Retrain a cat to use the litterbox

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techie101 - 27 Mar 2006 16:53 GMT

We have a problem with at least one of our cats not using the litter box to
do "Number 2", she will urinate in the box but when it comes to the other
she does it in the floor around the box.

A little background info: We have four cats in a house with about 1500 sq.
ft. of living space. Petra is the violator here, she is about 10 years old
and weighs about 15 pounds. After we had Petra for about 5 years we adopted
Cleo and they lived together fine for about 2 or 3 years with no issues
(sharing litter box, food bowl, etc). Then a year or so after we moved into
this house we found a kitten in pretty bad shape, hiding in the bushes
outside our house and took her in to take care of her and eventually adopted
her as well. Petra and Cleo never really bonded with Connie (cat #3) and
this is when Petra started using the floor instead of the box. We have now
rescued another little kitten, Leela, however the issue hasn't really gotten
worse. We believe it to be that Petra doesn't want to share a box with other
cats (except for Cleo) so we've tried to get multiple boxes. This doesn't
work however because the other cats just use whatever box they want to use.
I believe it's gotten to the point now that Petra doesn't even check the
status of a box when she needs to go, she just goes on the floor.

We currently have two boxes downstairs and an automatic box upstairs. The
automatic box is almost too small for the "Portly Petra" to fit into but
we've seen her do it.

We are seriously considering having a baby in the next year or so, but I
would like to fix this problem before we do since it obviously lowers the
quality of the air in the house.

Anyone have any ideas? Any thing would be greatly appreciated!

-Matt

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Anna - 27 Mar 2006 19:10 GMT

>We have a problem with at least one of our cats not using the litter box to
>do "Number 2", she will urinate in the box but when it comes to the other
[quoted text clipped - 25 lines]
>
>Anyone have any ideas? Any thing would be greatly appreciated!

Tough one. All of I can think of is to scoop the boxes multiple times per
day so that they rarely have anything in them. Maybe Petra will start to go
in them again if they're scrupulously clean. Don't know how high you fill
the box but you could try adding more litter. I recall someone on here
having the same problem as you, cat peeing in the box but pooping elsewhere.
She said since she started adding more litter, her cat began pooping in the
box again. Another thing is you could try is putting a bigger box upstairs
for her to fit into; she may feel uncomfortable in the small box. One
without a roof might be the type she prefers.

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Lesley - 31 Mar 2006 14:59 GMT

. Don't know how high you fill

> the box but you could try adding more litter. I recall someone on here
> having the same problem as you, cat peeing in the box but pooping elsewhere.
> She said since she started adding more litter, her cat began pooping in the
> box again.

That was me! I tried multiple boxes and everything I could think of and
then one day as I was filling the tray I got distracted and put about
half as much again in as I usually did.

>From that day on Sarrasine has been good (Once or twice when the box

needs cleaning but that's my fault) but we had to get a high sided tray
because she likes to kick litter about (and build little pyramids to
hide her evidence)

Lesley

Slave of the Fabulous Furballs

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Jay - 31 Mar 2006 01:27 GMT

Training the cat to use the litter box is sometime an easy task. Take
the cat a couple times a day to the litter box to let them know that
they are able to be in there. Show them that they are able to dig
around in the litter. A short time after the cat has eaten in the
morning and evening take the cat to the litter box

Cat will associate eating and going potty as a good behavior. If a cat
does make a mess on the floor do not rub it nose in it as you can hurt
them and they will not know what you are try to accomplish. Take the
cat right to the litter box for them to know that this is where they
should be. Remember when training rewards are great tools for getting a
cat to associate that they are doing a good job.

If you are not having good results in training your cat to use the
liter box, there are a couple of things to look at. Put some catnip in
the box as this scent is that cats love and will attracted them to the
catnip. On the other hand, you may have to call your local vet to get
some tips or have the cat go in and see the vet. If a cat is sick or
ill, they will not be willing to participate with the training.

www.qualitycatfurniture.com
Jason

> We have a problem with at least one of our cats not using the litter box to
> do "Number 2", she will urinate in the box but when it comes to the other
[quoted text clipped - 27 lines]
>
> -Matt

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