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Cat Forum / Cat Anecdotes / January 2005Not using the litter box is funny in ways
We have this problem with at least one of the cats occasionally not using the litter box. We don't know which one, but one of them at least once a week decides to do his/her business in the laundry room. I've told my wife that I don't have any responsibility for this. I didn't want the cats inside; for years whatever cats we had lived outside, and I built an insulated and heated cat house for them. But she and the kid decided, a few years ago, to invite the cats inside. She claims whichever one that does it is doing it because the laundry room is warmer. I say its because they like the fact that her and the kid leave socks on the laundry room floor (usually, the stuff is covered by a sock). In any case, I'm not going to clean it up. She won't clean it up until its hard, which is not acceptable to me. Her excuse is that waiting until its hard makes it easier to pick up, as she says, like a man in a bar. in article ewio3982cvxm-a-troll-but-true@news.catpoop.c0m, Brian F. Nevercene at bfnevercene@spamblock.yahoo.com.invalid wrote on 1/23/05 10:54AM: > We have this problem with at least one of the cats occasionally > not using the litter box. We don't know which one, but one [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > is that waiting until its hard makes it easier to pick up, as > she says, like a man in a bar. You realize the solution is to put a small litter box in that room? ["Followup-To:" header set to rec.pets.cats.anecdotes.] On 2005-01-23, Karen Chuplis penned: > in article ewio3982cvxm-a-troll-but-true@news.catpoop.c0m, Brian F. > Nevercene at bfnevercene@spamblock.yahoo.com.invalid wrote on 1/23/05 [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] >> > You realize the solution is to put a small litter box in that room? Actually, I think the problem is that he's writing to cat groups about a power struggle in his relationship. "I'm not going to clean it up ... not accepatable to me ... her excuse is ..." Sounds like my reaction to my freshman roommate, only I've grown up a bit since then. Somewhere along the line, I think this family lost sight of the idea that a family is a team. Sad, really.  Signaturemonique, roommate of Oscar the (female) grouch ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Eros was adopted! Eros has a home now! *cheer!* >Actually, I think the problem is that he's writing to cat groups about a power >struggle in his relationship. "I'm not going to clean it up ... not >accepatable to me ... her excuse is ..." Sounds like my reaction to my >freshman roommate, only I've grown up a bit since then. Somewhere along the >line, I think this family lost sight of the idea that a family is a team. >Sad, really. You're right concerning this issue... there's one of us pulling alone here. >Actually, I think the problem is that he's writing to cat groups about a power >struggle in his relationship. "I'm not going to clean it up ... not >accepatable to me ... her excuse is ..." Sounds like my reaction to my >freshman roommate, only I've grown up a bit since then. Somewhere along the >line, I think this family lost sight of the idea that a family is a team. >Sad, really. Having taken a day to think about your comments, I decided to respond to all the original groups, as I think there has been a bit of an insult here. Yes, there is a teamwork problem. Maybe I'm being too sensitive, but it clearly seems you're pointing the finger at me. Yet under the original plan of having outside cats, this was not a problem. Under the secondary plan of not having stray socks in the laundry room, this is not a problem (there is 100% correlation between socks and cat doo doo). Since it appears the idea of woman's work and the unwillingness of men to cooperate is about to come up, let me say in advance that I do my own laundry and half the grocery shopping. They are not exempt from man's work - they both take their cars in themselves for oil changes. But I think you're possibly guilty of an automatic "you (the man) are wrong". ["Followup-To:" header set to rec.pets.cats.anecdotes.] On 2005-01-25, Brian F. Nevercene penned: >>Actually, I think the problem is that he's writing to cat groups about a > power [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > Yes, there is a teamwork problem. Maybe I'm being too sensitive, but it > clearly seems you're pointing the finger at me. Well, I have no input from the rest of your family ... all I know is what you've shared. What concerns me is your wording. I don't know you, but when I related it to my freshman college experience, I was being quite literal. We were both only children, and the transition to living in close quarters with another person was brutal, even though we were friends already. What I recall is passive-aggressive wars in which the entire floor would be covered in newspapers because we each felt it was the other's turn to pick them up. Silly stuff like that. Fast forward to my married life. Yes, in general, the person who didn't cook is supposed to clean the dishes, but sometimes it doesn't work out that way. Yes, in general, Oscar is my responsibility, but if DH comes home to a pile of barf or other disaster, he cleans it up. In other words, flexibility. Or, to quote my mother, "Marriage is never 50/50. Sometimes it's 60/40, other times 20/80, but it's never even." Which is not to say that our relationship is always peaches and cream, but we try to work it out. There are a lot of people who post to cat newsgroups about inappropriate elimination. Most of them don't mention their family politics. All of that being said, the conclusion I drew from a couple of paragraphs may be entirely wrong, and even if I'm spot on, that still doesn't mean that you invited me to comment on your family life. I apologize for sticking my nose where it doesn't belong. Fortunately, Oscar has thus far been a fastidious litterbox user, so I have little to contribute to