Home: 2 story home, no children. Quiet atmosphere. Tons of toys and a huge cat tree to lounge on.
Cats: 2 declawed cats- Igor/male/age 7 and Luna/female/age 4
Brief background: This January (2014) my husband and I adopted Luna, a partially deaf female cat from a shelter. She joined Igor, a very sweet male cat. We quarantined Luna to a large room to herself for two weeks with gradual introduction. Now both cats live with each other happily. Luna was in a foster home with children, dogs, and other animals who 'picked on her'. She was advertised as a 'non lap cat'. Within the 1st day of owning her, she got comfortable and is a HUGE lap cat. So when we moved her litter box downstairs, she had an accident. We figure she forgot where the box was and went where it was. So we physically took her down and showed her the basement. she used the box, and life was good.
Suddenly, a few months ago, she began to go outside of the box to poop and pee. The box had been moved inches away for a good floor sweeping.. was she confused?? I didnt know. But she continued to go outside of the box. After several weeks we took her to the vet to rule out medical issues, and she was treated for a UTI despite not being able to see if she had one. We quarantined her back to the large room and she used the box just fine.
Luna will use the box upstairs just fine, but likes to go into the basement and poop on the ground. I’ve physically scrubbed the entire vicinity with a brush and bleach, and used Nature's Miracle Urine Destroyer Stain and Residue Remover all over the basement.
We have 3 litter boxes, 2 covered, 1 not covered and she’s still doing this. Everything else about her is normal. I have never heard of a cat doing this. I’m thinking a last resort is locking the basement and moving the boxes upstairs in the living quarters. I’m beginning to suspect this may be why she was a stray in the first place.
Here's a list of all the things my husband and I have Tried:
-quarantined to one room (she uses it 100% successfully)
When not quarantined to one room we’ve tried:
-Special cat litter
-normal cat litter
-having 3 clean boxes (2 covered 1 uncovered)
-placing food and water near areas where she shouldn’t be going
-putting the waste into the box
-placing treats near the box
-physically placing her in the box
-treated by vet in case of UTI
-contacted the shelter for advice
-taken to the vet for advice
-routine box cleaning
I do not want to give up on this cat, but I don't want to deal with this for another 10 years. Does anyone have any new suggestions? I need an expert please. We've talked about surrendering her back to her rescue, but we really really don't want to. After 6 months of dealing with this, we have run out of ideas and we are getting burnt out.
Cats: 2 declawed cats- Igor/male/age 7 and Luna/female/age 4
Brief background: This January (2014) my husband and I adopted Luna, a partially deaf female cat from a shelter. She joined Igor, a very sweet male cat. We quarantined Luna to a large room to herself for two weeks with gradual introduction. Now both cats live with each other happily. Luna was in a foster home with children, dogs, and other animals who 'picked on her'. She was advertised as a 'non lap cat'. Within the 1st day of owning her, she got comfortable and is a HUGE lap cat. So when we moved her litter box downstairs, she had an accident. We figure she forgot where the box was and went where it was. So we physically took her down and showed her the basement. she used the box, and life was good.
Suddenly, a few months ago, she began to go outside of the box to poop and pee. The box had been moved inches away for a good floor sweeping.. was she confused?? I didnt know. But she continued to go outside of the box. After several weeks we took her to the vet to rule out medical issues, and she was treated for a UTI despite not being able to see if she had one. We quarantined her back to the large room and she used the box just fine.
Luna will use the box upstairs just fine, but likes to go into the basement and poop on the ground. I’ve physically scrubbed the entire vicinity with a brush and bleach, and used Nature's Miracle Urine Destroyer Stain and Residue Remover all over the basement.
We have 3 litter boxes, 2 covered, 1 not covered and she’s still doing this. Everything else about her is normal. I have never heard of a cat doing this. I’m thinking a last resort is locking the basement and moving the boxes upstairs in the living quarters. I’m beginning to suspect this may be why she was a stray in the first place.
Here's a list of all the things my husband and I have Tried:
-quarantined to one room (she uses it 100% successfully)
When not quarantined to one room we’ve tried:
-Special cat litter
-normal cat litter
-having 3 clean boxes (2 covered 1 uncovered)
-placing food and water near areas where she shouldn’t be going
-putting the waste into the box
-placing treats near the box
-physically placing her in the box
-treated by vet in case of UTI
-contacted the shelter for advice
-taken to the vet for advice
-routine box cleaning
I do not want to give up on this cat, but I don't want to deal with this for another 10 years. Does anyone have any new suggestions? I need an expert please. We've talked about surrendering her back to her rescue, but we really really don't want to. After 6 months of dealing with this, we have run out of ideas and we are getting burnt out.