My F2's inexplicable urine/litter behavior

[Rafiki]

OMG. Zombie cat in leopard spotted overalls.

 

[Becki]

I use the cat attract litter, clumps very well. I put quite a bit in the 3 sterilite containers for my 2 f2s. I don't have any of the issues you are describing, so I wonder if you might give it another shot? My male pees standing up (don't ask ) and I still don't have the stuff on the side like you described. All 3 boxes are scooped a few times daily, cleaned totally every other month with all fresh litter. Obviously I top off the litter in between soapy scrub downs. am not a fan of pine. I know we all have our preferences, but I think it is a mess and my cats don't like the texture. I don't feel any differently about the pellets for my horses, either!

 

[Myles]

I use the cat attract litter, clumps very well. I put quite a bit in the 3 sterilite containers for my 2 f2s. I don't have any of the issues you are describing, so I wonder if you might give it another shot? My male pees standing up (don't ask ) and I still don't have the stuff on the side like you described. All 3 boxes are scooped a few times daily, cleaned totally every other month with all fresh litter. Obviously I top off the litter in between soapy scrub downs. am not a fan of pine. I know we all have our preferences, but I think it is a mess and my cats don't like the texture. I don't feel any differently about the pellets for my horses, either!

I've scattered around 1/10 of the (large) bottle into the bottom of his rather thin line of pine litter for shits and giggles. We'll see if that has any impact. I have no issues trying since I already have it on the shelf and all. Will report back

 

[Patti]

Have you tried plain paper/newspaper in lieu of litter? I've heard of cats who suddenly stopped using litterboxes but would urinate on plain paper.

Also, I'm not sure a thin layer of pine litter is best unless that is what he seems to prefer. A deeper layer will allow the urine to sink down and the surface won't be as 'messy', which could potentially be one of the causes of his litterbox aversion.

 

[Myles]

Have you tried plain paper/newspaper in lieu of litter? I've heard of cats who suddenly stopped using litterboxes but would urinate on plain paper.

Also, I'm not sure a thin layer of pine litter is best unless that is what he seems to prefer. A deeper layer will allow the urine to sink down and the surface won't be as 'messy', which could potentially be one of the causes of his litterbox aversion.

I haven't tried plain newspaper, hadn't heard of this before (nor do I have newspaper handy granted).

I used to do thicker layers of pine, until the vet recommended I try various depths, and a thinner layer stuck when the results were consistent and it simply proved easier to clean.

My question is, do you think it's actual litter aversion? Or does he think he's actually being complaint with the rules of "pee in the box", if he stands outside and thinks he can pee inwards?

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

Have you ever tried a clear tote box without any hole cut in the side? Just wondering as you mention that you've seen him start to pee in the box then walk outwards and keep peeing... if he was somewhat confined in the box I wonder if he'd do that? The high sides of the tote would seem to not encourage him in the thinking he could stand outside the box and pee in either. A good sized tote box that had high sides but enough room for him to turn around in...it works well for many difficult kitties....your boy does sound unusual though!

 

[Dantes]

OMG, this sounds so familiar...you might search "Dante Ragdoll" for a little bit on my Dante, the Ragdoll.

My Dante also started out with a UTI that didn't exist. Working with several animal communicators, especially @Kristin -- in the end, the biggest clue we had was that he was trying to protect me from "other cats" which could have been actual other cats, but more likely squirrels (and in retrospect, some really vicious blackbirds too).

In cases like this, I wonder what would happen if you could somehow cover all the windows, so that he can't see the "potential invaders"? I couldn't do that due to a unique configuration in my condo, but in retrospect I wonder (appliques might have worked?).

What you wrote in the first post was, IMHO, obvious litterbox avoidance, in other words, "it hurts when I try to pee here, I want to be good but it hurts too much" but what you wrote later on sounds more like he's trying to protect you. It could even be a combo of the two.

I love the name Dante. It's awesome for a cat. I miss my Dante, he was rehomed to a place where he has NEVER peed and loves his new owner so much, but it makes me sad sometimes, or a lot. I'm glad that he's happy now, but I really wish he had been happy here. Although Duma is now Alpha, and I think he likes it

HTH

 

[Patti]

Having better results (I think that's what you mean by 'consistent results' may mean that he doesn't like stepping in the litter. You might try putting down newspaper, or better yet pee pads that will absorb the pee (I think you'll find that human pee pads are less expensive than puppy pee pads).

I also agree with Brigitte's suggestion about using a tote with a top entrance, however you may need to secure the box if you do it this way - I've had cats tip over some of my totes when jumping in so have my top entrance boxes either secured to the wall with bungee cords or behind the couch next to the wall so they can't tip over.

 

[Myles]

Having better results (I think that's what you mean by 'consistent results' may mean that he doesn't like stepping in the litter. You might try putting down newspaper, or better yet pee pads that will absorb the pee (I think you'll find that human pee pads are less expensive than puppy pee pads).

I also agree with Brigitte's suggestion about using a tote with a top entrance, however you may need to secure the box if you do it this way - I've had cats tip over some of my totes when jumping in so have my top entrance boxes either secured to the wall with bungee cords or behind the couch next to the wall so they can't tip over.

I may give that a go next (I want to try one thing at a time, till I find the magic mix as you might expect). How big do you usually go? I think with my "litter trough", I went straight to the hole cut in the side method. It was hard to find one with a relatively solid bottom (instead of ribbed/textured/etc.).

 

[Myles]

OMG, this sounds so familiar...you might search "Dante Ragdoll" for a little bit on my Dante, the Ragdoll.

My Dante also started out with a UTI that didn't exist. Working with several animal communicators, especially @Kristin -- in the end, the biggest clue we had was that he was trying to protect me from "other cats" which could have been actual other cats, but more likely squirrels (and in retrospect, some really vicious blackbirds too).

In cases like this, I wonder what would happen if you could somehow cover all the windows, so that he can't see the "potential invaders"? I couldn't do that due to a unique configuration in my condo, but in retrospect I wonder (appliques might have worked?).

What you wrote in the first post was, IMHO, obvious litterbox avoidance, in other words, "it hurts when I try to pee here, I want to be good but it hurts too much" but what you wrote later on sounds more like he's trying to protect you. It could even be a combo of the two.

I love the name Dante. It's awesome for a cat. I miss my Dante, he was rehomed to a place where he has NEVER peed and loves his new owner so much, but it makes me sad sometimes, or a lot. I'm glad that he's happy now, but I really wish he had been happy here. Although Duma is now Alpha, and I think he likes it

HTH

Dante has been confined to the 2nd floor of my house for several years now (due to renovation/construction, but also due to his behavior downstairs unattended). I do use some of the window "applications" (privacy frosting) on the lower half of a vertical double window. He can still see out the top, but to look down at the ground floor, he has to stand on his hind quarters at full reach, which he can't do for long.

I use a pair of Walmart wind-up mesh/fabric baby gates, with copper wires woven through the bottom one (around the perimeter), and coupled with a "scat mat" controller to control Dante's access to the ground floor. While cats may wander across the scat-mat, once you hook it up to some copper conductors that they have to actively push against to clear a gap, it's *considerably* more effective (side note, it's also at crotch-height, so your visitors can get a special surprise if you're not careful).