Poppy is a former shelter cat, with me now for 5 years+. She still doesn't like to be picked up and still "poops" outside her litter box (the latter a longstanding behavior, possibly related to her being declawed by former owners). After several days of trial and error when she first got here, I gave in to her preferred litter box location: on the carpeted, closed in balcony instead of the washable floor of the utility cupboard, where I wanted it.
She poops in the same spot every time, a foot or so away from the box, quite out in the open, comes to let me know she's pooped, and I just pick up and flush her deposits and disinfect the "poop spot.". (We long ago came to terms with her pooping "outside the box." Poppy knows she has "Staff" for a reason...)
She's otherwise become a happy, healthy, bouncy little girl.
One issue has been with us since Day One: There's a machine-washable mat under the litter box, between box and carpet. (I tried disposables until I hit upon the idea of "machine washable" as cheaper and less "cat-shreddable.") Poppy quite often wets that mat and then goes crazy scratching / scrunching up the mat until I clean the box (almost as soon as she'd out of it) and put a fresh mat down. After much trial and error, I found "Simple Solution" odor spray, and use this on the carpet and wipe the litter box with it, so there's no urine odor detectable. Poppy gets a fresh litter box, with fresh litter, twice a week.
I never could figure out why / how she wets the mat, until I happened to see her today. She stands in the box to urinate, with her rear end as close to the end of the box as she can get. The litter box is 24 x 16 with 6-inch walls. A longer box wouldn't help ... I suspect she somehow feels more secure backed up against the end of the box. Would a box with higher walls stop the peeing over the wall behavior?
Money is tight, so I don't want to buy something in the hope that it works. I can go on doing a Poppy-load of laundry every week , no problem, but wondered if there is a simple solution somebody else has come up with?
She poops in the same spot every time, a foot or so away from the box, quite out in the open, comes to let me know she's pooped, and I just pick up and flush her deposits and disinfect the "poop spot.". (We long ago came to terms with her pooping "outside the box." Poppy knows she has "Staff" for a reason...)
She's otherwise become a happy, healthy, bouncy little girl.
One issue has been with us since Day One: There's a machine-washable mat under the litter box, between box and carpet. (I tried disposables until I hit upon the idea of "machine washable" as cheaper and less "cat-shreddable.") Poppy quite often wets that mat and then goes crazy scratching / scrunching up the mat until I clean the box (almost as soon as she'd out of it) and put a fresh mat down. After much trial and error, I found "Simple Solution" odor spray, and use this on the carpet and wipe the litter box with it, so there's no urine odor detectable. Poppy gets a fresh litter box, with fresh litter, twice a week.
I never could figure out why / how she wets the mat, until I happened to see her today. She stands in the box to urinate, with her rear end as close to the end of the box as she can get. The litter box is 24 x 16 with 6-inch walls. A longer box wouldn't help ... I suspect she somehow feels more secure backed up against the end of the box. Would a box with higher walls stop the peeing over the wall behavior?
Money is tight, so I don't want to buy something in the hope that it works. I can go on doing a Poppy-load of laundry every week , no problem, but wondered if there is a simple solution somebody else has come up with?