question about using puppy pads for my cat

[nmcnl]

hi!! I have a 6 year old cat. She has ALWAYS peed on things in the house (clothes in the floor, rugs, carpet, etc). i’m constantly worried that i missed a spot & my house might smell like cat pee. she has been to the vet multiple times — always fine.

I’m considering using puppy pads in places she frequents like the bathroom and laundry room, but i’m worried she’ll start to think it’s okay to pee on other things more often if i do that. is it a good idea?

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi! If this has been going on for that whole time, I am not sure what you have to lose by trying the pee pads. She apparently goes wherever she wants anyway. Removing stuff off of the floor, like clothes/etc. might help with your endeavor to get her to use the pee pads instead. Does she consistently use the litter box for pooping?

The 'always fine' at the vet doesn't tell me much - always fine how? Urinalysis? X-rays? Ultrasound? Has anyone talked to you about FIC/FLUTD? Is she spayed?

So much about her past that we don't know could help.
The Litterbox: What Every Cat Owner Needs To Know – TheCatSite Articles
Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease (flutd) – TheCatSite Articles
Feline Idiopathic Cystitis – How To Improve Your Cat’s Quality Of Life – TheCatSite Articles

 

[nmcnl]

Hi! If this has been going on for that whole time, I am not sure what you have to lose by trying the pee pads. She apparently goes wherever she wants anyway. Removing stuff off of the floor, like clothes/etc. might help with your endeavor to get her to use the pee pads instead. Does she consistently use the litter box for pooping?

The 'always fine' at the vet doesn't tell me much - always fine how? Urinalysis? X-rays? Ultrasound? Has anyone talked to you about FIC/FLUTD? Is she spayed?

So much about her past that we don't know could help.
The Litterbox: What Every Cat Owner Needs To Know – TheCatSite Articles
Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease (flutd) – TheCatSite Articles
Feline Idiopathic Cystitis – How To Improve Your Cat’s Quality Of Life – TheCatSite Articles

we try to keep things off the floor, but sometimes we forget or drop things. she’s always been incredibly picky about her litterboxes. when she was my only cat, she had separate litterboxes to pee and to poo. i have 4 cats now & 6 boxes, so she doesn’t really get that luxury anymore. she also wants the litterboxes pristine all the time, so i clean all 6 of them 2x a day. she has never pooped outside the box. she has had blood work done a couple times & multiple urinalyses. yes, she was spayed at 6 months

 

[nmcnl]

Hi! If this has been going on for that whole time, I am not sure what you have to lose by trying the pee pads. She apparently goes wherever she wants anyway. Removing stuff off of the floor, like clothes/etc. might help with your endeavor to get her to use the pee pads instead. Does she consistently use the litter box for pooping?

The 'always fine' at the vet doesn't tell me much - always fine how? Urinalysis? X-rays? Ultrasound? Has anyone talked to you about FIC/FLUTD? Is she spayed?

So much about her past that we don't know could help.
The Litterbox: What Every Cat Owner Needs To Know – TheCatSite Articles
Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease (flutd) – TheCatSite Articles
Feline Idiopathic Cystitis – How To Improve Your Cat’s Quality Of Life – TheCatSite Articles

i should probably also mention that she does pee in the box more often than not, but it’s definitely not rare for her to pee outside of it

 

[FeebysOwner]

Sounds like it could be a litter box cleanliness issue for her, at least for the peeing part. The pee pads outside of the current litter boxes might help, but they are probably not the long-term solution - unless all other 'enticing' places are removed.

Any chance you can train her to use a couple of litter boxes of her own, perhaps that are microchipped based where she is the only one who can access them? Sounds, extreme, I know, but some cats just need that kind of exclusiveness.

 

[nmcnl]

Sounds like it could be a litter box cleanliness issue for her, at least for the peeing part. The pee pads outside of the current litter boxes might help, but they are probably not the long-term solution - unless all other 'enticing' places are removed.

Any chance you can train her to use a couple of litter boxes of her own, perhaps that are microchipped based where she is the only one who can access them? Sounds, extreme, I know, but some cats just need that kind of exclusiveness.

yeah, she doesn’t like using it after any of the other three do. do you know where i could get a microchip one? or how i could do that?

 

[FeebysOwner]

If you have your cats microchipped, then you can use that. If not that, you would have to add a collar to her that has a microchip that is keyed to a cat door to another room that when the door is closed only she can enter.

 

[nmcnl]

If you have your cats microchipped, then you can use that. If not that, you would have to add a collar to her that has a microchip that is keyed to a cat door to another room that when the door is closed only she can enter.

i’ll definitely look into that! thank you so much for the advice. i just put a puppy pad down in my laundry room, so hopefully it’ll help until i can figure that out.

 

[nmcnl]

If you have your cats microchipped, then you can use that. If not that, you would have to add a collar to her that has a microchip that is keyed to a cat door to another room that when the door is closed only she can enter.

do you think a litter robot or other automatic litterbox would help? i don’t wanna spend that much money without being at least somewhat confident that it would help her. i’m worried she would just be scared of it.

 

[FeebysOwner]

I have no experience with a litter robot. I do know that some of them can be timed to automatically scoop the litter at given intervals, so perhaps. But I have no idea how to determine whether a cat would be intimidated by it.

This is very out of my 'element', so all I can do is - once again - offer another TCS article about them.
How To Choose The Best Automatic Litter Box For Your Cat – TheCatSite Articles

 

[Alldara]

i’ll definitely look into that! thank you so much for the advice. i just put a puppy pad down in my laundry room, so hopefully it’ll help until i can figure that out.

I've had good luck with using the assistance of pee pads. I'd rather have things protected and a place for them to go regularly. It's helped with sick cats before and it's helped with litter training some.

Right now I put them under the litter box that Nobel uses. He was used to enclosed and high sides, but with his age he had to go to a regular cheap low side box again. He pees over the edge a lot. The pad catches everything and it's easier cleanup and safer for the cats to not be smelling that all the time or stepping it around the house.

You can get reusable pee pads if it becomes a long term issue. Better for the environment.

 

[goingpostal]

I put puppy pads in a big concrete mixing tub and use those as litter boxes, low sides seem acceptable to the cats and they are roomy enough for them. My Bengal can be fussy about litter but seems to like the pads.