are working on making this girl want to use a litter box, and I am sure you will continue to do that.  In the meantime, grandma does not want a litter box under the table, and the cat poops under the table, so I think the scat mat would be excellent.  I am against squirt bottles for anything because they become associated with the human squirting them, not good for your relatoinship.  Scat mats just become part of the environment and the cat learns to avoid that area.  After mine perfectly avoided the chosen spot to pee (the middle of my kitchen table) I left the mat there but turned off for a long time.  Then I would have it there sometimes and sometimes not.  Eventually I left no mat there and still no puddles in the middle of the kitchen table.  Every so often I will forget to put my shoes in the show bag at night and I will step into a shoe puddle (EEeeeew!!!) but that;s about it for the bad places.  I'm keeping my mat, though in case someone gets creative again.
 

fyllis

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Thanks for the links and advice, @Columbine.  Both Sara and Shoshanna got checked out by the vet in Jan when we adopted them....and this has been an on-going problem since then.  I am fairly sure, and the vet agrees, that they are not physically ill, just unaccustomed to using litter boxes.  Sara has her choice of nearby litter boxes, one in the living room and one in the book room just around the corner.  As they are the main floor boxes, they get scooped sometimes multiple times a day to ensure that they're not offensive.  There are an additional three litter boxes in the upstairs bathroom as well as the ten or so in the basement.

I am not sure how I would place foil in the area in such a way that she wouldn't just walk around it.  One of the benefits of the scat mat is that it covers a fairly large area.

Can you explain what the acupressure mat is and where I might find one?

I understand that I need to provide an acceptable outlet for the behavior that gets 'punished' but if I don't catch her in the act, I can't redirect her to a box.  My grandmother is already unhappy about the availability of litter boxes on the main level...I explained that the babies we foster can't always make it up or down stairs in time, and that my old man Caedwyn is the same.  Unfortunately because my toy poodle can access the back room (the other dogs can't), a litter box in that very room is a double no--Bubbe doesn't want it there, and Mhina would consider it a buffet.  We can consider other options once Bubbe goes back to Florida but until then--I need something to keep Sara from going under the table at all, since no amount of cleaning seems to make it less appealing a place to poop.
The one sentence that popped right off the page for me was, "As they are the main floor boxes, they get scooped sometimes multiple times a day to ensure they are not offensive". 

Have you considered NOT scooping and cleaning them so often? The reason I say this is because your cat could be avoiding them because they are so clean. If you allow the scent to linger, she might more easily associate her personal smell to the box and be compelled to return to it. What might be offensive to you could be very comforting to your cat. 

Just a thought.
 

Columbine

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With the foil - you would have to pack the area to be sure Shoshanna couldn't get around it.

This is a whole page of acupressure mats http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/s/ref=is_s_ss_i_0_7?k=pranamat&sprefix=pranama&tag=&tag=thecatsite
I'm not against the scat mat (and would consider using one myself if I needed to) - its just that I personally would want to explore every other option first.

Regarding the poodle issue - a booda litterbox should help keep her out of it (though they're not always the most cat friendly) http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002DH8LE/?tag=&tag=thecatsite

Do try the Cat Attract litter though - it might be the answer you're looking for.
 
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