A little advice please

[ladygananoque]

Hi everyone, im in need of some advice. My cat fable who iv had for nearly 2 years has been ill recently with a very severe urinary tract infection. The vet said she hadn't seen such a bad infection before so she was put on antibiotics for several weeks and and she is now all clear of her UTI. When she had her UTI she wouldn't pee in her litter box and went in the bath instead and now that her UTI is gone she still wants to do that, she seems to have a big phobia of her litter tray. Iv tried changing the type of litter and buying more litter trays of different sizes and she just wont go in them,iv had to put a half inch of water in my bath tub at all times to stop her going in there. She is happy to poop in the litter tray though and goes without a problem. Now that there's a little bit of water in the bath tub she goes next to the litter tray instead and as you can imagine my house is starting to stink! 

Another problem i have is im going on holiday in may and im leaving her with a friend and i need this problem fixed by then otherwise she will pee all over their house to. Have you guys got any ideas of how i can get her to like her litter tray again? Are there any special types of litter for problem kitties? I was gonna take a trip to pet smart and check out more litter, any recommendations?

Thanks in advance

 

[catnamedpanda]

I would get a new box and put a brand of cat litter called Cat Attract in it. It is sold at petsmart so you should have no problem finding it. There is also an additive you can add to any litter, but if you went this route I would buy a different brand of litter to add it to, that way the smell is different. I would also get an enzyme cleaner and clean the spots where she has gone outside of the box. I had to retrain one of my cats after he recovered from a urinary tract disorder flare up. A new litter box and cat attract and he was back to using the litter box in no time. I had to put him in the bathroom with it for a few days first so he got the idea and then I moved it to his regular spot, and showed him I put it back.

 

[ladygananoque]

Thankyou, thats great, i will try and find some of that litter. I knew there was one but couldn't remember what its name was.

 

[momofmany]

It is VERY common for a cat with a UTI to avoid the litter box for a while after the infection is cleared up. She related the litter box to her pain when urinating and it may take a bit of coaxing to get her back to the litter box. Cat Attract litter is great for this purpose and I would try that first.

I have a boy with chronic urinary problems that would pee on cold hard surfaces (like a bath tub) when he would have a flare up. For some reason, those surfaces feel better when they pee on them. This was the only time that Cat Attract failed me and I talked to my vet about possible alternatives. She suggested that I buy cheap ceramic tiles and put them in the bottom of a litter pan. When he started to use those, I started to sprinkle a little bit of litter over the top of it, adding more and more litter over time until such time that the tiles were completely covered (then I removed the tiles). I reinforced this by placing him in the litter box a couple of times a day and praising him highly when he would pee in the box. Muddy LOVES to be praised, so it was a reward to him when he peed in the box.

If Cat Attract doesn't work by chance, you do have alternatives. Whether it works or not, always praise her when you see her using the litter box so that she feels special when she does it right.

 

[ladygananoque]

Using tiles is a great idea, i will definitely give that a try if the cat attract doesn't work so thankyou very much!

 

[hobo08]

Hope the Cat Attract works for you. Keep us updated.

 

[ladygananoque]

Yes i will keep you all posted on how the cat attract works.