My family's cat, Cookie Dough, gets freshly urinated cat litter stuck in his rear paws. It stays there until it dries and he picks it out with his teeth, usually on the couch or any of his other favorite hangouts in the house.
We've had him for at least ten years now, and he's only had a problem with it within the last half a year or so. Can anyone help?
Here's some background that may help:
When Ivan hit us last year, (we live in the florida panhandle), we had to evacuate to Montgomery AL, (around a four-hour drive). We had to pack up enough clothes for a week or two, our two dogs (one of which is rather large) and food for them, three people and their carry-on stuff to keep from getting bored -- all in a Dodge Grand Caravan (minivan). No travel kennels for any of te pets. We were also packing up the cat, and food for him, and his kitty litter. He wouldn't go. He fought tooth and nail when we tried to get him in the van. We had to make a decision real fast -- and decided to leave him at home with some water and food and litter. We stayed at some relatives' place in alabama, and it was about two weeks later that we were able to get back home.
He was in some sorry condition when we got back. All his food was cleared out, all his water was gone, and he was hoarse. We immediately got some water, and he started drinking and drinking, and throwing up (if I recall correctly), then drinking some more, etc. He probably spent 90% of his time for the next week parked right next to the water bowl. Eventualy he seemed to get a bit better about it, venturing around elsewhere.
A few weeks later, we found a box with stuff in it that was never fully unpacked from when we moved in (over a year before) that was wet, moldy and smelled horrid. The cat had gone to the bathroom in it at some point. Needless to say, we threw the stuff out, and my mom tried to clean the carpet. The cat continued using that spot to go to the bathroom at.
We noticed a significant increase in the amount of pee in the litter box. It got to where we had to clean it out three times a day. And he was -still- going elsewhere too.
Since then, he hasn't been going elsewhere much (though sometimes we'll find some poop where his litterbox used to be before we moved it even more recently), and the box is only cleaned once a day. It's a bit larger than his old one. But he's in the habit of stepping in his pee after going, and we'll find little clumps that he's picked out of his toes all over the house.
I don't know if we need to clean out the box more often to make sure he has enough room, or if he has some sort of urination problem where he urinates too much and it gets the stuff under his feet wet, or what.
If you have any questions, please ask!
I hope you can help..
Thanks,
-- Sid
We've had him for at least ten years now, and he's only had a problem with it within the last half a year or so. Can anyone help?
Here's some background that may help:
When Ivan hit us last year, (we live in the florida panhandle), we had to evacuate to Montgomery AL, (around a four-hour drive). We had to pack up enough clothes for a week or two, our two dogs (one of which is rather large) and food for them, three people and their carry-on stuff to keep from getting bored -- all in a Dodge Grand Caravan (minivan). No travel kennels for any of te pets. We were also packing up the cat, and food for him, and his kitty litter. He wouldn't go. He fought tooth and nail when we tried to get him in the van. We had to make a decision real fast -- and decided to leave him at home with some water and food and litter. We stayed at some relatives' place in alabama, and it was about two weeks later that we were able to get back home.
He was in some sorry condition when we got back. All his food was cleared out, all his water was gone, and he was hoarse. We immediately got some water, and he started drinking and drinking, and throwing up (if I recall correctly), then drinking some more, etc. He probably spent 90% of his time for the next week parked right next to the water bowl. Eventualy he seemed to get a bit better about it, venturing around elsewhere.
A few weeks later, we found a box with stuff in it that was never fully unpacked from when we moved in (over a year before) that was wet, moldy and smelled horrid. The cat had gone to the bathroom in it at some point. Needless to say, we threw the stuff out, and my mom tried to clean the carpet. The cat continued using that spot to go to the bathroom at.
We noticed a significant increase in the amount of pee in the litter box. It got to where we had to clean it out three times a day. And he was -still- going elsewhere too.
Since then, he hasn't been going elsewhere much (though sometimes we'll find some poop where his litterbox used to be before we moved it even more recently), and the box is only cleaned once a day. It's a bit larger than his old one. But he's in the habit of stepping in his pee after going, and we'll find little clumps that he's picked out of his toes all over the house.
I don't know if we need to clean out the box more often to make sure he has enough room, or if he has some sort of urination problem where he urinates too much and it gets the stuff under his feet wet, or what.
If you have any questions, please ask!
I hope you can help..
Thanks,
-- Sid
