Strange new smells causing litterbox problems?

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Zorin the Lynx - 29 Aug 2004 13:43 GMT

Yesterday was my first day volunteering at an animal sanctuary. They
have tigers, cougars, a black bear, etc... Overall a great experience,
but it left me coming home with LOTS of new smells on me that my cat has
never smelled before.

He was apparently overwhelmed by the scents and avoided me when I came
home until I took a shower; that was expected. However, all was fine
until this morning, when I discovered two small turds on the floor
several feet away from his litterbox.

Lynxie has NEVER gone outside his box before in his life. This is the
first time.

Can a strange new smell cause this behavior? Should I take him to the
vet and have him checked out, or just wait and see if the behavior
continues? The turds looked healthy, they were just not where they were
supposed to be! I haven't seen any other evidence of mischief. His
behavior doesn't seem too unusual, either. He's as playful as ever.

Help is appreciated.... Thanks!

-Z

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PawsForThought - 29 Aug 2004 14:45 GMT

>From: Zorin the Lynx yakko@zorin.org

>Yesterday was my first day volunteering at an animal sanctuary. They
>have tigers, cougars, a black bear, etc...

>However, all was fine
>until this morning, when I discovered two small turds on the floor
>several feet away from his litterbox.

>The turds looked healthy, they were just not where they were
>supposed to be! I haven't seen any other evidence of mischief. His
>behavior doesn't seem too unusual, either. He's as playful as ever.
>
>Help is appreciated.... Thanks!

Well.....I would take a guess that Lynxie was overwhelmed with the animal
smells and is marking his territory via the poo. How to stop this behavior
though would be the real question. Is there any way you can shower before you
come home, does the sanctuary have a shower there?

Lauren
________
See my cats: http://community.webshots.com/album/56955940rWhxAe
Raw Diet Info: http://www.holisticat.com/drjletter.html
http://www.geocities.com/rawfeeders/ForCatsOnly.html
Declawing Info: http://www.wholecatjournal.com/articles/claws.htm

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Karen Chuplis - 29 Aug 2004 19:13 GMT

>> From: Zorin the Lynx yakko@zorin.org
>
[quoted text clipped - 22 lines]
> http://www.geocities.com/rawfeeders/ForCatsOnly.html
> Declawing Info: http://www.wholecatjournal.com/articles/claws.htm

And wear a different pair of shoes INto the house. Keep them in the car and
keep the other shoes in the car. Maybe a set of overalls over your clothes
that you shed before you come into the house will also help.

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MaryL - 29 Aug 2004 15:07 GMT

> Yesterday was my first day volunteering at an animal sanctuary. They
> have tigers, cougars, a black bear, etc... Overall a great experience,
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
>
> -Z

In addition to what Lauren said: are you sure Lynxie used the floor instead
of the litter box? It's likely, given the sequence of events you described,
but it is also possible that it is a coincidence because you mentioned two
"small" turds. Are you sure they didn't get caught in his fur and then drop
off as he left the litter box? This will sometimes happen, especially with
long-haired cats.

MaryL

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Brigitte - 29 Aug 2004 18:26 GMT

> > Yesterday was my first day volunteering at an animal sanctuary. They
> > have tigers, cougars, a black bear, etc... Overall a great experience,
[quoted text clipped - 16 lines]
>
> MaryL

My cats sometimes inadvertently sling their turds outside the litterbox
while "digging" around in the litter. Is it possible this is what could
have happened?

Brigitte

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Mary - 29 Aug 2004 18:17 GMT

> Yesterday was my first day volunteering at an animal sanctuary. They
> have tigers, cougars, a black bear, etc... Overall a great experience,
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> until this morning, when I discovered two small turds on the floor
> several feet away from his litterbox.

OMG! Mama (or Papa, I can't tell) smells like something that will EAT
Lynxie!

> Lynxie has NEVER gone outside his box before in his life. This is the
> first time.
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
> supposed to be! I haven't seen any other evidence of mischief. His
> behavior doesn't seem too unusual, either. He's as playful as ever.

Maybe he's just letting MamaBear or PapaLynx know whose
territory it is. But I think I would get myself into the shower
before touching anything when returning from the shelter. It
sounds really cool. Where are you?

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Zorin the Lynx - 30 Aug 2004 03:51 GMT

> Maybe he's just letting MamaBear or PapaLynx know whose
> territory it is. But I think I would get myself into the shower
> before touching anything when returning from the shelter. It
> sounds really cool. Where are you?

I'm in South Florida and just started volunteering at Vanishing Species
Wildlife. Today I played with 3 month old tiger cubs and a 6 month old
cougar cub. It was an incredible experience.

Of course, Lynxie decided he hates my guts when I got home for a few
hours, even though I showered twice to get the smell off me. It's
annoying that in order to visit these magnificent wildcats, that I have
to unsettle the relationship with my own cat.

Maybe he'll get used to it eventually.. but considering that I'm only
going to be able to volunteer at most twice a month, maybe three
times... It may be too seldom for him to become accustomed to my coming
home with these scents. Straight to the shower, I suppose...

-Zorin

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Mary - 30 Aug 2004 18:52 GMT

> > Maybe he's just letting MamaBear or PapaLynx know whose
> > territory it is. But I think I would get myself into the shower
[quoted text clipped - 16 lines]
>
> -Zorin

Sounds like a good plan! Hopefully he will figure it out and
stop leaving "gifts" outside the litter box. What a great volunteer
activity! Good for you! (Can we maybe see some photos??!)

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