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Cat Forum / General Topics / August 2006Cat behavior problems
Hello - This is my first post here, so please bear with me. We have 2 cats we got from Animals in Distress, a local no-kill animal shelter. We have had them since November of last year. One is male, one is female. Both are fixed, and the male is declawed. Lately, the male has been using the dining room as his litter box. It has only been fecal matter at this point, but we do not know why he does this. There is no rhyme or reason to it. Originally we thought it happened when we came home from volunteering at the same shelter that we got him from. We have not gone there in weeks, and the problem continues.It is not every day, but we need to put a stop to it. Any ideas what may constitute such behavior in a cat? We give him the same attention as the female, the litter box is clean. We are at our wit's end, and seriously thinking about taking him back to the shelter (they have an agreement that if for any reason you need to get rid of an animal you've adopted, you take them back there. Thank you in advance, Chris Ok Chris Here goes some questions and advice. But please don't take the furball back for something like this it can be a simple problem to correct Are you positive it is only the male? Have you really cleaned the area where the cat is going at? Try Nature's Miracle ( pet store ) or urine gone ( cheapest on eBay ) Has the cat been checked for medical problems? You need medical problems ruled out before behavioral problems can be dealt with Is there any new stress in the house such as new furniture, other new pets etc? Is there only one box if so you have two cats you need 3 to 5 boxes at least 2 boxes per cat. Have you changed kitty litter brand? Changed diet or food brand? Lets try these first than we can move on :) > Hello - > [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] > > Chris > Ok Chris Here goes some questions and advice. But please don't > take the furball back for something like this it can be a simple [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > > Lets try these first than we can move on :) One more thing: You mention that the male is declawed. Some declawed cats have pain (real or phantom) and it hurts them to dig to bury their poop - hence the avoidance of the litterbox when pooping. They don't bury pee, so he doesn't associate pee with pain, so he still pees in the litterbox. >> Hello - >> [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] >> >> Chris Thank you for the reply. I have answered the questions below: > Are you positive it is only the male? Yes. I have seen him in the avt (the end of the act, but the act nevertheless) > Have you really cleaned the area where the cat is going at? Try > Nature's Miracle ( pet store ) or urine gone ( cheapest on eBay ) Have cleaned the area, but not with the products you mentioned here. Perhaps that would make a difference? > Has the cat been checked for medical problems? You need medical problems > ruled out before behavioral problems can be dealt with He had a regular veterinare visit about a month ago. No problems were detected, but the occurances have gotten more increased since then. > Is there any new stress in the house such as new furniture, other new > pets etc? Nothing new. We got both cats at the same time, and he was in a room with many other cats at the shelter, so he is used to other cats. > Is there only one box if so you have two cats you need 3 to 5 boxes at > least 2 boxes per cat. We have 2 litter boxes. Both are in the same area. I though about a littler box in the dining room, but it does not really appeal to us. > Have you changed kitty litter brand? Changed diet or food brand? We have not changed litter brands. We use Tidy Cat multi cat, which is what was used in the shelter, to the best of my knowledge. We do change out the food every now and then. Would this create a problem? > Lets try these first than we can move on :) We would love to move on :-) In an answer to the other response...today I came home and found urine in the same area. He is associating this area with his going to the bathroom. It is usually in the same area. I will clean it again and see what happens. The poop I can sort of deal with (but my wife is really mad about it). Urine is another matter altogether. Thank you for the replies! Chris >> Hello - >> [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] >> >> Chris I'm a top poster so hope that is acceptable. I had a male cat who started pooping in an area where he knew I could not miss it (in front of the door to go outside). At first I thought he was having a late reaction to an addition of a second cat 6 months before. When it continued I took him to the vet (he had his usual yearly checkup and shots before this) and it was discovered he had a urine infection. The vet told me that since cats can't obviously talk to say they are in pain, they will do something else to get your attention. So I agree with the suggestion of another trip to the vet with him. BTW just found this group :-) T > Thank you for the reply. I have answered the questions below: > [quoted text clipped - 74 lines] >>> >>> Chris Welcome to the group top post all you like it make no difference to me some may not like it but that is them > I'm a