Litterbox Issues

[xthoroughbred]

I adopted two male cats last month - William is 11 and Galahad is 3. William is the dominant one, but they haven't been fighting after that first week with us.

We've been having some litter box issues with William which may have been going on this entire past month, but we just noticed it last week when we had two instances where he pooped outside of the box, just a few feet from it. The next time, we stepped in pee that was also a few feet from the box. After that, we set up a video camera to see what was happening. Everything was going fine for a few days, but I just checked the video from last night. He walks up the box, looks at it, turns around to leave the room, and then squats and pees right by the door.

When we adopted William, they told us he had arthritis in his hind end that causes him to walk funny. I've had a cat with arthritis in his hind end before and William isn't acting like that at all. He definitely loses control of his legs at certain points (jumping off of things, running fast, etc.), but I'm not convinced he's in pain. I think something else is going on there that we still need to investigate.

I took him to a vet after that and he's got hyperthyroid with VERY early kidney disease -- so early that it was only picked up on the SDMA test and not the other bloodwork. His other bloodwork was good.

The litter box is very big, with one low side and three high ones. We had a lid on it at first but I thought that may have been causing the issues so I removed it.

I know there are a lot of variables here. What's the first thing you would try? Getting a second box? Obsessively cleaning it (I'm doing it once every 1-2 days now)? Trying a different litter?

 

[abyeb]

I think you might need to clean the box more often. I scoop my Charlie's box twice a day (and additional times if I walk by and notice that he's pooped in it). If the litterbox isn't clean enough for William, that might explain this behavior. William walks up to the box, looks inside, decides it's not clean enough for his liking, and then goes next to it. The feline equivalent of a human walking into a dirty bathroom stall, turning around, and then going in the stall next door.

 

[xthoroughbred]

I think you might need to clean the box more often. I scoop my Charlie's box twice a day (and additional times if I walk by and notice that he's pooped in it). If the litterbox isn't clean enough for William, that might explain this behavior. William walks up to the box, looks inside, decides it's not clean enough for his liking, and then goes next to it. The feline equivalent of a human walking into a dirty bathroom stall, turning around, and then going in the stall next door.

OK, I'll try that. I do know that one of the times he went outside of the box was right after I had cleaned it, but it's worth a shot!

Edited to add: To complicate things, I'm at work and watching him on camera now, so I haven't had a chance to clean the box this morning. He just went and peed inside the box!

 

[Columbine]

Especially as you can't be there to scoop the box every time it's been used, add in some extra boxes, spaced around the house. William's health issues could well be a factor here too, so you need to make it as easy as possible for him to make the right choice. Speak to your vet about this again too - they may be able to suggest something that might help. Ask about William's meds and any possible side effects - cover every angle you can think of (it's what you pay the vet for, after all ). Ask about the arthritis too - remember all cats will present with it slightly differently (just like no two humans will experience it exactly the same way). It may be that he needs some pain management to make things easier.
How To Solve Litterbox Problems In Cats: The Ultimate Guide

Good luck - I hope you manage to resolve this problem very soon

 

[xthoroughbred]

Ugh. Alright, I need some more help.

We added another box. We're keeping them clean.

He's still peeing right outside the box, making me think he has a medical issue, but he's also peeing all over the house. I had to throw out about $350 worth of bras that he decided to pee on in another room. He also jumped on top of the ironing board and peed there. One of our rooms smells strongly of urine, so we're stripping everything out of the room and getting the carpet professionally cleaned. Who knows where else he's peed that we haven't found yet.

I'm waiting for my vet to call me back, but any ideas? Does Feliway work?

 

[maggiedemi]

He might have a urinary tract infection. Does he get any canned food? Maybe try putting some puppy pee pads on the floor near the litterbox in case his arthritis is making it hard for him to climb in and out. And you don't have to throw your clothing out, there are things to take the pee smell out.