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Zara gone wild..

Brigitte Cowell

Brigitte Cowell

Moderator
Staff member
Sharde' said:
I have not even heard of them. What do they do? My mom doesn't want to spay them until
they have one litter apparently it mellows them out or something?
Click to expand...
This is not true in my experience...in fact the opposite seems true. For my cats once they've had a litter they can be much more determined and assertive in personality so you just might end up with more issues than less. I recommend you spay them asap.

Another thing to consider is how you are cleaning up the pee and poop... as well as what litter and litterboxes you are using. A good enzyme cleaner is essential, and not using bleach or ammonia-based cleaning products. Many folk think they need to clean with bleach to make it sanitary but it can often attract a cat to pee where the trace odor of bleach remains. So use bleach on your litterboxes only! Maybe try Cat Attract litter in your boxes and make sure they are large and uncovered boxes and that you have more than one available and even in more than one location in the house. As Paige says, there is already a lot of information on this forum about litterbox issues...
 
Nitro

Nitro

and his servant, Paul
Similar problem here. Nitro has made my bedroom (which is in between his bathroom and the rest of the house) a disaster site - I'm still using a black flashlight and UV glasses to find where his mistakes have happened. He now gets quarantined in the bathroom twice a day until he has a non-"accident", and then gets his freedom.

The female of the house is most definitely fixed, so I don't think there's any relationship here. Does anyone have recommendations for how I can discourage him from using my bedroom as his litter box? Five weeks of sleeping on the couch is getting kind of old...
 
M

Medesha

Savannah Super Cat
Nitro said:
Similar problem here. Nitro has made my bedroom (which is in between his bathroom and the rest of the house) a disaster site - I'm still using a black flashlight and UV glasses to find where his mistakes have happened. He now gets quarantined in the bathroom twice a day until he has a non-"accident", and then gets his freedom.

The female of the house is most definitely fixed, so I don't think there's any relationship here. Does anyone have recommendations for how I can discourage him from using my bedroom as his litter box? Five weeks of sleeping on the couch is getting kind of old...
Click to expand...

What kind of litter do you use, and what kind of litter box?

Sometimes a cat just hates the litter you're using, and a more fine/coarse one will suit them better. Have you tried switching them up? Also, I've heard there's some kind of litter (Feliattract?) that draws them to use it. Maybe you could look into it.

Nitro might be having issues with the kind of litterbox you're using. Is it covered or open air? I have one of those tilt-to-clean covered ones for the outside kitties I put into the garage at night, but only two of them use it. The third, Dani absolutely refuses to go into it; the first two cats have been using that covered litter box since they were kittens, but Dani's owner had an open air one, and I guess she doesn't like the feeling of confinement. And it can't smell too nice in there even though I clean it frequently- I should probably just take the top off and get used to sweeping for the rest of forever.
 
Nitro

Nitro

and his servant, Paul
Medesha said:
What kind of litter do you use, and what kind of litter box?
Click to expand...

Haha, well, I'm sure it is the litter box situation, but it's one of those "I'm not going to budge" situations. I'm trying to toilet train him (my other two cats are already toilet trained), but he had numerous accidents in the bedroom, enough that he has somewhat associated that room with "this is my bathroom". While I think I've figured out how to get him to use the toilet, I'm looking for measures to remove the association.

Also, the kitty litter is (now) Swheat Scoop. It's one of the few flushable litters I've discovered.
 
M

Medesha

Savannah Super Cat
Oh, right. I remember from that toilet training thread.

Maybe you're moving a bit too fast? I got ahead of myself and cut out two rings out of the cittykitty at once and Vakai wouldn't use it. Can you go back a step?

BACK ON TOPIC- spay those kitties, the longer they go without getting spayed the greater their chances are for contracting several different kinds of cancers. They do not need to have a litter for any behavioral reason, spaying them should stop the spraying, and if you don't, finding homes for the babies might be more difficult than you think.

Also, I'd be a bit concerned that someone sold you a cat not caring if you breed it or not...
 
M

MK Anderson

Guest
I'm thinking spaying them might solve your problem. not sure what having a litter has to do with mellowing them out....I would think spaying them would do the trick, but I'm not a breeder and could be wrong.
 
M

MK Anderson

Guest
how many litter boxes do you have? are they covered or no cover on? have you changed the litter type?
 
Brigitte Cowell

Brigitte Cowell

Moderator
Staff member
Nitro said:
Similar problem here. Nitro has made my bedroom (which is in between his bathroom and the rest of the house) a disaster site - I'm still using a black flashlight and UV glasses to find where his mistakes have happened. He now gets quarantined in the bathroom twice a day until he has a non-"accident", and then gets his freedom.

The female of the house is most definitely fixed, so I don't think there's any relationship here. Does anyone have recommendations for how I can discourage him from using my bedroom as his litter box? Five weeks of sleeping on the couch is getting kind of old...
Click to expand...
You don't mention what enzyme cleaner you are using to clean the "mistakes" with after you find them with your blacklight and glasses... if he repeatedly goes in one location you could temporarily move a litterbox there to see if that helps.
Also Cat Attract litter is said to really work... it's clay-based and I don't like clay litters but it is better than not using the box! Once he's doing good again you can wean back onto the Swheat Scoop.

You might also have to accept he does not want to be toilet trained... individual cats have different preferences and while some might accept this others may not. We tried years ago and our few Savannahs went for it but our older domestic cat rebelled and was adamant about not doing this...then we got a Savannah kitten that thought an open toilet bowl was a wading pool and that ended that! LOL!
 
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