Cats Were Blocked From Litter Box!

[CatMom59112]

Monday evening my little boy accidentally closed the door to where we keep our cat litter boxes in the basement. This week I started a new job, my kids have been back to school, and it’s been so hectic that I didn’t even notice until this morning. We were so busy and late getting home on Tuesday that I thought I could skip a scoop this one day.

So our 3 cats have been blocked from using their litter boxes for 2 nights and 1 whole day. I feel so awful for them and guilty that I didn’t check it yesterday. They rushed into the boxes as soon as I opened the door this morning. They have never had any accidents before and now I am worried that this may trigger them to not using their boxes anymore.

Before I left for work this morning I noticed 2 poop accidents on our kitchen rug. I did a quick check through the house and didn’t notice anymore accident spots, but I didn’t have time to be thorough. I am hoping it’s all contained to that rug and not our bedrooms.

Any advice on this situation? Will I need to retrain them? Will the old pee/poop spots make them get the urge to go in those spots again?

 

[Hellenww]

I'm don't an have an answer for you. Use an enzyme cleaner on any accidents so they aren't attracted to those spots. I use this foam type of door stop to keep the door from closing. A piece of a pool noodle at the top would also work. Hopefully your cats prefer their box.

 

[MoochNNoodles]

Yikes! Things happen though. Especially when you have kids around. I was going to suggest the pool noodle also. That was what we did with the sliding door at my mother's that my DS just couldn't resist! It only took a small section near the top of the door so it wasn't obtrusive looking really.

You can get a black light to look around for accidents. I have an inexpensive flashlight from Amazon that does the job. Looking in the dark with it is the best. Use a good enzyme cleaner on any accidents. That will help discourage repeats. Otherwise I wouldn't worry too much; just keep an eye for a bit.

This is the flashlight I have. It's currently $10 when I look at it on Amazon but it says $8.99 on here...whats up with that Amazon!?