your original question. When she was a kitten, she had a bacterial infection and couldn't make it to the litterbox in time. When she was an adult, she avoided the litterbox once because I'd put her carrier right next to the box, and apparently she was so terrified of the carrier she wouldn't go near it. That time it was very obvious that she was agitated and looking for a place to go; unfortunately, I didn't figure out the problem in time. And when another cat was living with us, she was so terrified of him that she peed in the bathroom rather than try to get past him. She was nice about it, though; she peed on the bath mat and actually folded the corner over. There *was* a suspicious smell on the waterproof liner of my motorcycle pants once, but they weren't wet and I'd left them lying on the floor for a really long time (don't ride when I expect it to rain, anyway). If it was indeed Oscar, she never repeated the performance on any of my other clothing, and I am definitely not the best at picking clothes up and putting them away. I don't think she's ever pooped in the wrong place, except for when she was afraid to leave the room because of the other cat. > Yet under the original plan of having outside cats, this was not a problem. > Under the secondary plan of not having stray socks in the laundry room, this > is not a problem (there is 100% correlation between socks and cat doo doo). I like the second plan. I'm sorry it's meeting with resistance on the home front. A thought does occur to me. Cats will often pee on soft surfaces when they're experiencing urinary tract distress, and it's a sure sign to take them to a vet. Granted, iirc, your cat is pooping, not peeing, but I wonder if there could be some sort of correlation there ... [muses] Or maybe you could put the stray socks in the litter box to help him out ... Er, that's just a joke, folks. > Since it appears the idea of woman's work and the unwillingness of men to > cooperate is about to come up, let me say in advance that I do my own > laundry and half the grocery shopping. Didn't come up in my brain. > They are not exempt from man's work - they both take their cars in > themselves for oil changes. But I think you're possibly guilty of an > automatic "you (the man) are wrong". Not thus far. Signaturemonique, roommate of Oscar the (female) grouch ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Eros was adopted! Eros has a home now! *cheer!* >You realize the solution is to put a small litter box in that room? Uh... No... Really? I'll try it. Bless you. My cat does this weird thing where he sits in the litter tray, and then poos over the side, but still tries to bury it, thus getting the litter all over the place, very attractive not! > We have this problem with at least one of the cats occasionally > not using the litter box. We don't know which one, but one [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > is that waiting until its hard makes it easier to pick up, as > she says, like a man in a bar. [[My cat does this weird thing where he sits in the litter tray, and then poos over the side, but still tries to bury it, thus getting the litter all over the place, very attractive not!]] A. Ditto to the suggestion that another litterbox be placed in the laundry room. Good idea. B. My cat Harmony (RB) used to miss the box sometimes when she moved her bowels. She'd be in the box, but misjudge her aim, causing the BM to land outside the box. My solution for that was to get hooded cat boxes. Then, no matter where she aimed her nether end, the output would remain inside the box. Donna, Captain, and Stanley > My cat does this weird thing where he sits in the litter tray, and then poos > over the side, but still tries to bury it, thus getting the litter all over > the place, very attractive not! oh, Mimi does that sometimes - hangs her pootsie over the side and pees or poops. She's old and dementia is setting in, so I forgive her... -L. >> My cat does this weird thing where he sits in the litter tray, and > then poos [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > or poops. She's old and dementia is setting in, so I forgive her... > -L. I'm glad you do. My cats like to do their stuff outside. I don't even own a litter box. When Boyfriend had to go for his snip, in the summer, the vet told me to keep him in overnight in case he didn't turn up for his appointment in the morning ;-) This meant keeping Kitty in as well. I had only a round washing up bowl spare for this kind of use, and no cat litter, so I filled it with soil (dirt) from the garden and left it in the kitchen overnight and kept them both inside. When I got up BF said he needed to go out *really* urgently and sat at the door and miaowed. I refused him. I never refuse him to go out, and he was startled and amazed. He thought I hadn't understood his request. He sat at the back door and miaowed even louder, said he was bursting. I said no again. He said please, please, please. I said no. I felt terrible. In the end, he looked at the washing up bowl with the soil in it. It was not quite big enough. So he put his front feet outside of it, and his backside safely in there to pee, which he did, for at least two minutes because he'd been holding himself. (couldn't you just love him for that?) Fortunately that's the only time he's had to do this, he likes the outdoors to do what he needs to do. He can do this now. stroll around in the approx 5 acres he's laid claim to. He is very anxious to go out a lot to put his scent everywhere on it, takes him an hour each time. He is quite ambitious to have all this land. Black kitty (stranger, enemy) wants some of it too. They fight. BF only wins if I hear them and go outside, then black kitty runs away with BF after him (when meowmie is behind *him*!!) BF isn't quite old enough to fight for territory against very mature cats, but he does try, especially if his meowmie stands at the door urging him on. That makes him very brave indeed. Tweed |
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