Cat - Litterbox Problems

[Mr. Friendly]

As previously discussed, I have taken in a cat and am trying to get it acclimated. The cat has a good disposition and will make a good pet once it gets healthy.

Except for a single accident during the first 24 hours, she faithfully used the litterbox for two weeks and I was scooping on a daily basis. I unexpectedly had to leave town and left a friend to take care of her. My friend did prevent the cat from escaping outside and faithfully feed the cat every day...but my friend used the wet catfood and not the dry catfood like I had said. (I had bought a dozen cans of catfood when it was on sale, but hadn't decided what to do with them yet and they were just stored next to the bag of dry food.)

The worst thing was that my friend did not take care of the litterbox.
I came home to find the cat had just defecated twice in one area of the living room. I checked the litterbox and its condition was beyond nasty. When I pulled the litterbox out I see she had also been defacating on the floor behind the litterbox.

Obviously this was not good, but I am not going to get mad at my friend and I can't blame the cat. She had used the litterbox multiple times so it just bad circumstances and not just a breakdown in training. So I cleaned up everything, used Lysol and baking soda and other cleaning products, before setting up a completely fresh batch of kitty litter. Then I set about re-acclimating the cat to the dry cat food and giving her some attention to make up for my absence.

In the last 24 hours, the cat has ignored the fresh litter and continued to go behind the litter box along the back wall. Also, it is very messy and I don't know if that is all the food changes or environmental issues or what. I am beginning to suspect that the cleaning products might have disrupted the routine, but she is at least trying to use the correct area (near the litter box) so something is amiss but it is not complete breakdown in training.

Any suggestions? I am going to clean up the mess along the wall with water/paper towels and just rake through the kitty litter to freshen it up. What do I need to do to get things back on track here?

 

[Rosieace]

Hey, i saw something ,a spray or something , that you can buy to keep pets from going in any area you want. So go to the store and look , you will see it. I have a stray doggie too. Bye Rosieace

 

[Dagna]

Stick the cat in a bathroom with her litterbox, food & water. Leave her in there until she begins using the litterbox 100% again. Once that happens, you can begin to allow her more freedom, as long as she continues to use the litterbox. If she begins going elsewhere, go back to step one. Also make sure the area is well cleaned. You can buy cleaners at the petstore, but I know that you are on a budget, so you can also use vinegar to clean the area. It will completely remove all traces of the smell and not leave a strong smell itself once it dries.

 

[Mr. Friendly]

I am working on it...

 

[Mr. Friendly]

Thanks! I'm happy to say that things are going better. She is once again using the litter box, but...now she is kicking out a lot of (clean) Tidy Cat all over the floor. I don't think it is malicious. She is trying to bury but she didn't do this before.

Regardless, I will definitely make better arrangements and be better prepared if I need to leave town again.

 

[Ave Maria]

Thanks! I'm happy to say that things are going better. She is once again using the litter box, but...now she is kicking out a lot of (clean) Tidy Cat all over the floor. I don't think it is malicious. She is trying to bury but she didn't do this before.

Regardless, I will definitely make better arrangements and be better prepared if I need to leave town again.

It could be the kind of litter you're using. Sometimes cats don't like the particular texture of a certain kind of litter and so you might want to try a different kind. Also, are you using an enclosed litter box? They tend to keep the litter in better.

 

[Mr. Friendly]

Well, I could have sworn the litter box was big enough for her 4 weeks ago but yesterday I took another look. Either she has gotten a lot bigger or the box had gotten smaller.

(All kidding aside, she has gained some weight since she is no longer starved. She is also much more energetic.)

So tonight I went to the store and bought the giant-sized enclosed litter box. Here is the exact model for the sake of a picture:

http://shopping.lycos.co.uk/2225en0723-001.html

She has used the new box three times and there is no kickout with this larger model.

So that fixed all problems! Thank you all very much for helping.

Questions:

1. What was the name of the enzyme cleaner? It couldn't hurt to have some.

2. Can I use this new enclosed litter box as a makeshift carrier to take the cat to the vet? Just dump out the litter and seal off the window area once she is inside.

 

[_dj_]

hey that box looks great! my cat likes to spread the litter around aswell, might have to look fot one of those in australia!

 

[Dagna]

One of the best enzyme cleaners is called Nature's Miracle. I'm sure there are others, but that's the most common and the only one I've used. And about the carrier, have you checked out any of the Freecycle groups? The website is www.freecycle.org. I'm sure there's one in your area and you may be able to get a carrier for free. If that doesn't work out, some petstores will sell the cardboard carriers for less than $5. I suppose the litterbox could be used...but I can imagine it being a pain to deal with.

 

[Eagle_Wings]

I wouldn't use the litter box because the clips which keep the lid on the box are not very sturdy. They are not designed to hold together while carrying the cat around inside it. There is a recipe for a home made cleaner that works really well, I'll have to find mine and post it on here. I do know it contains vinegar and baking soda and you have to mix it at the time you are going to use it....it cannot be mixed ahead of time and stored. Nature's Miracle is good, but expensive. Anyplace that sells Nature's Miracle should also have Simple Solution. It works just as well as the Nature's Miracle but costs about 1/2 the price.

Glad to hear the kitty is doing better!

 

[Mr. Friendly]

_dj_ I bought mine at the local equivalent of Wal-Mart/K-Mart/Target. It was $14.

Yes, Freecycle could work! I will try to find a carrier through the nearest group. I have some stuff to give away so it will balance out.

I will check out Nature's Miracle or Simple Solution next time I am shopping. [font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
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Thanks and I think everything is handled now.

 

[mycatspice]

Have no fear! I have encountered this before! This is an easy and 100% effective (w/me and my friends)! Place aluminum foil (you know, like reynolds wrap) where the cat is, um, pooping. Cats hate the feel of walking on this material. I promise this works. Do not use spray! This is not only an unnessesary cost, but the cat needs to associate the spray w/bad behavior (so unless you have time to sit neat the litter box all day and spray when the cat has a bowel movement...) ... after a week or two you can remove the foil and you'll have no more trouble w/ this in the future (unless you feed her milk daily or have this wet food problem again) ... If this doesnt work I will be really surprised! God bless!

 

[mycatspice]

Have no fear! I have encountered this before! This is an easy and 100% effective (w/me and my friends)! Place aluminum foil (you know, like reynolds wrap) where the cat is, um, pooping. Cats hate the feel of walking on this material. I promise this works. Do not use spray! This is not only an unnessesary cost, but the cat needs to associate the spray w/bad behavior (so unless you have time to sit neat the litter box all day and spray when the cat has a bowel movement...) ... after a week or two you can remove the foil and you'll have no more trouble w/ this in the future (unless you feed her milk daily or have this wet food problem again) ... If this doesnt work I will be really surprised! God bless!

 

[Mr. Friendly]

Thank you, mycatspice. I will keep that in mind for the future if there is ever a problem.

 

[encouraging_angels1]

i used to have a cat, that always did this! clean cat litter.