hi i am new here- need some help, i have 4 indoor cats-3 domestic and 1 feral cat named kitty. kitty has been with us for the last 8 years- never has been a problem and will cooperate when examined by the vet. she likes and trust my daughter the best, she sleeps and spends most of her time in my daughters room. she does use the same cat boxes as the other cats in the house, which are located in the laundry room. 8 months ago the kitty was treated for cystitis I saw her (urinated blood in the cat box.)- which resolved after treatment. while i was sitting on the couch recently i noticed kitty jump up onto the chair across from me (which is unusual behavior) and urinate. Since I had a white sheet on the chair i noticed that the urine was blood tinged. when the vet did the ultrasound to palpate her bladder for a sterile urine she thought she saw stones. she then did an xray for conformation which was neg. urine culture was neg. blood work was normal. they gave kitty 4 days of anti- inflammatory and prescribed desaquin daily. and she will return in a week to have another ultrasound by a specialist. since this all started kitty has been kept isolated in my daughters room with her own cat box-food and water. She is eating the special diet they prescribed for her, drinking and all ends are working. I decided to let her out of the room to see how she would behave. After a bit she went over to the chair that she urinated on and sat. I quickly shooed her off and within minutes she went into my daughters room and used the cat box. she then laid down on her bed. With that I have been hesitant to let her out of the room thinking that she will urinate on the chair or something else. The chair has since been cleaned with enzyme cat urine remover. she has never developed a close relationship with the other house cats, she doesn't like it when they go in my daughters room. am i doing her harm by keeping her separate in the room? Should she remain separate until the until stones have been ruled out. How do I encourage her to use the cat boxes in the laundry room? Do I just remove the cat box that she has been using in my daughters room? i would appreciate any advice. charlie s
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feral cat advice
- Thread starter charlie s
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You are absolutely doing nothing wrong by keeping Kitty in your daughter's room at the moment and separated from the other cats. Especially if that is where she has always felt safe and secure. I would keep her in there until her infection/stones are cleared up and you have definitely cleaned up that chair with a good enzyme soaking. The best I know of is NOK out or Stink Free (SF can be purchased at Petsmart) to really eliminate the urine bacteria and this is very important so Kitty doesn't go back there. I am sure once you can get a definite answer about possible stones causing this problem, you can resolve it easily and she will go back to using her box as usual.
If you have always had a litter box in your daughter's room for these last eight years, I would not take that one away if at all possible. Since, Kitty seems most comfortable in that room and is used to having the box in that room to use, I would keep it there. Eliminating that box might be cause for added stress for Kitty at this time and if you were to want to get rid of the box in your daughter's room, it would have to be done slowly and moved a few feet at a time out of that room over many days. Right now, I would concentrate on just getting her healthy, which you are doing, and not make any litter box changes at the moment. Keeping Kitty in her "safe" room is perfectly alright during her recovery and treatment of possible stones. Hope Kitty is feeling better real soon and you get your answer as to what is going on from your vet
If you have always had a litter box in your daughter's room for these last eight years, I would not take that one away if at all possible. Since, Kitty seems most comfortable in that room and is used to having the box in that room to use, I would keep it there. Eliminating that box might be cause for added stress for Kitty at this time and if you were to want to get rid of the box in your daughter's room, it would have to be done slowly and moved a few feet at a time out of that room over many days. Right now, I would concentrate on just getting her healthy, which you are doing, and not make any litter box changes at the moment. Keeping Kitty in her "safe" room is perfectly alright during her recovery and treatment of possible stones. Hope Kitty is feeling better real soon and you get your answer as to what is going on from your vet
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- #3
hi and TY for the post. I haven't always had a litter box in her room kitty always shared the laundry room cats boxes which i have several. i only put the box in my daughters room there because i needed to stop her from urinating on my chair and see if she indeed had any additional problems. hope that clarifys my situation. please feel free to advise
Ok, well since she has used the litter boxes in the laundry room in the past and only recently has a box been put in your daughter's room since the urinary tract issue then I surely think you could have her get back to using the boxes in that laundry room. Once she is completely free of any infection, I guess you are still waiting to go back for that second test??? then I would proceed this way.
