Archie is at it again

[weldrwomn]

After a little over a week of using the litterbox really well, he slipped up again. Hubby and I went for a walk and when we returned, it was time for a shower. We left Archie in the house and as near as we can tell, he stayed upstairs with the two girls the entire time.

Since Archie has had trouble with peeing on our bathmat, we had thrown it away about two weeks ago and we only put a towel down on the floor while we are showering and then the towel gets hung up the rest of the time. Well, Archie peed on the towel while it was down. It is about 10 feet away from the litterboxes. His litterbox has Cat Attract in it, the other litterbox has the pine/corn mix in it and there is a feliway diffuser right above them. I soaked up what urine I could with a paper towel and buried it in the litterbox. The vet has given him a clean bill of health, but he just got neutered on Thursday. Could that have played a part in his accident?

 

[ldg]

Two of our boys got sick after being neutered. We figure it's exposure to other sick animals at the vet combined with immune system being somewhat compromised from the anesthetic.

But the Feliway diffuser should actually not be anywhere near the litter boxes. The Feliway "scent" should be anywhere you don't want kitty to go. If the litter boxes are in the bathroom, the Feliway diffuser shouldn't be in there. I don't know if moving it will help, but with the Feliway right by the boxes, it's confusing the scents.

 

[weldrwomn]

Hmmmm - I didn't realize that about the Feliway...I will move it.

 

[ldg]

Don't know if it will help, but

Feliway is a synthetic hormone that mimics the "friendly" markers in cats' cheeks. Peeing and pooping are territory marking - cheek rubbing is a friendly kind of marking. The smell of pee and poop encourage other peeing and pooping - you'll never see a kitty rub it's cheek on the corner of the litterbox (certainly not a used one) - but everywhere else.

I like Feliway diffusers for helping make things "calmer" in a multi-cat household. But I prefer the spray (because you control where the scent goes) when there's a peeing or pooping outside the box problem. When Spook was peeing on the couch, we'd clean it with the enzyme cleaner, cover it with aluminum foil (for our kitties it's a deterrent for walking in the area), and spray Feliway on the couch, to help it smell wrong for a place to pee.

Here's a good explanation, actually:

http://www.catfaeries.com/about_feliway.html

 

[otto]

I agree with most of what you've said but just this one thing: Mazy rubs her face on the litter boxes all the time.

Mazy is also known as The Litter Box Police.

 

[ldg]

Then I should say you'll almost never see a kitty rub its face on a litterbox.

Other than moving the diffuser, making sure he's not sick (again), or going through the litter box retraining again, I don't know what to suggest.

Some kitties, if taken from mum too soon, never learned proper litter box etiquette. I'd focus on praising the heck out of him when you see him using the box, and just keep putting his pee scent back in the box like you did... and keep a good enzyme cleaner on hand.