Let me just say before I start that we have tried (almost) everything to solve this problem.
We have a 14 year old, male cat who has been with us since he was a kitten. Last year moved from a large home into an apartment. His adjustment seemed easy. We are using the same model litter box as before, we've just added disposable liners (The litterbox is a ModCat).
Over the last 2 months, he refuses to use the litter box, but only for number 1. He goes in the same spot, on the mat, outside of the box, everyday. We have changed litter brands 3 times, nothing. We added a nightlight by the box. We took him to the vet, certain he had a bladder problem, and a large bill later find out he's perfectly healthy.
Recently, I noticed his water bowl has been very "dusty". I also noticed some unexplainable water droplets on our bathroom floor and occasional sand or dust(?) in our toilet. Last night, I woke up to find him with his paws and arms in the toilet, seemingly washing his paws. I seriously couldn't make this up if I tried. Low and behold when I checked the box, he had just wet outside.
We are so desperate at this point to figure out what's wrong with him or this GD box. The wooden floors underneath are blackening and his behavior is upsetting our other cat. We have a really humane option to re-home him (he would just go live with our family in the house he came from last year) but we truly don't want that. I know moves can be tough on pets but it has been a year and this issue is relatively new, so we don't think that's the problem. And again, he is using the box for #2. Also yes, we have 2 litter boxes, and the pretty much use "theirs" exclusively.
My question is has anyone else observed such odd behavior from their cat, ESPECIALLY the "hand washing", is there anything you did to fix the problem, does anyone have any advice!? We are going crazy.
We have a 14 year old, male cat who has been with us since he was a kitten. Last year moved from a large home into an apartment. His adjustment seemed easy. We are using the same model litter box as before, we've just added disposable liners (The litterbox is a ModCat).
Over the last 2 months, he refuses to use the litter box, but only for number 1. He goes in the same spot, on the mat, outside of the box, everyday. We have changed litter brands 3 times, nothing. We added a nightlight by the box. We took him to the vet, certain he had a bladder problem, and a large bill later find out he's perfectly healthy.
Recently, I noticed his water bowl has been very "dusty". I also noticed some unexplainable water droplets on our bathroom floor and occasional sand or dust(?) in our toilet. Last night, I woke up to find him with his paws and arms in the toilet, seemingly washing his paws. I seriously couldn't make this up if I tried. Low and behold when I checked the box, he had just wet outside.
We are so desperate at this point to figure out what's wrong with him or this GD box. The wooden floors underneath are blackening and his behavior is upsetting our other cat. We have a really humane option to re-home him (he would just go live with our family in the house he came from last year) but we truly don't want that. I know moves can be tough on pets but it has been a year and this issue is relatively new, so we don't think that's the problem. And again, he is using the box for #2. Also yes, we have 2 litter boxes, and the pretty much use "theirs" exclusively.
My question is has anyone else observed such odd behavior from their cat, ESPECIALLY the "hand washing", is there anything you did to fix the problem, does anyone have any advice!? We are going crazy.