Should He Stay or Should He Go?

no, they don't leak, your kitty is missing the box when he pees Has he been to the vet yet? It sound like he might have urine crystal or some other potty problem. His litter could also be old or dirty making him not want to put his feet in it therefore missing the box. What kind of food are you feeding him? Is he nuetered? & how long have you had the new kitten?

It's plastic and I got the larger size that they have becaus Valo grew big! and was not able to aim into the smaller one. But I like your idea of getting a toy box and filling it up. With all that litter, how often do you have to change the box?

I change every 4-6 wks or, if the box gets really dirty. OTW it
doesn't need to be scrubbed out, fully emptied etc. but every 4-6
wks. Of course, as I scoop out litter, I add in more litter!

If you do that, then you should be good for about 4-6 wks. ( i
have 2 cats using mine.. lots of pees not too many poos)

Also, the pee outside the box - the cat is too big for the box,
a rubbermaid container (which is what I use) that is 8 inch
high and at least 28 inches long...that could work for you.

And do get to the vet for that ROOO noise. That's PAIN
when peeing or pooing! Could be very serious if it is urinary
crystals - cat can die from blocked urine flow... backs up into the kidneys.

Its a simple and fairly cheap fix if he has - so DO GET CHECKED out.
Try the Humane society vets if cost is an issue for you.

Hi Chichis Mom,

Thanks for your kind support and constructive suggestions! You're right, the litter has got to be changed more. RE the leakage, I think you're right about missing the box! RE your questions: He used to eat Purina dry but I just switched him a few weeks ago to Nutro Natural Wet Senior and he loves it! He is neutered, and we have the new kitten for 2 months. They get along wonderfully. The kitten eats Merrick's wet Turkducken, and I mix a little grapefruit seed extract and Vitamin C (calcium ascorbate) into both of their foods. For dry, I switched them a couple of weeks ago to Innova Evo, which the kitten loves, but Valo eats and digests fine, but doesn't love as much as his Nutro wet, so I'm going to soon try another dry that he'll prefer.

Hi Opilot,

Awesome advice for the litter box, thanks! Regarding the ROOOO noise, I appreciate your concern and I'm sorry I didn't specify earlier before I got everyone concerned, he's a Birman and they make this noise which only Birmans seem to make when they are unhappy. Someone had an actual word for the noise a Birman makes, called a "huff." (He was upset because my bedroom door was closed, and I closed it so he wouldn't come in and meow until I woke up, but instead I got a series of ROOOOOOs.)

I use the regular litter boxes they sell at petsmart etc... I change the entire thing EVERY week-absolutly- I am sorry, I can't touch the icky(used)box EWW! But if you don't feel like re-doing the whole thing like me-just change the litter and SCRUB the box out. Chichi(my 16 yr old) misses the box about once a month or so. She is the "balancer" LOL she will NOT step in litter, no matter how new and fresh it is or what kind it is, she will not put her feet down in it. Now she will touch the litter a little to cover up her dooties, she will not step in it. She balances herself along the edges and does her buisness. As far as the 2 boxes go, I have had my new kitten for about 3 months and at first I had 2 boxes, but neither of them EVER used the other box, not one time!!!! So I only have one, it is pretty big, and like I said they would'nt even touch the other one?! But give it a shot. It is better to have multiple boxes, and if they use them that's great, but not always the case. I also put newspaper under, and surrounding the box so when an accident happens-cleanup is alot easier, just wad the paper up and throw it away, take some soap and water and scrub out the area, put down some new paper and your set

Hey Chichi's Mom,

Thanks for the advice re the newspaper and cleaning the floor--so much easier now! I loved the story about your balancer, that's hysterical! I have a question, help me understand...

"I change the entire thing EVERY week-absolutly- I am sorry, I can't touch the icky(used)box EWW!"

Do you mean you don't use the pooper scooper and instead you dump the whole thing out every week?

No I scoop..... who knows how many times a day The box is in my bedroom so as soon as I see a visitor to the box I am in there. I redo the whole set up every weekend, and just take the old box, litter and all out to the garbage. It is sooooooo much more practical to me, rather than bending over in the tub scrubbing out icky clumps and its not that expensive either. The new pan cost about 7 bucks, and the litter somewhere around 10$ so I'll pay 17 bucks not to touch stinky boxes LOL. I will try to take a pic of my "set-up" this weekend if I can get a hold of the camera, so you can see the newspaper thing. I arrange the newspaper just so, so when I have to scoop it up quickly, it stays together without spilling its contents the newspaper also keeps the litter from being tracked all over, I make sure it sticks out from under the box to trap all the stray pebbles of litter. kinda like a door mat.

You might also want to '' air '' out the whole litter box area too. Especially since one of them has peed on the floor. When you get ready to clean the box or put a new one in, scrub the WHOLE area where the box sits, walls, floor etc... and let it dry for a while-and before I put the new box in I sprinkle some baking soda under it to hide any stray odors. Cats noses are WAY stronger than ours,and if the area has'nt been cleaned in a while it might be irratating (sp) their little noses. Also don't spray any too stinky air freshners etc... in the litter area for the same reason.

One suggestion for sleeping through the "Rooo" noise is to use a noise machine or a box-fan for white noise. We have a few light sleepers in our family, (I am one of them), and the white noise works wonders for unbroken sleep. With my box fan on, I am able to sleep soundly with a jack russell under the covers with me, and two cats on top of me!

We have 8 cats; so we provide 9 litter boxes. I try to have some convenient to every level of our split-level. We use several regular litter boxes, 2 covered ones, and two that are simply large plastic storage containers with a hole cut out of the top for the cats to jump in and out of-- no litter spills out.
This way, different cats can choose their preference of box! We even have one in the living room-- you can move it out when you have company.

