Kitten Confused About Litter Boxes Not Being Every Box

[SDerailed]

A couple of months ago I rescued a feral kitten. He is about 6 months now and neutered. He has had some problems with inappropriate urination. Usually peeing in anything plastic or box shaped (I think he is confused as to what a litter box vs any box is). He has also been gathering up his toys in 'his room' and then peeing on them (I guess to keep them from being used by the other cats?).
I'd really like to get him clear on this whole inside cat thing. Any suggestions?

 

[jen]

Has he been checked for a urinary tract infection first of all? If not, nothing else will matter until it is ruled out or diagnosed and treated.

 

[SDerailed]

Has he been checked for a urinary tract infection first of all? If not, nothing else will matter until it is ruled out or diagnosed and treated.

Yup, I always check the vet first. No medical issues and was pronounced healthy.

 

[danteshuman]

When was he taken inside? I guess what I am asking is, is this a battle you even want to fight? My mom has reformed feral that will use a litter box if he is trapped in a room with it. Otherwise he goes outside. He is an outside/inside cat we found when he was ?5? Months old and he was sorta used to people. If you can, I would instal perfect fenced (the kind designed to keep cats in) and a kitty door. Some cats are just not made to be indoor cats. Now the three kittens that were feral at 4 weeks old and raised by hand are super bonded to people because they were socialized in that very small window when they were babies. I have heard from many people trying to take outdoor semi-feral cats and make them indoor cats ....... it is a long uphill battle.

If you are going to try to keep him inside only I would do a few things:
Get rid of all boxes that are not litter boxes. Try cat attract litter and add more boxes in more rooms. Get a black light and wash everything that glows with a enzyme cleaner. Re-introduce him to all your cats or the cat he is the least friendly to. Install shelves for your cat or cat shelves (increase the vertical space) & try to eliminate all dead ends so no cat can corner another cat. Try the feeding exercise where you feed the cats yummy food a couple of feet (or whatever their set distance is) & slowly move the saucers/dishes closer together a inch a day. Your goal is to get all the cats eating side by side.

 

[susanm9006]

Yes, he needs a real litterbox in every room.

 

[SDerailed]

Thank you all for the suggestions. We installed multiple food/water stations. There are litter boxes in every room (which actually really peeves me about him choosing rando places next to the boxes) We have a catio, shelving, total certification. There are no pinch points we can find, and he seems to love everyone here. We have a great blacklight, natures miracle, and I even got a steam cleaner for the hardwood floors we have. (We've fostered cats for a whole, so luckily we have an arsenal of tools).
But more back story:
He was taken in at about 14 weeks old. And at first held his pee for 3 days until he learned what litter boxes were. He was used to dirt I guess, and was searching for a place to pee. Even opting to go in the corner rather than the litter box where we sat him when he was searching. Because he had coccidia he was kept in one room until he was parasite free. Now that we opened up the room, he still seems to think it is 'his' and tends to mark there a lot. We live by a busy road, so outdoor/indoor isnt a real option. But I think he has acclimated to the family and indoor life too much to enjoy that feral life again. He has really bonded to everyone here.
I set up his water bowl like he used to have in the quarentine room. He used to like to pile his toys around that to 'mark' them. And I havent found any pee today. So, maybe that's a start. We also installed cameras in every room to identify the 'mad pisser', and hopefully I'll catch him at that time to boom my mommy voice over the camera at him when he does it.

 

[danteshuman]

I would try cat attract litter & maybe letting him be locked in his room while you are at work.

You said you foster and that right there may be the issue. Can you stop fostering for 3 mo this & see what happens? Given your busy road I would harness train him and shore up your defenses against neighborhood cats (motion activated sprinklers.) Also if the cat attract litter does not work, you try mixing his two litter boxes with half cat attract litter and half potting soil. If he likes it then over the next 6 months, gradually reduce the soil part in the mixture (like a handful at a time.)

Lastly failing all that you could try Prozac.

 

[SDerailed]

We have stopped fostering since him. He is definitely enough trouble on his own!
I will play around with the litter type/soil and see if we cant find a good mix. I have been thinking of harness training, and will have to grab one. Thank you!

 

[Tobermory]

This may be a stupid idea so everyone can jump all over it, but...

What if you put dirt in the litter boxes instead of litter to start? What made me think of it was this sentence from your post:

He was used to dirt I guess, and was searching for a place to pee.

So what if you tried dirt and then, in much the same you'd gradually change from one litter to another, add regular litter to the dirt and mix until it's all litter? Or sprinkle some dirt on top of the litter.

Your house may not tolerate dirt being tracked around or it may not work, but your comment about dirt made me remember a semi-feral I rescued years ago who wanted to use the dirt around my large plants.

 

[SDerailed]

This may be a stupid idea so everyone can jump all over it, but...

What if you put dirt in the litter boxes instead of litter to start? What made me think of it was this sentence from your post:


So what if you tried dirt and then, in much the same you'd gradually change from one litter to another, add regular litter to the dirt and mix until it's all litter? Or sprinkle some dirt on top of the litter.

Your house may not tolerate dirt being tracked around or it may not work, but your comment about dirt made me remember a semi-feral I rescued years ago who wanted to use the dirt around my large plants.

Not crazy at all. When we first got him he had been attacked by a dog, then hadn't peed or pooed in days. So I rushed him to the vet thinking there might have been some internal injury we had missed during the ER visit. They cold laser treated him and that's when he was scrambling for a place to go and avoided the litter box. The vet suggested we try unscented clay litter and if that wasnt working mix in dirt or mulch. Well, we took some of his pee home in a syringe and put it on the clay litter and it was working. Didnt have a problem with him going outside of the box for weeks, so we never went for the dirt route. It all went to hell when we got him the cat toys that were PVC boxes. He peed in each one, we threw them out, and have had this problem ever since.