About To Start Crate Training For My Extremely Litter Box Averse Cat

[foxxycat]

It could very well be the dogs. Even though she plays with them maybe she needs her own time out room for potty. Also my cats have 3 boxes-I have 2. The third one rarely gets used but I leave it down anyways. The stress from the dogs could have been the cause of the peeing all over the house-or just can't hold it to get to the box because the dogs are in the way. I know it causes more stress but maybe for a while keep them separated so she can build up self confidence and trust you that the dogs won't tick her off.

Also what are you using for litter? I had a cat who hated clumping litter-she only used the box when I put one with clay non clumping-I had put potting soil in the box or bark mulch to try to get her to use the box for pooping. She peed no problems-but pooping forget it-she hated small particle litter and didn't like the large chunk crystal kind or the pine pellets...sometimes you have to experiment with different ones. Make sure it's unscented too.

I hope you get more success as I know how lonely it is at night when our cats don't sleep with us.

 

[rubysmama]

sunny578 Not sure if you'll see this, but would love an update on Tiny. Is she still regularly using her litter box?

 

[sunny578]

Thanks for asking! Well, mostly. It seems that every three months or so, she has a weird time (she gets crouchy, her pupils dilate, and she seems suddenly too nervous to make it to the box and urinates on the floor) and I have to put her either back in her room (she has her own bedroom now) or her crate for a couple of days to reset/calm down, or else it will just keep happening. She will still not use the box for #2 though, unless she's confined to her room. I don't know. . . she's a particularly tough case. After having a baby and learning about all the benefits of breastfeeding/having a mom, I feel like I can attribute all of this to her not having a mom/not nursing as a kitten. She seems totally confident/calm/happy outside of her weird days that happen every few months, so that's hopeful.

Ruby is beautiful!

 

[rubysmama]

Sorry Tiny's not completely litter box trained, but it sounds like it's better than before.

So strange though. Both the occasional peeing outside the box. And the only pooping in the litterbox when confined to her room. Don't you wish you could get inside her head and know what's she's thinking!

Thanks for the update. Also thanks for the compliment on Ruby. She's my only cat, so of course I'm biased, but I think she's beautiful too.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi! Read your whole thread - wow!
I noticed you didn't get a response regarding a cleaning product - there's a member who didn't like natures miracle but swears by NonScents, also there's Angry Orange, Rocco and Roxie, Bubba's Super Strength and Sunny and Honey- these are listed as safe to be used around pets.

Did you ever try any of the many calming products on the market? Besides Feliway, there are treats, collars, sprays, a thread on this site (listed in this post just below) talks about several you could try. Vetri Science and PetNaturals are a couple of companies to look at and Only Natural Pet and Lambert Vet Supply are a couple of websites.

Calming Treats For A Very Picky Cat

There are a lot of litters available as well; grass, finely crushed walnut, respiratory relief crystals, --littermaid's corncob and walnut seem to be the least dusty.
Good luck with your continuing endeavor, and thank you for not giving up on your furbaby!!

 

[M&M]

After I cleaned my carpet then put on Naures miracle, I pulled up the carpet in the spot and stuffed a ton of feline pine litter under it and then put the carpet back and put feline pine litter all over the top too. I left it there for about a month before cleaning it all up but I never smelled anything afterward. (You can actually buy 50lb bags of pine litter at a lot of livestock stores too, very cheap) Pine terpines are the only thing that can break down and bind to the sticky molecules of cat urine and neutralize the odor. On a side note, have you ruled out urinary or other medical issues? Another note, my cat was quite finicky and I finally learned that she not only wanted to go in a specific area, she wanted different boxes for 1 and 2 (I see you saw other posts on that.) And she didn’t like clumping litter because it got stuck to her feet, so that made her go outside the box. She also had an issue with my other cat who would gaurd or sometimes attack her when she was in the box and that created issues too. Eventually, I found that she wanted a safe place but where she felt she could escape easily. She also NEVER covered her feces, which in the wild is a sign of marking territory. It made me realize she was feeling threatened by the other cat. Every time I had to retrain her to the box again. I finally just put a litter box where she kept going to get her retrained to using it once i found the litter she liked, feline pine. You might take the whole situation into consideration. I didn’t have time to read all the posts but I hope my experience helps! Good luck!

