Share your story: Litterbox problems due to health issues

Anne

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I'm working on an article about the possible connection between litterbox avoidance and health problems. I'd love to work a few stories from our members about cats who avoided the litterbox, diagnoses with a medical problem and once that was fixed, returned to the box (with or without additional behavioral techniques).
 

greypaws

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Not sure this is what you are looking for but I knew when I adopted our about 3 yr old male cat from the shelter that he had FLUD. The first days I had him, he rarely went to the litter box and if he did, he'd walk in & out several times over a period of about 10-15 minutes, then he'd go pee. The following week he peed next to the box a couple of times. Finally got him into the vets, purchased 'script RC Feline Urinary. It took about 2 weeks before he did his business without hesitation. He only peed next to the box those couple of times, always used the box to poo, and has never peed anywhere else in the house. I do have 2 litter boxes for him, he is an only pet. Three months later his toilet habits are still impeccable.
 
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Anne

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Not sure this is what you are looking for but I knew when I adopted our about 3 yr old male cat from the shelter that he had FLUD. The first days I had him, he rarely went to the litter box and if he did, he'd walk in & out several times over a period of about 10-15 minutes, then he'd go pee. The following week he peed next to the box a couple of times. Finally got him into the vets, purchased 'script RC Feline Urinary. It took about 2 weeks before he did his business without hesitation. He only peed next to the box those couple of times, always used the box to poo, and has never peed anywhere else in the house. I do have 2 litter boxes for him, he is an only pet. Three months later his toilet habits are still impeccable.
Perfect! That's just the kind of story I'm looking for! Thank you!
 

Alicia88

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Connor and Murphy were about 3 months old when I brought them home.  They wouldn't use the litter box.  At first, I thought it was because it was a new place and new people and they needed to adjust.  Three days later, I wondered if it was because the litter box I had for them used to belong to another cat.  They had been really social and affectionate from the minute we brought them home.  They seemed comfy here.  So the next day after work, I went out and bought a new litter box and put fresh, new litter in it.  The day after that, they randomly started using the original litter box - which I'd left out.  I kept both litter boxes and they use them both.  Haven't had a problem since.
 

bella lago

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My cat would always urinate on my clothing.  Not the bed or anything other than my clothing left on the floor.  Took him to the vet and sure enough he had a UTI.  He had a round of antibiotics and has never done it since.
 

JMJimmy

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I'm working on an article about the possible connection between litterbox avoidance and health problems. I'd love to work a few stories from our members about cats who avoided the litterbox, diagnoses with a medical problem and once that was fixed, returned to the box (with or without additional behavioral techniques).
I've had the opposite problem.  Sissy died of acute liver failure rather unexpectedly - the major difference in behaviour between him and the other cats was that he would roll around in the litter box (only when clean) get himself nice and covered in a fine dust, then later groom himself.  We'll never know if this was the actual cause of the liver failure, but it's the only thing that was unique to him that we could figure out.
 
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Anne

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Do you want more than one story?
Felix started avoiding the litter box when he was sick. Maybe I could add?
Sure! Absolutely! 
 
My cat would always urinate on my clothing.  Not the bed or anything other than my clothing left on the floor.  Took him to the vet and sure enough he had a UTI.  He had a round of antibiotics and has never done it since.
Glad to hear it!

To clarify, I am looking for stories like Bella Lago's and Greypaws', i.e. - 

Cat started going outside the box => Vet diagnosed a medical problem (probably FLUTD of some form) and treated => Cat using the litterbox again

There are many reasons for litterbox avoidance, obviously. Not all of them are related to a health problem. I just want to focus in this article on the cases when the trigger is in fact a medical issue. 

I can share my own here too. Our current cat got to us at the age of 12 after years of litterbox avoidance. He would pee and poo in various places in his previous home. He was neglected in many ways, including having a dirty litterbox, so at first I hoped a better litterbox setup and reducing his stress levels may be enough. It wasn't. So, a couple of weeks after he got here, we went to the vet. Sure enough, he had crystals, poor thing. No infection, so all he needed was painkillers for a few days + a change of diet. He was magically cured of years of litterbox issues! Not a single miss since then (7 months now).
 
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Anne

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I've had the opposite problem.  Sissy died of acute liver failure rather unexpectedly - the major difference in behaviour between him and the other cats was that he would roll around in the litter box (only when clean) get himself nice and covered in a fine dust, then later groom himself.  We'll never know if this was the actual cause of the liver failure, but it's the only thing that was unique to him that we could figure out.
Sorry to hear about Sissy 
 Thank you for sharing. 
 

louche

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Sassy had an on/off box aversion since 2008; year I adopted her from a military family as their outdoor cat. She was outdoor because of her peeing. She only had like two UTIs within her non box peeing. A few places she peed were: clothes on floor and sometimes hopped in the laundry basket, dog beds, sofa, mattress, carpeted floors. She had a preference attached carpet, though sometimes she would pee, rarely poop on small removable carpets. A few times she had peed in a boot tray. Sometimes she'd hang her butt outside the box but maybe that was due to not liking to cover her poo/pee. A few years ago she was diagnosed with having arthritis, then a little later liver failure, and last year hyperthyroidism. I had to start her on puppy pads beside the litterbox. For a few days before she was euthanized, she was pooping in the dining room. Sometime in December before switching to pads, my mom witnessed her pee in the box, hop out and poop beside the box.

I don't know if this is something that has potential use.
 
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