Elderly cat missing litterbox

[ciantarah]

Hi there, 

I have an elderly cat (maybe 14 years old or so? I got her when she was full grown) who has arthritis in her front elbows. She's a pretty big kitty -- 14 pounds -- has always been overweight but our attempts to help her lose weight have resulted in such misery for her and us that we gave up. (She meows in the middle of the night, etc. We live in an apartment, and she's part siamese so when she meows I'm pretty sure our neighbors know about it.) I got her litterboxes that are pretty large with high sides except on the side of entry, where there is a sort of dip to make it easy for her to climb into. 

Unfortunately, sometimes she climbs in and does her business right away, and I think her joints are just too achy to squat anymore so sometimes the pee goes straight out of the litterbox onto the floor. This is almost a daily occurrence now. When she pees, she pees a LOT, too. 

I am pregnant and so hubby is on litterbox duty (under protest. he is not a big fan of my cats). He has had it with this situation and is ready to put her down. He thinks she is suffering and that maybe her kidneys are going since she urinates so much. This is now a major point of resentment for him and is causing marital issues.

We just had her into the vet a few months ago and the vet didn't think there was much wrong with her beyond her joints. She is a very happy, sweet and lovey cat that likes to sleep with us. I have had animals all my life and have seen a lot of sick and suffering animals, too. I know her joints are achy, but we humans don't give up the ghost when our joints start aching. We still find ways to live happily. I feel that is is terribly wrong to put down a cat without a very, very good reason, and I don't see how we can possibly rehome a cat like her (not that I want to, but I also would like my marriage to stay intact and my husband to stop being so angry).

I've read about making your own litterbox out of large Rubbermaid bins and just cutting a square out of the side to allow for easy entry/exit. This would give me a larger litterbox, but I can't see how she wouldn't just pee over the side of the entry like she does now. The current litterboxes have plenty of room!

Any ideas? I am so sad and tired.

 

[betsygee]

I'm so sorry.  I know firsthand the marital stress that cleaning up after cats can cause!  How about a litterbox like this one, that she can walk into?  I bought one for my elderly cat with peeing problems.  Unfortunately his problem is kidney disease, not arthritis, so it didn't really help--but it might work for your situation.  

pPETS-7311312t300x300.jpg

• betsygee
• Jan 11, 2014

 

[ciantarah]

Thanks! I will look for something like that with a little ramp... that could be the solution!

 

[mservant]

I used to have two older cats that missed their box for different reasons.  One was arthritic and both seemed to loose her sense of where her body was in relation to the edges of the box, and also getting in and out and turning in the box.  The Boodastep that @betsygee has posted is a good box, and I use one of their other ones for my current boy but sadly they stopped making that one.  My worry with the step one is that although there is loads of room inside, your cat may still have a problem negotiating the entrance bit, and as the ramp is only on the outside getting out might be hard.  If the cat does not manage to get in any better than they do now the pee will still go on to the floor.   The Boodastep is a very large box as well so if you decide to try it make sure you have plenty room.

I know some people have found boxes where the entrance is on the longer side rather than the short end have worked well but again I am not so sure with an arthritic cat where they have difficutly turning.

I resorted to puppy pads on the floor under the front end of the box to soak up the pee and avoid it reaching the floor so reducing the cleaning up and constant odour.

Good luck, I remember this stage all too well.

 

[betsygee]

I guess it depends on the cat.  Travis does have arthritis (as well as the kidney disease) and he was able to negotiate the Booda box okay.  You're right about the size, though.  And the puppy pads.  I have a big supply of those!  

 

[mservant]

From all the things I read, it seems to be one of those boxes that either works really really well or the cat doesn't take to it.   I am a fan of the round design with good height, I do think it helps a lot of cats turn and move better.

 

[hexiesfriend]

I got a plastic baby pool cut the front part out so the cat can just walk in. I had to move it to the garage but it worked on with arthritic cat when she was alive.

 

[deborahlee]

What about two boxes?

Get some kind of wider, longer, flat box or tray with sides that are only 1 or 2 inches high or so and line it with a puppy pad or bed pad with plastic on one side, absorbent material on the other (plastic side down), and make sure this box is maybe a foot longer than your litterbox.

Then slide the litter box into that, and towards the back, so if your cat misses your litter box, it will go on the pad and not on your floor (by putting the pad directly under the old litter box, without the 2nd box to hold it, more chance of missing ... this way it protects the floor).

It will be easy for your cat to step the one inch or so over the edge of the first box, and will be able to use its old litter box like it always has.

That avoids the problem of worrying if the cat will be able to use another litter box.

Then Mr. Meany will be able to just throw out the pad and put down another one without having to clean anything extra.

 

[ciantarah]

Thank you all for your excellent suggestions. I will go out and get some puppy pads and see if I can arrange some kind of tray thing underneath to protect the floor. We'll try that before investing in (yet another) litterbox design.

 

[hexiesfriend]

That cat is gone but I do now have a diabetic cat who uses the human extra large pads with no mess. You may want to try the bigger pads to assure there is no mess. I just started to put them in front of the litter box and unfortunately that is what she exclusively uses now, pool trick didn't work with her after she started having a high urine output. Pads were a last resort but they worked.

 

[catlover1991]

The cat i recently adopted is 13 and ive noticed he missed the box when peeing