Case of the Pee Mushpot Part II

amy-dhh

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So, since the forum crash there is so much to tell you all...

If you recall, Comere was peeing outside the litterbox. We were pretty sure it was behavioral (and I won't rehash the whole story) -- a bad habit he'd fallen into. We ended up having to rip up the carpet and scrape and clean the floors in the room where he was going (his litterbox is in a closet in my stepsons room and he was peeing on the floor right outside the closet).

After a weekend of ripping up the carpet and cleaning the floor multiple times (to get rid of the smell) we bought and laid Legato carpet tiles in the room (which I love!) figuring that if he were to keep peeing in there we could at least replace only the tiles he peed on, not the whole carpet. In front of the closet door we also put a bathroom-style rug. This was the weekend before thanksgiving.

For almost fives days he went in the litter only. Good job big guy!

Then suddenly, the friday after turkey day, he peed on the bathroom-style rug. So I cleaned it. But over the next few days he kept going there.

Sunday, after learning that the bathroom-style rug might actually be encouraging him to pee there (with the rubber back smell) I got rid of it and replaced it with one of those hard clear plastic mats you can buy to put under computer chairs. Knowing he wouldn't pee on a hard surface like that, I hoped it would help break the habit. I also bought "Cat Attract" kitty litter (it's supposed to draw them back to the box with it's smell). I bought it online and didn't get it right away so I didn't start using it until mid week. That same sunday night, I also bought Feliway and sprayed it on the carpet tiles opposite the plastic mat (the other side from the closet door where he needs to get into his litterbox). I've been sprayed it twice a day there.

Mid week, I started using the Cat Attract litter.

Since that Sunday, he has not peed on the floor (knock on wood! quick!)!! It's now day 10!

My review on the Cat Attract Litter
I didn't use it very long. I got it last Wednesday and put it in his box. He was sniffing around in there right away and he DID use it.

It has an interesting consistency -- like typical large grain clay litter. But it IS a clumping litter, regardless of how it looks. No dust. I'm sure it would work well with a lot of cats, especially kittys with litter box rejection problems -- but we had to stop using it.

For some reason, because it has such strong clumping quality to it it wasn't good for our kitty. He's a toilet drinker, and he would drink in the toilet, go in hit litterbox with a wet paw (he dips one paw into the toilet when he drinks) and get litter clumped all over his paw. We haven't had this problem with other clumping litters, but with the Cat Attract it was terrible -- and it started to hurt his little feet after a few days. I had to wash his feet several times by soaking them, and he was not a happy kitty


So we got rid of the Cat Attract and went back to our regular clumping litter (multicat odor control clumping). He's still going in the box, and has much happier paws


So that's the update thus far. I think the combination of putting the hard plastic mat down and spraying the Feliway made a big difference. Time will tell. I'll keep you posted.
 

pinkdaisy226

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I'm glad he's using it - I actually was wondering how he was doing and was hoping you'd find your way back after the site crashed!

Thanks for updating us... and keep up the good work Comere!
 
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amy-dhh

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Hi Pinkdaisy,

Thanks for replying

I'm glad he's doing good too, and that the forums finally came back! I'm sure HE is so much happier to be peeing where he is supposed to be since I'm sure he senses that it doesn't make mom to happy to have him peeing on the floor


11 days and counting now...
 

hissy

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Glad to hear that the solutions worked for you. I hope it continues to work. You are more than welcome to put your review of the litter on this website here:

Cat Reviews
 
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amy-dhh

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Just an update...

12 days now -- go kitty, go kitty, go kitty!

My stepson will be coming tonight and spending the weekend with us, so it should be interesting to see if the change lasts through his visit. We hadn't really tied Comere's peeing outside the litterbox to my stepson visiting, but it's POSSIBLE that's how it started (my stepson stays with us every other weekend typically, but now that he's older, spends the night much less because he's working). When Comere had his pee-free 5 days and then he suddenly went on the floor again, it was the day after my stepson had spent the night.

My stepson has 4 dogs and 3 cats at home. So it's possible that he brings a lot of scents with him that confuse Comere... then on top of it, he's a "newbie" in our home each time, since he's not always there. Comere's litterbox denial MIGHT have started with that a long time ago, and then developed into a habit we didn't break him of.

We'll see. I'm hopeful that ISN'T the problem, and that even if it is, the plastic mat and feliway will keep Comere calm and using the proper facilities.


Will let you know!
 

sharonkay

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good luck! I am so happy to hear that this is working for you so far...I will keep my fingers crossed for him
 
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amy-dhh

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15 days now! And we got through the weekend with my stepson just fine... I told my stepson to also pet the cat a bit and "bond" with him a little more and maybe that would also help.

So Kitty has continued to pee in his box and our fingers are crossed that we've broken the two week mark and it will continue!
 
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