- Joined
- Jun 19, 2021
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Short version- newly rescued stray nursing mother won’t use litter box. Seeking advice
Long version-
I recently rescued a nursing mom with three 4 week old kittens. She is friendly toward me, with a slow approach. She is also very protective and aggressive toward other cats (she’s does not interact with my resident cats but will hiss and sometimes claw at the door if she hears them in the hall). I have her in a spare bathroom and set a nest in the bathtub to keep the kittens contained. Mom is severely underweight so I put food and water in the tub on chux/puppy pads for close access.
She didn’t pee or poop for ove 24 hours. So we went to the vet to rule out obstruction, foreign body, etc. The vet said the x ray showed full bladder and colon so thought she was stress-holding. I put out two litter boxes with two different kinds of litter. That night she pooped and peed inside the tub on top of the chux pads near her food. I thought it was maybe a fluke and she just couldn’t hold it anymore. Next night, same thing happened. I got a different kind of litter and put it in the tub with her, with puppy pads around it. She pooped in the carrier and peed next to the litter box on the pads. tonight I’m taking all the puppy pads out of the tub and placing them in the litter box to see if she chooses to pee there.
Any advice? I know this poor cat has been through a lot and was super stressed. I would try cat attract litter but I’m concerned about clumping litter around the babies. Any other litters to try? Maybe feliway? It’s not as much the messes that I mind- I just worry this is a sign of stress. Thanks!
Long version-
I recently rescued a nursing mom with three 4 week old kittens. She is friendly toward me, with a slow approach. She is also very protective and aggressive toward other cats (she’s does not interact with my resident cats but will hiss and sometimes claw at the door if she hears them in the hall). I have her in a spare bathroom and set a nest in the bathtub to keep the kittens contained. Mom is severely underweight so I put food and water in the tub on chux/puppy pads for close access.
She didn’t pee or poop for ove 24 hours. So we went to the vet to rule out obstruction, foreign body, etc. The vet said the x ray showed full bladder and colon so thought she was stress-holding. I put out two litter boxes with two different kinds of litter. That night she pooped and peed inside the tub on top of the chux pads near her food. I thought it was maybe a fluke and she just couldn’t hold it anymore. Next night, same thing happened. I got a different kind of litter and put it in the tub with her, with puppy pads around it. She pooped in the carrier and peed next to the litter box on the pads. tonight I’m taking all the puppy pads out of the tub and placing them in the litter box to see if she chooses to pee there.
Any advice? I know this poor cat has been through a lot and was super stressed. I would try cat attract litter but I’m concerned about clumping litter around the babies. Any other litters to try? Maybe feliway? It’s not as much the messes that I mind- I just worry this is a sign of stress. Thanks!