Refuses to use a litter box

LadyYennon

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My fiance and I live with his parents. We have two healthy male cats that have their shots and have been neutered. While his parents have a female cat that has never been to the vet. All three are indoor kitties, and share the same mother (who is an outdoor cat). Our cats are good boys and use the litter box, while their sister has NEVER used it. She is a year old now, and if you try to bring her to the litter box she FLIPS out and scratches your arm to shreds. My fiances mother seems content to just clean up after this cat on the daily, but I just cannot stand it! She pees directly into the air conditioning vent sometimes, and it makes my fiance have bad allergy and asthma attacks. I am at a loss for what to do! I have suggested playing with her in a litter box without litter in it to desensitize her, but that didn't work (I also feel like they didn't try hard enough, though).

This cat, by the way, might be a little mentally challenged. She refused to eat solid food for a very long time, and we had to buy cat milk for months before she finally started eating regular food. She was in the womb longer than her siblings, up to 24 hours longer (can't be can't be sure about how long). I have suggested to his parents to take her to the vet, but they haven't done so.
 

cataholic07

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She needs to see a vet.. and if she hasnt seen a vet it means she isnt spayed? That should get done for sure, she could be spraying because of that alone. Is there only one litter box for 3 cats? You will need to add 2 more, uncovered, unlined and placed around the house. You dont want them in any ambush area or all in the basement where one can resource gaurd.Try cat attract litter to and be sure that you are using pet enzyme cleaner to clean. I would honestly put her in a room with two litter boxes to train her. It sounds like they never attempted at all to litter box train her, so you will have to do that. Part of cat ownership is to provide vet care, cats should be spayed/neutered unless you are breeding them and a yearly vet exam is super important.
 
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LadyYennon

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Needs to go to the vet and we need more litter boxes, I definitely agree with that.
 

jeannem

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When I first got Suki I read you need to have 1 litter box per kitty and so forth on every level of the house they are in.
Also we just figured out that the litter box needs to be completely emptied out and re filled and it will be done tomorrow when hubby goes shopping to get more litter!
j
 

inudemon

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When I first got Suki I read you need to have 1 litter box per kitty and so forth on every level of the house they are in.
Also we just figured out that the litter box needs to be completely emptied out and re filled and it will be done tomorrow when hubby goes shopping to get more litter!
I am still in the process of possibly getting a cat. Every cat video and resource article told me to get 1 litterbox plus another per cat. So one cat I'd get 2 litterboxes.

Needs to go to the vet
I'd suggest the vet for sure if the cat is refusing to go in their litterbox. This seems to be a sign of a UTI if not something else according to many articles I've read. Vet care is important for the cat plus getting them fixed.
 

flybear

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I would try different litter and different litter box designs .. including using dirt ... if baby was raised by an outdoor cat she might expect to go outside ... dirt, sand, grass, wood or walnut shell .... litter might work for her ... try an open tray or just a storage container. Most cats love to dig and scratch- and I would put litter boxes everywhere the cat does her business ...
 
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LadyYennon

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I highly doubt she has a UTI. She has NEVER used the box. She isn't just peeing wherever she wants, she's pooping wherever too. She has NEVER used the litter box. NEVER. And when you try to put her ANYWHERE near kitty litter she flips out, scratching and biting. My fiance tried his hardest to acquaint her with a litter box, and my fiance ended up with very bloody arms.

And we already tried setting up multiple litter boxes. She won't go anywhere near them, even when they are squeaky clean.
 
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LadyYennon

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I would try different litter and different litter box designs .. including using dirt ... if baby was raised by an outdoor cat she might expect to go outside ... dirt, sand, grass, wood or walnut shell .... litter might work for her ... try an open tray or just a storage container. Most cats love to dig and scratch- and I would put litter boxes everywhere the cat does her business ...
That's a good idea. I will give my future mother-in-law the suggestion. I know she once tried to give her a natural litter once, and it didn't make a difference. I suggested sand once, but they never gave that a go. I'll just suggest it again.
 
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LadyYennon

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Derp, I forgot to say thank you to everyone. THANK YOU lol
 
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