#1 since she has been isolated in that room with the door shut for the time being and there has been that temporary box in there, you are going to have to move the box a few feet a day out of your daughter's room closer and closer to the laundry room. Once you move that litter box out of her room, put something large (like a dresser or some other piece of furniture, or a laundry hamper) over the empty spot where you had temporarily put that box. Just move the box into the hallway or just out the door for a day or two and then move it much closer to the laundry room for a day or two and then into the laundry room. Go and get some Cat Attract litter (Petsmart, Petco, sells it and maybe Targets/Walmarts?) and start using it the day before you are about to want to move that box out of your daughter's room. Empty half of the contents of that litter box and fill half with the Cat Attract. This will definitely help her to want to go to that box no matter where it is.
#2 Since she has always had the comfort of your daughter's room, I cannot advise you to just shut that door once you move that litter box into the hallway. She needs to have your daughter's room available to her like always. I see your predicament, you need to let her have the safety of retreating into your daughter's room without a litter box in there now. Eventually I will have the same issue with Magilla and her room. But I will have the option to close off that room entirely if I choose.
I understand that you were worried last week when she went on that chair to sit down and you shooed her down then she went in that room to use the box. Was it possible she was just really going to sit down or even lie down. Has she ever napped on that chair?? In not, Put something (large sorry
) on that chair right now just to keep her off of it for the time being and just take it away when you want to sit in that chair. This would just be temporary until you get the answers about her urinary health from the vet. You could start this right away if you want, since you said she only went once on that chair, right? So you could start leaving your daughter's room open again, leave the litter box in that room until you get the final tests done at the vet and everything is cleared up, then start moving that box using that Cat Attract litter. Gosh, I sure hope I have helped you
, but this is what I would do in this situation. She is a tame feral but still needs that small space of security to call her own, and has always had your daughter's room with no litter box as her safe room, then I see no problem with things going back to the way it was for eight years. I totally get that you don't want a litter box in there permanently and I see no reason why you should have to keep one in that room now. You are doing a great job with all of your cats and seem very concerned and want the best for them
. Keep up the posts and I want this to all work our for you
#1 since she has been isolated in that room with the door shut for the time being and there has been that temporary box in there, you are going to have to move the box a few feet a day out of your daughter's room closer and closer to the laundry room. Once you move that litter box out of her room, put something large (like a dresser or some other piece of furniture, or a laundry hamper) over the empty spot where you had temporarily put that box. Just move the box into the hallway or just out the door for a day or two and then move it much closer to the laundry room for a day or two and then into the laundry room. Go and get some Cat Attract litter (Petsmart, Petco, sells it and maybe Targets/Walmarts?) and start using it the day before you are about to want to move that box out of your daughter's room. Empty half of the contents of that litter box and fill half with the Cat Attract. This will definitely help her to want to go to that box no matter where it is.
#2 Since she has always had the comfort of your daughter's room, I cannot advise you to just shut that door once you move that litter box into the hallway. She needs to have your daughter's room available to her like always. I see your predicament, you need to let her have the safety of retreating into your daughter's room without a litter box in there now. Eventually I will have the same issue with Magilla and her room. But I will have the option to close off that room entirely if I choose.
I understand that you were worried last week when she went on that chair to sit down and you shooed her down then she went in that room to use the box. Was it possible she was just really going to sit down or even lie down. Has she ever napped on that chair?? In not, Put something (large sorry
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How is her behavior towards the other cats and theirs toward her? Is there tension? Or does she just seem uncomfortable/no confidence around them?
Stress contributes to urinary issues. a) because stress affecting the immune system and b) in a tense home making a cat avoid a litter box/hold urine.
You need to work on trying to get them tolerating each other or finally divide part of the house just to be her area.
If she can be reintroduced and allowed out, let her come out. But being a skittish cat she really needs her comfort zones. Let her have your daughter's room and leave the box in there. You may even want to try putting another box out in the rooms she does go into (like a living room). If all the litter boxes are in the same room it's like being forced to use the same bathroom as another person, together. Believe it or not, some cats need some privacy otherwise they won't pee - especially if they feel bullied by another cat.
Encourage her gently and let her decide her pace.
I hope she retest clean and is all better.
Stress contributes to urinary issues. a) because stress affecting the immune system and b) in a tense home making a cat avoid a litter box/hold urine.
You need to work on trying to get them tolerating each other or finally divide part of the house just to be her area.