Thank you everyone!! I ended up putting two boxes in there for a couple of days, but when I noticed Tiny was using both boxes for both #1 and 2, I took one out and held my breath. But, no more crate floor accidents!!

This AM Tiny was out of the crate and loose in the room, and she chose to urinate in one of the room boxes!! I left her out and in the afternoon she chose a box again for urine!!! After watching her crouch on the floor, bed, couch, me etc for the last 1.5 years, it was so amazing to watch!! So now she has free run of the room. Hoping she chooses the box for her next #2!!

Do you all have a fav enzymatic cleaner? We've used nature's miracle in the past and the spots have still smelled like urine to me.

 

[sunny578]

Hello! I just wanted to post an update in case anyone out there has an extremely litter box averse cat. I did so much research and tried so many things and found very little information on crate training cats. But this is what ultimately worked--crate training, and making sure she uses her box twice a day. I clean it at morning and at night, and if there is nothing to clean, I track Tiny down, put her in her crate with some food, and wait until she uses her box before I let her out again. I think she forgets to use it once and a while, and if the urine builds up it turns into a more stressful and uncomfortable situation for her, resulting in an accident. I never would have guessed that this would be the way we got Tiny back in the box, but I am so grateful I finally found something that worked for her, and clean that box twice daily with gratitude!

 

[sunny578]

Hi! Read your whole thread - wow!
I noticed you didn't get a response regarding a cleaning product - there's a member who didn't like natures miracle but swears by NonScents, also there's Angry Orange, Rocco and Roxie, Bubba's Super Strength and Sunny and Honey- these are listed as safe to be used around pets.

Did you ever try any of the many calming products on the market? Besides Feliway, there are treats, collars, sprays, a thread on this site (listed in this post just below) talks about several you could try. Vetri Science and PetNaturals are a couple of companies to look at and Only Natural Pet and Lambert Vet Supply are a couple of websites.

Calming Treats For A Very Picky Cat

There are a lot of litters available as well; grass, finely crushed walnut, respiratory relief crystals, --littermaid's corncob and walnut seem to be the least dusty.
Good luck with your continuing endeavor, and thank you for not giving up on your furbaby!!

I missed this--thank you! Pheromones did work for a while! But their efficacy seemed to wear off, and then we lost another couch to the urine. Thank you for the cleaning recs! We do have an old spot that I should probably re-clean.

 

[sunny578]

After I cleaned my carpet then put on Naures miracle, I pulled up the carpet in the spot and stuffed a ton of feline pine litter under it and then put the carpet back and put feline pine litter all over the top too. I left it there for about a month before cleaning it all up but I never smelled anything afterward. (You can actually buy 50lb bags of pine litter at a lot of livestock stores too, very cheap) Pine terpines are the only thing that can break down and bind to the sticky molecules of cat urine and neutralize the odor. On a side note, have you ruled out urinary or other medical issues? Another note, my cat was quite finicky and I finally learned that she not only wanted to go in a specific area, she wanted different boxes for 1 and 2 (I see you saw other posts on that.) And she didn’t like clumping litter because it got stuck to her feet, so that made her go outside the box. She also had an issue with my other cat who would gaurd or sometimes attack her when she was in the box and that created issues too. Eventually, I found that she wanted a safe place but where she felt she could escape easily. She also NEVER covered her feces, which in the wild is a sign of marking territory. It made me realize she was feeling threatened by the other cat. Every time I had to retrain her to the box again. I finally just put a litter box where she kept going to get her retrained to using it once i found the litter she liked, feline pine. You might take the whole situation into consideration. I didn’t have time to read all the posts but I hope my experience helps! Good luck!

T
hank you! That's a great idea re: carpet cleaning with litter!! Tiny now has her own bedroom, and that has been helping too. Thank you!

 

[rubysmama]

That's great that you've figured out a way to keep Tiny litter box trained. Thanks for the update!

