New Here With Newly Adopted Adult Cat, Frankie

[FeebysOwner]

Here is what I wonder: he has NOT pooped in the box in between visits. I am wondering if he's "saving" it for when someone is there so that he gets a treat and those occasions when he poops outside the box, is it because he can't hold it any longer and then just poops where he happens to be? And if that's the case, how is this going to work assuming we're able to let him out?

Funny! But not, I know. I suppose he could be waiting so that he receives praise for using the box, and this time he said "uh, no, gotta go".

Have one of you been in the room at the same time he has actually gone in the litter box over the past 4 days? Tbh, that would be the only way he could really even come close to correlating a treat with using the box. Literally, a single minute or two could pass from the time he uses the box and gets a treat, and he would have no idea he was being given a treat for pooping in the box.

Once he gets the pattern down of using the litter box, I am not sure the treats are really going to matter. Other than just because you LOVE him!!

Also, in that space three boxes are a bit much. It sounds like he uses all three? You might want to reduce it to two, and see if that makes a difference.

 

[tobyo]

for the 4 days that he used the box successfully he has only gone #2 with hubby there, except for day 5. he pees in the box while we're there but also when we're not. my vet friend told me to "cover the floor with litter boxes". Well, I only have 4 and all 4 of them are in there. He uses the two closest to his food/water. So, that's why so many boxes.

my vet friend also said we needed to put him in an even smaller confined space as I mentioned upthread but hubby is resistant to putting Frankie in a crate.

so, two things, albeit they seem like small things, changed. hubby gave Frankie a little more food on his morning break. so in between breakfast and lunch. we also forgot to give him his pill the night before. did one or both of these cause him to "mess up" and poop outside the box? who knows? but I guess I am willing to give it one more go (no pun intended! ha!) since perhaps it was our fault that he couldn't hold it.

I found large wicker basket and turned that upside down and placed it on top of the upside down litter box jury rigged under the faucet to prevent him fro going in the sink..........and hopefully he doesn't knock that down to poop up there. lordy........

I've gotten so many suggestions and it's so hard to know which exact combination is going to be the magic pill for him to keep using the damn litter box to poop!! Try other litters? Try one box with nothing in it. and so on...
and on we go.........

Thanks again to all who have commented or given purraise in this thread. I appreciate all the help and cheerleaders along the way. On we go I guess. Heavy, heavy, heavy sigh..........

 

[FeebysOwner]

The extra food, I suppose might have prompted a change in when he pooped. If there is range of time when he typically goes, can you or hubby try to be there with him? That is, if I understood your comment above, that your husband was present in the room when he went for 4 days in row?

And, I guess it's possible that missing a dose of the Amitriptyline could affect his mood/anxiety level and also cause inappropriate litterbox behavior. The instructions for using it do indicate to try to avoid missing a dose, but also clearly states that you SHOULD NOT double up on the dose to make up for the missed one. I hope the goal is to get rid of this med once his litterbox behavior has become 'normal'.

I've got to say, I personally think that "cover the floor with litterboxes" seems a bit like over-kill, but then again, I am not a vet. Tbh, if he only uses two of them, and NEVER the other two, I am not sure how 4 of them is helping matters any. Having to pick from 4 different litter boxes in a tiny room would be enough to stress me out, if I were a cat!! Keeping the boxes as clean as possible is probably a more important thing for this guy. I guess you could try another litter in one of the other two boxes, or puppy pads, just to see if he would use it.

You could also ask your vet friend if 4 boxes are necessary when he only EVER uses two of the - that is, if you don't mind getting lectured once again about the need for a crate!!

 

[tobyo]

yep, you've got it. he only pooped at his lunch time feeding and only with hubby there with him. until yesterday.........

I am going to call the vet on Monday. She said to bring him back in 3-4 months for a re-check if things were going smoothly. which they're not really so it's time to check in and see what they say. onward for now.

thanks again. I hope I have better news soon.

 

[tobyo]

ohmygosh, ohmygosh, ohmygosh!!! don't get my hopes up! HUGE Frankie update!!

today was day FIVE of the third round in confinement hoping he could make it to 7 days. I spoke with a behavior guy from the humane society and he said there is no magical number and the 7 days is a guide, depending on the cat. and there have been other signs of progress. until this week he had not been covering up his excrements but this week he is. plus today he finally went #2 on his own and without anyone with him. yay Frankie!!

so tonight we went there. yep, we took him into the next room before we introduce the rest of the house. got some toys and scratching pads. he explored and played with us all a little bit. in all, he lasted about 40 minutes. he found sort of a cave looking spot and stayed there for several minutes so it was time to put him back in his "studio apartment", the basement bathroom.

so, we are hopeful yet again and really hope it works out!! Here are some photos from his first venture out in 3 weeks.

 

[susanm9006]

Go Frankie! He looked very relaxed in the photos.

 

[azpops]

Go Frankie! He looked very relaxed in the photos.