If she can be reintroduced and allowed out, let her come out. But being a skittish cat she really needs her comfort zones. Let her have your daughter's room and leave the box in there. You may even want to try putting another box out in the rooms she does go into (like a living room). If all the litter boxes are in the same room it's like being forced to use the same bathroom as another person, together. Believe it or not, some cats need some privacy otherwise they won't pee - especially if they feel bullied by another cat.
Encourage her gently and let her decide her pace.
I hope she retest clean and is all better.
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- #6
wow thanks to all for all the good information. tonight i let kitty out of the room she really wants to be near my daughter (the one that brought her in). I would say at times there has been some tension between the cats. Kitty is not a fighter but will sit back and stare- or retreat. only two of the other cats bother with kitty one is the oldest (17yr old) who wants to remain boss and the youngest (5 yr old) that wants to play-and play and play. The dog is afraid of kitty- well tonight kitty is out of her room and about, no cats are bugging her. the next couple of days I 'll have lots of time to observe whats going on. we are waiting for the ultrasound appointment to rule out renal stones-the appointment is not for a week. other wise she is infection free and is eating the special urinary cat food. I'll keep you all posted . thank you again.
That is great that Kitty is out and about tonight! It sounds like all the cats seem to do fine with one another and you have a normal cat household. I was thinking about the litter box situation and do agree with strangewings that it might be a good idea to have an extra box somewhere other than the laundry room boxes. All the cats might appreciate another private area to choose to do their business. I have boxes located in three different areas of my house so if one cat is getting the look from someone else about that particular box they can choose to go to one of the other locations.
And the dog
, my dogs bow down to the cats too
. Pipsqueak makes sure of that
Let us know how Kitty is doing and how that ultrasound turns out
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- #8
hello again, i posted also on my old thread "need feral cat advice", here is an update. kittys ultrasound=sm blood clots and she is dxed with lower renal disease and cystitis. treated with antiinflams and special renal food from the vet.unfortunately the way my house is set up i was not able to move the box slowly to the outside of my daughters bedroom. this is what I did, i down sized the litter box in the bedroom with a smaller new box, moved the box kitty downstairs to the next closest room to the stairs. added another litter box to the laundry room. bought special cat attract litter and used as directed. plugged in feliway in kitty's room .kitty has been out and abut all over the house-no accidents. but not sure if kitty has been in laundry room cat boxes. The cat box in the bedroom was used only a few times. all 4 cats are using all the boxes-since they have run of the house. so what next? how long should i wait to move all the cat boxes together in the laundry room? should i move the feliway in the laundry room out of my daughters bedroom? i appreciate any advice.
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I'm sorry to hear that was her diagnosis.
But at least you know that she definitely couldn't help it.
Honestly, if this litter box layout is working for the cats - leave it be. The inconvenience of a litter box where you'd rather there not be one is better than cat urine on items you do not want peed on. Some concessions need to be made.
Personally, with my 7 cats in the house, I'd never try to group all of the boxes to one room. I've watched how some of them behave while using the litter box and how some of the others are too nosy and pushy for their own good. Spreading out the boxes gives the more nervous cats some semblance of privacy from the others.
Honestly, if this litter box layout is working for the cats - leave it be. The inconvenience of a litter box where you'd rather there not be one is better than cat urine on items you do not want peed on. Some concessions need to be made.
Personally, with my 7 cats in the house, I'd never try to group all of the boxes to one room. I've watched how some of them behave while using the litter box and how some of the others are too nosy and pushy for their own good. Spreading out the boxes gives the more nervous cats some semblance of privacy from the others.
I do think it is not wise to group all of the boxes together in one area. With multiple cats, one can be more dominant than another and might keep an insecure cat away from the boxes. Then you will have a problem with pee somewhere else. I understand you want the box out of your daughter's room, but isn't that where Kitty spends most of her time? Not sure moving that box would be a good idea unless you can close off your daughter's room for a few days until Kitty is consistently using the other two locations of boxes. As for the Feliway, you could move the plug-in to the laundry room. But I think I would leave it in your daughter's room especially since that is where Kitty spends most of her time anyway. Feliway doesn't need to be located near litter boxes, it needs to be where the cats mostly hang out together and helps with relaxation. There is also a Feliway spray you can use. It will last longer and is a bit cheaper than the plug-ins and you can spot spray areas. You have to spray every twelve hours because after that many hours, it dissipates. Sorry Kitty is not feeling well, and I hope the meds and new diet will help her out.
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- #11
YEAH