 

[sunny578]

Well, for the past three months, we've hit this new level of weirdness. Tiny won't take the initiative to go to the litter box by herself, but will go in the litter box if I put her in there. So 2-3 times a day, I put her in the crate where her litter box is, point to the litter box and say "Go to the bathroom," and then she goes. If I don't do this, she will anywhere but the litter box.

It's a bit exhausting to try and remember to put her in the box, but whatever, it's fine. I'm so curious though about what is going on in her brain. I guess it's possible that she doesn't like the noise of stepping in the litter box--like maybe making a noise makes her feel vulnerable, and maybe she feels safe enough to go in there when I am there? I am happy to put a litter box in a more discreet location, but in the past she has never used those boxes. I guess I could give it another try.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi!
At this stage of things, do you think there would be any value, (if that's the right word from Tiny's perspective LOL) in trying a different litter?

 

[basschick]

i assume you've tried cat attract litter, but thought i'd throw it out there just in case.

btw, we no longer use a box for HK (who's almost 20, btw) - we use an extra large kennel tray that we cover with litter. we put a big piece of vinyl sheet flooring under it, and it protrudes several inches on 3 sides. seems like HK likes his tray better than the box, because he's mostly been using it. maybe the tray could work for a cat who doesn't like the box?

 

[rubysmama]

That is definitely weird. Did anything happen 3 months ago that might have triggered this new behaviour?

 

[Erin80]

I just read through this whole thread with intrigue. Our previous cat, Fletcher (he was awesome), decided to stop pooping in his box one day....and he never looked back. I tried literally everything I could think of....at one point half of our whole basement was covered in tinfoil (which worked)....but then eventually he started using the other side of the basement. I wish I’d stumbled across or been recommended the crate idea....maybe that would have helped him. It’s like a switch flipped one day and he just stopped using it.
I wish so much I had advice for you. Litterbox issues are so frustrating. You’re doing an amazing job with Tiny.

 

[sunny578]

Hi!
At this stage of things, do you think there would be any value, (if that's the right word from Tiny's perspective LOL) in trying a different litter?

Good idea! We should. I'll let you know how it goes!

 

[sunny578]

I just read through this whole thread with intrigue. Our previous cat, Fletcher (he was awesome), decided to stop pooping in his box one day....and he never looked back. I tried literally everything I could think of....at one point half of our whole basement was covered in tinfoil (which worked)....but then eventually he started using the other side of the basement. I wish I’d stumbled across or been recommended the crate idea....maybe that would have helped him. It’s like a switch flipped one day and he just stopped using it.
I wish so much I had advice for you. Litterbox issues are so frustrating. You’re doing an amazing job with Tiny.

Thank you Yes, Tiny did this too and never looked back haha(sort of haha) For her, I think it's chronic constipation which we have never been able to resolve. Fletcher sounds cool though

 

[sunny578]

That is definitely weird. Did anything happen 3 months ago that might have triggered this new behaviour?

No? We have a one year old human child so she is constantly changing (all of these litter box issues started way before she was conceived though) so that's always an option, but Tiny seems to enjoy her company and chooses to sleep with her and in her room. Tiny has been increasingly interested in a neighbor cat that comes by and sometimes sneaks inside, but he's been around for a while too. Maybe though since it's been warm out for the past few months he's been around more? Maybe I'll try some new litter and some new techniques for making her room feel calm. I was afraid to move the crate when she was doing so well, but maybe I should experiment with putting it in the closet so it's in a more discreet location. Thank you for the question! It got me thinking. . .

 

[sunny578]

i assume you've tried cat attract litter, but thought i'd throw it out there just in case.

btw, we no longer use a box for HK (who's almost 20, btw) - we use an extra large kennel tray that we cover with litter. we put a big piece of vinyl sheet flooring under it, and it protrudes several inches on 3 sides. seems like HK likes his tray better than the box, because he's mostly been using it. maybe the tray could work for a cat who doesn't like the box?

20!! Congrats HK! What a great idea! We've tried to make a litter box with a lower lip out of a tupperware, but your idea sounds better. I wonder how we could make that work. We've been using Cat Attract for a year now. Maybe though it's lost it's charm. Thank you!

 

[Furballsmom]

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