Running out of options...

[grullablue]

I just found this group, as I'm grasping at straws here...trying to save my cat's life. We actually have four cats in our home. All males, all neutered. They all get along well. We have four litter boxes, one is actually an under-the-bed tote, so it's very large, it took almost 40 lbs of cat litter to fill it. I bought this to try to remedy my problem. Boxes are different shapes and sizes, and scattered about, and cleaned twice a day.

We have had all of our boys since they were kittens. "Little Guy" is my problem, he's 11 years old and the 2nd oldest. He is also diabetic, but it is controlled, and he gets insulin shots twice per day. I'll take you back two years ago, he began pooping on the floor in our basement. Now, that is where the litter boxes are, in the basement. (open stairway to the basement, however the basement itself is not finished, except a couple of rooms, which I keep closed off to protect the carpet.) As time went on, he'd start pooping farther away from the boxes....still in the basement. VERY occasionally, he'd poop upstairs. But not often. I just dealt with it....

Little Guy (I'll say LG to keep it short) is my sensitive boy. He LOVES me, is very bonded to me, but HATES my son. Our son is 8 years old, and LG is terrified of him. Son ignores him, but he's a typical boy, full of energy...and LG just doesn't like the energy he throws out...you know? So, he is stressed in our environment. But, he has the entire basement to hide in. Food and water down there, litter boxes, window and patio door to look out, and cushy furniture to lay on. It's not finished down there (cement floors), but we do have some furniture set up down there. It used to be, I could just tell when LG would poop on the floor, because it was predictable...when something in the house would change, we'd have company or something...I knew it would happen. But that was two years ago when it started. Later on, it got to be all the time.

This year LG has taken to urinating outside the box. No infection, no stones, no crystals....he had an exam, and I even had vet check his anal glands and express them, in case they were full and causing discomfort. Always was in the same spot, outside the same box. So, onetime, I got this bright idea to move a piece of furniture in that spot, to make that spot unavailable. DUMB IDEA. He began peeing on that furniture. Put a tarp over the furniture. He started peeing on the carpet at the bottom of the stairs. I couldn't win. I locked him up in a bathroom and cleaned everything up as well as I could with a citrusy enzyme cleaner, and moved things back the way they were. I used chux pads....(puppy pad looking things but for people), in that spot, and he'd pee on the pad. Which was fine, but I was afraid of him teaching this bad habit to the other cats. I can't keep letting this happen!!

I've been working closely with my vet...she can find nothing wrong with him medically at this time. I have bought a "Good Behavior Pheremone Collar" for him (like Felaway diffuser, but a collar, goes where the cat goes instead of the diffuser which may stay in one room or area of the house). I bought the bigger litter box. I've tried different litter, give him more attention, we've tested urine twice now recently just to make sure nothing came up later...

I believe it's behavioral....but don't know what to do. The pooping, I've been dealing with that for two years. The peeing, almost 5 months. The vet has him on Cosequin now. It's also prescribed for cats under stress to help replace the bladder lining. He's been on it for several weeks now....not noticing a difference yet.

I believe it's the stress of being in a home with a kid he is terrified of, or perhaps feeling territorial now, all of a sudden with the other cats, and I am VERY TEARFULLY considering euthanasia. Trust me, I love this cat with all of my heart, which is why I have been cleaning up poop for two years, and urine for 5 months! I put together a huge cage in the basement near a window, just to buy us some time for now. I let him out for 45 minutes this afternoon...what did he do? Poop in the middle of my kitchen floor.

I wish it would stop.... I don't want to have to put him to sleep, I would never forgive myself for putting him to sleep for behavioral issues. I know he's stressed out here....and if I could, I'd love to find a loving place for him to spend the rest of his life in peace and happiness...where I know these issues would stop....but I'm sure there's very very few who would adopt an 11 year old diabetic cat...especially once I share these issues. Even though I think once removed from the stress, they'd quit.

Keeping him locked up for the rest of his life is NOT an option for me. It's not fair to him. It's no life for him....especially when he'll see the other cats wandering freely around him.

I feel like I've exhausted the options I can realistically do.... finances are tight, but I've continued to do what it takes. He gets what he needs.

He and I are SO bonded, but I just don't feel like I can help him. And it hurts me so much to say that.

Angie

 

[stephanietx]

Welcome to TCS! I'm sure more knowledgeable folks will be along soon, but have you tried some Feliway diffusers in your home? They help reduce stress.

 

[white cat lover]

Welcome to TCS!

Before offering any advice, I have a few questions for you. Maybe with our collective minds, we can come up with a workable solution.

Has LG had bloodwork done recently?
Does he always pee or poop in the same places?
Do you remember the specific enzymatic cleaner you used? (Some just plain don't work)
When was the last time you threw the litterboxes away & bought new ones?

 

[Willowy]

He will pee on the puppy pads, right? My mom has an older cat that only uses puppy pads, and has been this way for years....none of the other cats have picked up on it. That could be a viable option. They sell nice puppy pad holders that are almost like litterboxes. Maybe he'd like that. Particularly if he's de-clawed, as this can cause paw sensitivity that can lead to litterbox avoidance and a seeking out of soft surfaces to potty on. Although my mom's cat is not de-clawed...she's just weird.

There are medications available. Prozac, Bupropion and similar anti-depressants. I don't think they're too pricey. If you find one that's a good fit, he shouldn't be too dopey or anything, and they can be very effective once you find the right one. I don't think medication should be the first choice, but I DO think medicating is better than having him put down.