Keep the boxes clean-- I clean mine alot, just with soap and hot water, and scoop it clean twice a day. Having so many boxes has kept my cats very happy, with no accidents.

Thanks Chichi's Mom! Awesome suggestions and thanks for offering to take a pic for me to see, that's so thoughtful! You've helped me a lot. I love the idea of disposable litter boxes! Best, Breindel

Hey Robin

Thanks for sharing the way your household litterbox system runs...it sounds very organized and you've given me a lot of great ideas!

Also the white noise--if you could sleep with all those dogs and cats on top of and under you, it sounds like a good plan!

Best,

Breindel

Originally Posted by gardenandcats

I just think its wrong that anyone feel pets are disposable.

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Someone mentioned that maybe the new kitten was chasing him in there... My kitten was visiting her cousins Schmaltz and Percival and always followed Schmaltz INTO the litter box. She had her own of course but would rather follow him into his. He was extremely unhappy with the situation and so would only go with his front paws out so he could defend his territory. Even if you haven't observed the kitten annoying the elder cat while he does his business, with such a big adjustment as a new kitten even once would be enough.

Originally Posted by Zissou'sMom

Someone mentioned that maybe the new kitten was chasing him in there... My kitten was visiting her cousins Schmaltz and Percival and always followed Schmaltz INTO the litter box. She had her own of course but would rather follow him into his. He was extremely unhappy with the situation and so would only go with his front paws out so he could defend his territory. Even if you haven't observed the kitten annoying the elder cat while he does his business, with such a big adjustment as a new kitten even once would be enough.

Click to expand...

Thanks, Zissou'sMom, that's an important observation. I can happily report that things are fine now...I moved the litter box out of the bathroom and I keep the bathroom door closed so that they can't make in the tub. And so far, they have been doing great in the litterbox (knock on wood!)

You're right, I just saw the little one follow him to the water bowl and unknowingly chase him away. So sometimes I've got to remove him so Valentine gets a turn at eating and drinking. As I've recently found out, kittens can be little piglets!

Ok I tried to read every single post but I might have skipped a few. If no one else said it, throw away the box you are using and get a completely new one. I like the suggestion of a toy box full of litter, in an apartment though that might be too big and also hard to dump out. Definately get a new box and since you have two cats, I agree that you should have at least 3 litterboxes. Get some big ones. I actually have a dog litterbox downstairs for my cats. I have 8 litterboxes total for 7 cats but that dog one works really well.

I also use Feline Pine which is really great litter because it is heavier so it doesn't go flying out of the litterbox as easily when they bury their business. Also it smells like pine all the time. Only time it smells bad is if they just went poo. AND the pee turns to sawdust.

Are you going to try taking him to the vet? Because I don't know when he was at the vet last but if it has been awhile then he should probably be looked at. A urinary tract infection is not uncommon for an older cat who's life was disrupted by a new kitten. Even though they get along great, it may have just been enough of a change to stress him enough to get an infection. I have a cat who gets UTIs really easily because he will stress for everything, like moving the furniture around.

Um I am trying to think of other advice that everyone else didn't mention. Definately get some Feliway plugins, those work miracles sometimes. New litterboxes, multiple of them, and a vet visit are probably the best things you can do. And don't give up on him, cats don't misbehave like that just because, there is a reason, and many times it is just really hard to figure out what it is. If a cat is in pain (like from a UTI) he will associate the pain with the litterbox because it hurts when he pees and that is the place he pees at, so they look for other places to go in hopes that it won't hurt. Maybe the cold ceramic bathtub feels good to him. Plus cats don't show when they are in pain so you never know.

Good luck.

awww, don't get rid of the little guy, your home is his home. He needs you. And bless you for being so patient and listening and trying everything out. Patience will be your greatest virtue as behavior can take 1 month for every year he is...so = about 8 months of redirecting behavior. But please hang in there. Jen has super advice and everyone is very supportive here. I have read every post and the TCS family will guide you. It can be a diary!

I was getting a really strong feeling that he is upset with something in the apartment. I don't sense he is mad at you, but in the past year have you re-arranged the furniture, moved, or had different visitors? I'm glad to hear he gets along well with the new addition, that's wonderful, but something in your apartment is pissing him off.... watch him when he doesn't think you are watching....he'll let you know but it might take a lot of watching until he starts giving clues. I do think he's pissed off at something in the aparment~~

We currently have our indoor/outdoor cats litter box on the back porch. Yay no more smells in the house!

I must agree with some of the others, that a vet visit is well worth eliminating possible health problems. My fella' Sir Purr was using the bathroom outside of the litter box and I took him to the vet - He has urinary crystals which could have developed into a blockage or worse, if I had waited too long.

I say a Dr. visit is warranted between the litterbox issue and loud noises, especially if he's neutered. For cats, the slightest of changes in behavior are always an indication of them trying to tell you something. Whether it be "I need more attention" or "I don't feel good".
Good luck and keep us posted!

What a great thread this is, lots of very useful advice to try and solve the problem.

I agree that it would be wise to rule out any medical cause for the catâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s sudden toilet problem. Cats can unexpectedly start ignoring their litterbox and going in the strangest of places for a thousand and one different reasons. Often that reason is stress related caused by the simplest of things. Furniture rearranged, a new room deodorizer, a new household appliance that makes a noise, practically anything.

Youâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve had the love of Valentine for 8 years, you can enjoy many more years, the problem can be solved. Good luck.

Larry.