Cats, Kittens & Litterboxes -- Oh My!

thana+os

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Aug 19, 2006
Messages
9
Purraise
0
Greetings,

So, we have 2 cats and 1 kitten (a rescue). The 2 male cats are older, 1 year and 3 years and the kitten is about 10ish weeks. The males are neutered, the female is not.

After a week, they get along very well, though they play a bit too rough sometimes.

The problem we have is that the new kitten poops (and peed 1 time) along the baseboards of the floor in my bedroom, at night (when I am asleep) or when I am not there.

Now, she does use the litterbox with the other cats. Even with a clean litterbox, she still will use along the baseboards in my room if I am asleep or absent. All day long though, otherwise, she uses it. Concequently, I never manage to catch her doing it. At night, we have a nightlight in that room with the food/litter for the cats to see with.

I live in a tiny 3 bedroom duplex. I have a roommate as well. The 3rd room has storage stuff and the cat box and food (spaced away from each other). The kitchen and bathroom are tiny and have no place for littleboxes. We don't even have a full size refrigerator or freezer, they are dorm sized (two people are a tight fit in the kitchen). So litterboxes in other rooms are out of the question.

Now, I can't keep a litterbox in my room. I have 3 cockatiels in a large cage and if I put a litterbox in here ALL 3 cats use it instead of the other and end up startling the birds constantly. They don't seem to mind using the same litterboxes.

I have taken her to the vet and had her checked out, she was de-wormed but they didn't find anything else amiss (she had roundworms).

I'm at a loss as what to do. Is there anything I can rub (or spritz, I can't use aersols or anything liek that) into the carpet to make that area smell less appealing? I'm gonna start carring her to the litterbox every time I leave my room to get something.

Anyway, I'd appreciate some suggestions and insight if anyone has any.
 

zissou'smom

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jan 11, 2006
Messages
6,482
Purraise
8
Two things:

You need four litterboxes. I know that sounds like a TON, but get more, have four, and see if it stops. Then you can try taking one away, and see if she still keeps using the box or not. They can be all in the same room if they have to, in different corners, or whatever. If she poops in the regular box, then she may just need her separate box to pee. Some don't like doing #1 and #2 in the same box.

Their food shouldn't be anywhere near the litterboxes. Definitely separate rooms, but the further the better. I have two rooms, and her food is on the kitchen counter in the living room, and her box is in my bedroom closet (gross I know, but there is literally nowhere else to put it). Cats often will either not eat or not use the box when you put them together, because, well, it's gross and they're clean little creatures.

Okay, now. Get a blacklight (you can get one less than 10 bucks) and go around with an enzymatic cleaner made specifically for pet stains. Clean all the spots, and behind the baseboards, with that stuff. If it smells like pee, it's a cat box to them.

Also, get her spayed. She's right around the correct age if you can find a vet who will spay a cat that young, but definitely do it before six months.

A few other things to think about:

Has she ever been startled while using the box?
Are either of the other cats bullying her in the box?
What kind of litter are you using?
Does she dig around a whole extra lot, meowing, when she does use the box?
Does she do her business and get out of there as fast as possible, not even burying?

Let us know, as these indicate different things.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #3

thana+os

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Aug 19, 2006
Messages
9
Purraise
0
Yikes! lol Okay, let me see if I can answer your questions.

BTW, I did read the FAQ posts on kitty litter issues.

You need four litterboxes....(snip)
Well, she has done both in the same litter box. I have 2, one small one and a large one. The problem is, ALL the cats use the small one up super fast and first and the 2 bigger ones miss alot...yuck. Unfortunately, they have to be in the same room...I am really pressed for space here, there's hardly enough room for 2 cat boxes in the room as it is.There's maybe 4' x 4' of space available...its not really a full room, its a half room.

Their food shouldn't be anywhere near the litterboxes....snip
The litterboxes are at the back of the room and the cat food at the door into the room, so about 4ish 1/2 foot of space between them. The kitchen isn't viable, because it has open insulation in it and the cats love to chew on it by getting between the fridge and freezer and between the counter spaces. It could be she is more finiky then the other two...who don't mind this set up, but the thing is...she was rescued from an attic where there were about 8 cats all using one big cardboard box for litter and had 2 big bowls for food and water...much worse conditions then here...and it seems all the cats used the litterbox there...as in, I didn't step in or notice anything out of place.