Yeah, GO Frankie! Man he's a big cat!

Pops

PS thanks for the update! ...

 

[tobyo]

Go Frankie! He looked very relaxed in the photos.

he does! he only laid down for a few minutes and it was a little hard to get photos as he kept moving. fun!! hope it continues! thank you :-)

 

[tobyo]

Yeah, GO Frankie! Man he's a big cat!

Pops

PS thanks for the update! ...

he IS a bit cat!! 16 pounds and he's supposed to lose 2-3 pounds.

 

[azpops]

he IS a bit cat!! 16 pounds and he's supposed to lose 2-3 pounds.

OK, well, remember, ONE step at a time! ...

Pops

 

[tobyo]

OK, well, remember, ONE step at a time! ...

Pops

Yep.

and that's BIG not bit.........oy........

 

[FeebysOwner]

Yay Frankie!!!! On to Day 6 and 7 and 8 and 9 and.....

He's a big cat but doesn't really look too much overweight, at least not to me. His weight issue can wait - sometime months and months down the road!!!!

 

[tobyo]

Yay Frankie!!!! On to Day 6 and 7 and 8 and 9 and.....

He's a big cat but doesn't really look too much overweight, at least not to me. His weight issue can wait - sometime months and months down the road!!!!

Yes, on to day 6, 7 and to infinity and beyond!! Heh.

I had the same feeling about his weight: let's get the litter box thing working first. BUT, it does help to measure out his food which is totally new for us. With all our other cats we just put food in the dish and refill as they empty it. And, we had another overweight cat and we started him on canned food and that did the trick.

So, yea......if Frankie happens to lose weight when I bring him back for a recheck in a few months, great. If not, I'm not going to sweat bullets or lose sleep over it.

thanks again!! Hopefully we're on the road now!! Yay Frankie! He's just so darn cute

 

[tobyo]

another successful "Play Date" last night that lasted about an hour. Here's Frankie playing darts with Pops:

 

[azpops]

... How's Frankie doing? This radio silence has got me worried!

Pops

 

[tobyo]

... How's Frankie doing? This radio silence has got me worried!

Pops

Hi Pops! Thanks for asking. He had another accident Saturday morning but I think it was because his boxes were dirty. Hubby had fed him his canned food and accidentally left the can in Frankie's studio apartment so that might have made him a little nutsoid. Hubby said that Frankie peed over the edge of the box earlier today. So hard to know why that happens. Once last week and once again this week.

BUT, we were able to put up a kiddie gate at the top of the basement steps and we let him out into the entire lower level and he just wanders around and hardly ever stays put anywhere, always roaming. I got him a Sentry calming collar but hubby doesn't want to put it on him and I think it might help him ..........and I just remembered that we didn't give him his pill tonight. He's now been roaming the lower level three days in a row without any issues. Yay!

But I haven't been sleeping so well, partly because of the stress of Frankie and partly because of stress from my daughter. And so I forget things...like his pill. UGH!!! But I did get all three boxes cleaned tonight. We're aiming for every other day and we missed Friday. He's awfully adorable but gosh, so. much. work!!!! Hopefully some day he can be like the other cats we've had that have the run of the house. I was just reading trying to figure out when we should let him onto the main floor............haven't really found that.

and on we go..........I'll post a couple new photos tomorrow as I am out of juice tonight. Time to shut down and hopefully sleep more than 3 hours

 

[azpops]

Thanks fur the update! Is there a window in the basement? I was thinking, may be you could get him a tree, placed along a window so he can sit and look outside, kind of thing.

I don't have any experience with calming collars, but collars in general makes me nervous. I worry it'll get caught on something, and then well, you know what? ... Fur example, the only time my dogs has a collar on is when we're outside. Once we're back in the motor home, I take them off.

Anyways, thanks for the update, and can't wait to see a few pitchers of the boy!

Pops

 

[tobyo]

He's getting awfully restless in the bathroom so I think on Friday we'll let him out onto our main floor and move the kiddie gate to the doorway of our upper level so he doesn't go up there. and if that goes okay, then the same on Saturday and Sunday. The bathroom has a glass block window as do most of the windows in our basement. I wish I had a place for him to sit by a window and look outside.

I'm thinking I will take the collar back. Here's a photo from last Friday. He's sitting on an upside down picture that hangs on the wall, that we've never hung up. It was given to my daughter when she was a child and we've never had a spot to hang it.

 

[azpops]

Would you have an old cabinet, or a what-u-mah-call-it thing, or something that's tall enough to reach the window? It'll give him a place to sit, or chill out while checking out what's going on outside. Goodwill type of store may have something inexpensive that may work. Anyways, just a thought.

He's looking good! ...

Pops

PS OK, now I remember what the what-u-mah-call-it thing is; shelves. .... ... dual purpose, yes? ...

 

[tobyo]

well....even if I did have a whatchamacallit........he can't see out the window in the bathroom as it's a glass block type so not really a window at all. Or did you mean once we move him to our main level?