 

[katkisses]

More ideas:

Have you tried cat attract litter?
Different tyes of litter? (get several boxes, and put differnt litter and each)
Added some dirt from outside to the litter? (no potting soil)


I would rehome him as a barn cat, or make him an outdoor cat before I would PTS for peeing/pooping. I don't have the heart to do any of the above. If I were in your situation I would make a big outdoor enclosure for him-after trying everything else.

 

[grullablue]

Thanks for all of the ideas thus far!

Will try to address everything.... the feliway....that's why I have the collar on him. It does just as the diffuser does, only more localized for a specific cat having problems, as my vet said anyway. Whom I trust very much. She knows my house, has been here, and suggested that because of the layout of my house, saying she thought it would be more cost effective this way, as I'd need several diffusers to make it effective. So, he is wearing his pheremone collar instead.

I have not heard of cat attract litter and would be very interested in learning more! I will have to look that up!!

As far as making him an outdoor cat, there's a few reasons I don't think that would be a good idea. 1/ he's 11 and always been a house cat, and easily stressed, 2/ he's diabetic and needs shots twice a day, and 3/he's front declawed, which I think rules out the outdoor cat thing completely.

Guess I should also add, when he's locked up in a bathroom, he uses the litterbox consistently, without fail!

Two of our four litter boxes are new, two have been in use for awhile. He has one he prefers over the others. One he will use, and a different one he will pee in front of. He does pee in the same place, usually. There was a time he peed on the landing at the bottom of the stairs (carpetted), but that was because I didn't make his normal pee spot available. I don't recall the name of the cleaner, I can go look, but it seemed to work very well, I don't smell urine at all, had a nice citrus scent, and he never urinated there again after I used it. But to be safe, I also covered the area with a floor rug.

Yep, he always pees on the pads, but there were two reasons I didn't want to keep doing it. I guess I was afraid the other cats would pick up on that...and the smell! Without the litter to neutralize the urine odor...it's quite strong, throughout the house! Of course, I change the pads as soon as I check them....I only work four hours a day, but it doesn't take long for that urine to sit there on the pad to travel through the house...

He gets bloodwork with his diabetes, and that has been ok, and his urinalysis (he's had two recently) was ok as well.

I don't know that he's looking for soft spots to potty on...perhaps, but he's choosing a concrete floor! (thank goodness, but I'd rather it be the litter box!)

I am going to look into these litters with the attractant in it. I'd considered trying the pine litters again as well...to see if that makes a difference.

Thanks for the opinions,
Angie

 

[lyrajean]

I've had pretty good luck with the combo of cat attract litter additive and feliway plug ins for my 'whizzer' Aya.

 

[white cat lover]

Give the Cat Attract a try. If he has spots he goes to pee/poop - put a litterbox there. You can eventually move it, but you just need to get him back to using a litterbox regularly. Sometimes it requires you confine them to a small room for awhile to "re-train" them to use the box no problems.

 

[laureen227]

cat attract litter
cat attract attractant
both sold @ Petsmart, btw.

 

[Willowy]

Cat Attract litter is sold at Petsmart. The litter works better than the additive, so it would probably be best to try that first, you might be able to wean him onto his regular litter with the additive eventually.

Puppy pads usually have odor control stuff in them. Maybe if you get actual puppy pads instead of the human variety? Idk.

Have you tried alternative litters? Yesterday's News, Feline Pine, etc? I understand some de-clawed cats object to the feel of the clay litter packing into their empty toe sockets and that's why they avoid using it. A pelleted litter might work for him.

 

[stephanietx]

Have you changed litter brands recently?

I have a declawed kitty (came to me that way) and she doesn't like coarse litters and will not cover if that's what we have. I think the larger pieces of litter hurt her paws. She likes very fine litter, almost like sand.

 

[littleraven7726]

Originally Posted by stephanietx

Have you changed litter brands recently?

I have a declawed kitty (came to me that way) and she doesn't like coarse litters and will not cover if that's what we have. I think the larger pieces of litter hurt her paws. She likes very fine litter, almost like sand.

Two of my cats are front declawed, and one is VERY particular about his litter. Soft and sandy seems to be his rule. He likes Swheat Scoop for alternative litters, but he's also liked Walmart Special Kitty scoop (green box) or the Sams Club brand(Green bucket with a blue lid). He's had issues with his declaw, he had regrowth and a toe amputated to the next joint back last year.

My cat that has all of her claws is particular about scents and litter. She prefers unscented.

My sister has a cat that won't use anything but unscented scooping clay litter. He poops outside of the box otherwise.

 

[cinder]

So you had no success with the Good Behavior collar? I recently put one on a pariah cat and have found her to be showing marked improvement in her relations with the other cats. However, her behavior issues were not litter box related. I don't use the difuser because I like to open the windows when the weather permits, and the Feliway spray wasn't effective.

I also have a cat that poops next to the box and had another that peed next to it. (not the same cat wearing the collar) I eventually either put plastic or a small piece of linoleum beneath something easily washable and simply dealt with the cleanup. None of the other cats followed suit. I found it much easier to anticipate the behavior and accept that I was going to wash two towels a day than to medicate, which was not 100% effective anyway. My vet also recommended placing the cat outdoors as a last resort, even though he was deaf.