Get a blacklight
I have a blacklight and portable lamp to put it in...I use it as a nightlight and keep it near the birdcage so they have light to see by, but that isn't too bright to disturb their sleep. I'm getting a pet stain solution today so I can clean the spots.

Also, get her spayed.
We are scheduling that in about 3 weeks, once she is over being sick with the roundworms and also to give us time to spot any other issues. We will have laser surgery done, like with the other two.

Has she ever been startled while using the box?
Are either of the other cats bullying her in the box?
What kind of litter are you using?
Does she dig around a whole extra lot, meowing, when she does use the box?
Does she do her business and get out of there as fast as possible, not even burying?
1. she's never been startled that I noticed. she really seems pretty calm and relaxed, even aroudn the othe two cats.
2. Not that I've ever seen. She's been sniffed a few times...and after that I didn't seem the go near her when she was in the box.
3. Fresh Step, the clumping kind.
4. No, i've never noticed her dig around or meow alot when she use it.
5. She does get in and get out pretty quick...most of the time she does not bury her business (but neither do the other two consistantly), except with #1..I notice she does tend to cover that pretty consistantly.

I've also noticed she is having regular bouts of diarrhea. Most of her stool is pretty loose actually and I am going to call my vet monday about it...but I was told it could be her not used to being the food...the place we rescued her from just fed them wal-mart's cheapest dry catfood and tuna (since it was cheaper then wet-cat food)...and that was her diet for a couple of weeks when she wasn't nursing on mama-cat.

Thanks for your time and reply.
 

zissou'smom

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jan 11, 2006
Messages
6,482
Purraise
8
You see, once I'm started on a cat behavior mystery I can't rest until it's stopped.

Okay. Is there any way you can get rid of the small one and get two of the bigger ones? I guess if you can only have two, two big ones is better than a little one and a big one. Esp if the other two are missing a little.

I'm trying to get a general idea of your place. Am I correct in that the only places available for the cats are the living room and this half room?

The food is too close. Can you just even move it to the other side of the wall, rather than actually in the room, just outside the room or something? On a shelf in the living room? Anywhere?

That's so terrible that they were being fed canned tuna. That is sooooo bad for them. Hopefully you can get the poopy problem taken care of with the vet. That may be the root of the whole problem.

When cats jump out of the litterbox, it can mean that they don't like the litter. The fact that none of them are burying their number 2 (especially with two purebred, who I assume are from a breeder, and were properly socialized and kept with their mom until at least 10 weeks, probably more) indicates to me that there is something they don't like about the litterboxes. I would have to see exactly what they do, and how they jump out. You use the same brand as me, but maybe yours just don't like it?

How often are they scooped and cleaned, and what do you clean them with? How many inches deep is the litter in the pan?
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #5

thana+os

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Aug 19, 2006
Messages
9
Purraise
0
Originally Posted by Zissou'sMom

You see, once I'm started on a cat behavior mystery I can't rest until it's stopped.
No no thats okay


Okay. Is there any way you can get rid of the small one and get two of the bigger ones? I guess if you can only have two, two big ones is better than a little one and a big one. Esp if the other two are missing a little.

The other two are only missing in the small catbox. They are actually just fine with 1 catbox, but feel compelled to use the small one if its put out.

I'm trying to get a general idea of your place. Am I correct in that the only places available for the cats are the living room and this half room?
No living room...this is the top floor of a house, transformed into a duplex. We have 3 bedrooms...1 normal sized, 1 smaller and one even smaller. The smalled room is used for storage and the cats. There is additionally a hallway, bathroom and kitchen. The bathroom and kitchen are very small..we've tried to put the cat box (the big one) in those rooms, but they get in the way of everything else.

It's a tiny place.

The food is too close. Can you just even move it to the other side of the wall, rather than actually in the room, just outside the room or something? On a shelf in the living room? Anywhere?
Short of putting it in the hallway, there's no place for it where it won't get trod on. There is no living room. the other side of the wall is my room, but there is no place for it in here, except around the birdcage, which is a no-no.

We never intended on having 3 cats...life was fine with 2, but we couldn't let her get left in that squalor with people who didn't adequated take care of the kittens their cat had.

That's so terrible that they were being fed canned tuna. That is sooooo bad for them. Hopefully you can get the poopy problem taken care of with the vet. That may be the root of the whole problem.
Yeah, from what I was reading it might be. I know it was horrible...thats one of the reasons we rescued her.

