I thought I was a cat behavior expert until I met GiGi

lotsocats

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Hey everyone! If you look at the sticky thread on urination problems, you will see that I wrote a section of that thread. In fact, I am the person our local humane society sends people to who have cat behavior problems. So, i know a lot about solving behavior problems. But, I have found my match. I have a foster cat who has been returned twice due to inappropriate urination. At first I blamed the adopters for not keeping the boxes clean and for only having one box, but now that she has been living with us for several months, I understand why she keeps being returned. This sweet little girl pees everywhere! We have 7 cats and 8 gigantic litter boxes. The boxes are scattered throughout the house and are scooped at least twice daily. We have bamboo floors and no rugs (thank goodness). GiGi pees next to the litter boxes, on the floor by the door, on the floor in the hallway, on the floor just about anywhere in the house. I have tried adding litter boxes which helps for a few days, I have put plastic runners, nubby side up where she pees and she pees on them. And she has been tested three times for UTI and has always been fine. I have also confined her in a room with a litter box and she is fine for a few days and then pees on the floor. Note that she does use the box, she just pees elsewhere as well. My husband is fed up so I need your help. Any suggestions?
 
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speakhandsforme

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Hi there :wavey:

Do the litterboxes all have the same kind of litter? Perhaps offer her a choice of litters? Or try some Cat Attract? Potting soil?

Have you tried Feliway? Some say the Calming Collar also helps.

Maybe kitty Elavil is in order if nothing helps.

I'm sure others will be along soon with more suggestions.
 
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lotsocats

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Speakhandsforme, thanks for the suggestions. I haven't tried different litter. Never thought to do that. I live in a rural city, so I doubt I can find Cat Attract here, but I can certainly try another type of litter for her and then get some Cat Attract the next time I get to a PetsMart. Good thought about the Feliway as well. Used that years ago with another cat with aggression problems. Didn't think to use that with GiGi. I"ll look for that at the store tomorrow, but will probably have to order it on the Internet. I have thought about the anti anxiety meds. Want to hold off on that if I can. But if all else fails, I will give it a try. Sad thing is that she is still very young -- my guess is that she is around 6 months old, so she has many years of life ahead of her. We need to nip this problem in the bud right away so it doesn't go on for the next 15 to 20 years!

Thanks again for your ideas. Everyone, keep your suggestions coming. I'm ready to try just about anything!
 
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lotsocats

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Wouldn't have thought of ordering kitty litter online! Thanks!

And....no, none of the litter boxes have lids. I make mine out of Rubbermaid storage containers. They are very large with lots of room to dig and walk around. However the newest boxes are very small. She was peeng on the floor on both sides of the toilet, so I put boxes on either side. They had to be very small to fit. My ginormous other cats are using these tiny boxes too. It is a funny sight to see. (one of our cats is a huge, 17 pound, pure muscle polydactyl. I've even seen him in one of these boxes. These new boxes are the size of two shoe boxes put together. Too funny!)
 
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