top poster so hope that is acceptable. I had a male cat who started > pooping in an area where he knew I could not miss it (in front of the door [quoted text clipped - 84 lines] >>>> >>>> Chris thanks:-) btw I am owned by rescue cat Newbie who is part Siamese and has all the characteristics that go with that breed. I got him after I had one cat Buddy already from the animal shelter and Newbie made his life a living hell until he died of thyroid disease. When I had both of them I got talked into taking in a little female Prancer who was beautiful and later learned to my surprise that females are dominant! She ruled the roost and even Newbie was afraid of her. I found out after the fact that she was a feral cat who had been able to be tamed enough for just one person so when I tried to find another home for her it was very difficult. The animal shelter wouldn't take her because I was honest about her history. It almost came down to euthanasia which I am very much against but I also felt the 'boys' needed to be happy also. Now the story takes a good twist - my vet agreed to put her to sleep as agreed with my decision and understood the dilemma, brought her in to him in a cat carrier. He got a blanket to 'control' her and take a look at her because he said he might be able to find her a home in a new barn he was building for his animals. While he went to get the blanket, I said "Prancer, this is your only chance so make the best of it!" She listened so well that when he came back, opened the carrier door she walked out, rolled on her back and let him rub her stomach - something she never allowed! He laughed and said she'll do fine in the barn and he would put her in first, (that is when I learned females are dominant) because he said his other cats in the 'old' barn were males. T > Welcome to the group > top post all you like it make no difference to me some may not like it > but that is them Cats know more than you think ;-) > thanks:-) btw I am owned by rescue cat Newbie who is part Siamese and has > all the characteristics that go with that breed. I got him after I had [quoted text clipped - 24 lines] >> top post all you like it make no difference to me some may not like it >> but that is them oh believe me I agree! I have cats all my life (and I'm a great granny) and each of them had their own unique personalities - T > Cats know more than you think ;-) > [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] >>> top post all you like it make no difference to me some may not like it >>> but that is them All it takes is to look at my display email which is fake of course due to trolls and idiots but I am a cat slave and proud to serve says it all :) > oh believe me I agree! I have cats all my life (and I'm a great granny) > and each of them had their own unique personalities - T [quoted text clipped - 28 lines] >>>> top post all you like it make no difference to me some may not like >>>> it but that is them > All it takes is to look at my display email which is fake of course due to > trolls and idiots but I am a cat slave and proud to serve says it all :) Interestingly the email address I display is the email that works and although I do receive some amount of junk mail it takes me only a few seconds a day to rescue the occasional "real" letter from the junk.  SignatureJames Leo Ryan ..... Austin, Texas ..... taliesinsoft@mac.com >> All it takes is to look at my display email which is fake of course due >> to [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > seconds > a day to rescue the occasional "real" letter from the junk. The trolls and spambots are the one I do the fake email for. Plus If I want someone to contact myself I give them the email it saves the hassle of worrying about security on my server that is synced with my office and stores > James Leo Ryan ..... Austin, Texas ..... taliesinsoft@mac.com > Is there only one box if so you have two cats you need 3 to 5 boxes > at least 2 boxes per cat. Is this a general rule of thumb? We have two cats, one large box, and a *very* small apartment. And no problems with them going outside the box. SignatureMark D. McKean - The Quantum Panda - qpanda@quantumpanda.com >> Is there only one box if so you have two cats you need 3 to 5 boxes >> at least 2 boxes per cat. > > Is this a general rule of thumb? We have two cats, one large box, and a > *very* small apartment. And no problems with them going outside the box. Some cats are differnet Mark a box might be fine for your two I have a had a box for 3 at one time but general rule 2 boxes per cat at least Now with a pack of 6 multiple boxes are needed > Mark D. McKean - The Quantum Panda - qpanda@quantumpanda.com Thank you for all the replies. So far we have changed the litter, moved the two litter boxes further apart, and added a third box in the basement. 7 days now and no problems in the dining room. Crossing fingers but it seems to be under control. Time will tell, but thank you all for the ideas. Chris > Hello - > [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] > > Chris You are welcome Good luck > Thank you for all the replies. So far we have changed the litter, moved > the two litter boxes further apart, and added a third box in the basement. [quoted text clipped - 33 lines] >> >> Chris |
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