When cats jump out of the litterbox, it can mean that they don't like the litter. The fact that none of them are burying their number 2 (especially with two purebred, who I assume are from a breeder, and were properly socialized and kept with their mom until at least 10 weeks, probably more) indicates to me that there is something they don't like about the litterboxes. I would have to see exactly what they do, and how they jump out. You use the same brand as me, but maybe yours just don't like it?
Well no, the other two do bury their leavings, but not 100% of the time. It's rather inconsistant...but its always been like that. And yes, the both come from breeders. We've tried alot of brands, so far they like this one the best...I don't think they like the litter box...its one of the big round ones...they really seem to prefer square ones...so we are going to replace it with one of those big, automated square ones in a month or so.

How often are they scooped and cleaned, and what do you clean them with? How many inches deep is the litter in the pan?
I scoop every day or every other day...as my schedule permits (I travel), my roommate leaves it for me to do as some kind of penance for ticking her off. Litter is about 1 1/2 to 2 inches deep...I wash it out and clean it about every 2 weeks and use disenfectant soap and water. Otherwise, I just scoop it out with a regular scooper.
 

zissou'smom

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jan 11, 2006
Messages
6,482
Purraise
8
Okay, so we have one half room plus a hallway....

Is there a shelf higher up that you could put their food in that same room? Up is better than nothing. Cats think differently about spatial arrangements than we do anyway, and up and down is similar to further away.

Bless you for rescuing this little girl. I want pictures!

Make sure you leave out at least one other litterbox that isn't automatic. Some of them aren't big fans of motorized litter boxes.

The last thing I can think of is that the litter should be at least 3 inches deep. Since you say she likes to bury her pee, 1.5 inches isn't really enough for her to do so. Does she make big piles in the litter when she pees? Some cats need even more than 3 inches. It seems like it'll be wasteful, but once you fill it up the first time, it doesn't take up any more litter than just using a little as you are. I rarely actually dump and wash the whole thing though. Maybe 3 or 4 times a year.

Once you get her vetted and get the carpets cleaned up, let us know how it's going.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #7

thana+os

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Aug 19, 2006
Messages
9
Purraise
0
Originally Posted by Zissou'sMom

Okay, so we have one half room plus a hallway....
Is there a shelf higher up that you could put their food in that same room? Up is better than nothing. Cats think differently about spatial arrangements than we do anyway, and up and down is similar to further away.
I could put their food up onto a tote or two, but thats as good as it gets for that room.

Bless you for rescuing this little girl. I want pictures!
Here are pics of the feline family:

Jynx (the kitten)
http://www.hollowfaust.com/Personal/cats/Jynx.JPG

She's hard to take good pics of...this was the best I got out of a bunch, but I am not a good digital picture taker


Morpheus (hard to see to the right in the first pic), Ashe, Jynx:
http://www.hollowfaust.com/Personal/...-Ashe-Jynx.jpg
http://www.hollowfaust.com/Personal/...e-Morhpeus.jpg

Morpheus:
http://www.hollowfaust.com/Personal/cats/Morpheus.jpg
http://www.hollowfaust.com/Personal/...us%20belly.jpg

Ashe (a bit blurry, but a good pic of his eyes):
http://www.hollowfaust.com/Personal/cats/ashe.jpg

Make sure you leave out at least one other litterbox that isn't automatic. Some of them aren't big fans of motorized litter boxes.
I will bear that in mind...wasn't aware they would care.

The last thing I can think of is that the litter should be at least 3 inches deep. Since you say she likes to bury her pee, 1.5 inches isn't really enough for her to do so. Does she make big piles in the litter when she pees? Some cats need even more than 3 inches. It seems like it'll be wasteful, but once you fill it up the first time, it doesn't take up any more litter than just using a little as you are. I rarely actually dump and wash the whole thing though. Maybe 3 or 4 times a year.

Once you get her vetted and get the carpets cleaned up, let us know how it's going.
Actually, all the cats pee at the front of the litter box, where they pile it up higher then in the rest of the box. No, she only makes small piles...all her leavings are small actually. I have added more litter to the box and am attempting to move stuff around so its further away from the food..maybe on the other side of some of the totes. I'll clean it out less and make it deeper and see if that works better.

I just caught her scratching at the corner of my room...I went and put her in the cat box but she didn't use it. At least I caught her.
 
Top