Cat litter training advice
#52
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^^We've got a few scratch posts and they use those, but are fascinated with the back of the sofas. Oh well, we knew it would never be as clean and well kept again when we got animals, lol!
#53
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Haha! I know what you mean! Our cats destroyed our kitchen chairs, then we reupholstered them... then the King of Cats, Joe, came and destroyed them by "spraying" them... He's fixed so he cant do that... but Joe has a problem with certain fabrics.
#54
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Yep, life is never the same again once there are furry critters. My favourite is picking animal hair from the washing machine every time I use it, and then there is still hair all over the clean laundry :roll:
#56
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I would buy a new litterbox (without a lid, not self cleaning). Just a regular, plain old litterbox and special litter called "Cat Attract". Confine the cat to a small bathroom or laundry room for one week and see if that doesn't solve the problem. Sometimes old litterboxes harbor set in odors in the plastics that offend cats. Many times owners get fancy litterboxes that cats don't like (either the covers are too confining, LitterMaid is too frightful, etc). And the Cat Attract litter has an additive in it that entices them to use the litter. Another thing to try is having the stool tested for un-seen parasites.
Originally Posted by Olivia's Grammy
My female, 5 years old, has started pooping out side of her box. Sometimes right in front of it. I thought maybe she was constipated so I changed cat food brands and give her hairball treats almost every night. She is still pooping out of the box 90% of the time. Fortunatly is on tile floors, but the Emmy is only 5, I don't want to clean up her poop for the next 15 years. Reggie, her brother will eat vasoline and has no problems. I have to fight Emmy to eat vasoline or the hairball stuff in a tube. They each have their own liter boxes which are cleaned every day. Advice??????
#57
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Once you can rule out UTI (urinary tract infection) which are common in cats, you should definately move on to behavioral cures for her issue. One is Feliway and the other is Flower Essence.
This Feliway spray is a synthetic pheromone (almost like a body odor or hormone odor for cats) that mimics the scent a cat leaves behind when they rub their face/cheeks/whiskers on you. This is "marking" their territory to say "you are mine" or "I accept you as my family". So when your old cat goes to spray his territory again he will first smell the area and get a "whiff" of the Feliway and makes him think "hm, another cat has rubbed his face here . . . so this is where I am supposed to rub my face, not spray my urine". It has an overall calming/accepted effect on them.
Other treatment would be to give daily dose of medication or holistic type of treatment such as Bach Flower Remedies, Flower Essences, or vet prescribed anti-anxiety medication. This is a link to a website with some solutions that target the issues your cat is exhibiting especially the treatment called "Love My Litter Box:. http://www.catfaeries.com/essences.html . These remedies are meant to be used for several months as it often takes time for stressful reactions to go away and more tolerant behavior to become more habitual. If you don't feel comfortable with these, then see if your vet can prescribe an anti-anxiety/anti-depressant for several months to get your kitty more emotionally adapted to the stresses that are causing this behavior.
This Feliway spray is a synthetic pheromone (almost like a body odor or hormone odor for cats) that mimics the scent a cat leaves behind when they rub their face/cheeks/whiskers on you. This is "marking" their territory to say "you are mine" or "I accept you as my family". So when your old cat goes to spray his territory again he will first smell the area and get a "whiff" of the Feliway and makes him think "hm, another cat has rubbed his face here . . . so this is where I am supposed to rub my face, not spray my urine". It has an overall calming/accepted effect on them.
Other treatment would be to give daily dose of medication or holistic type of treatment such as Bach Flower Remedies, Flower Essences, or vet prescribed anti-anxiety medication. This is a link to a website with some solutions that target the issues your cat is exhibiting especially the treatment called "Love My Litter Box:. http://www.catfaeries.com/essences.html . These remedies are meant to be used for several months as it often takes time for stressful reactions to go away and more tolerant behavior to become more habitual. If you don't feel comfortable with these, then see if your vet can prescribe an anti-anxiety/anti-depressant for several months to get your kitty more emotionally adapted to the stresses that are causing this behavior.
#58
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Originally Posted by Alu_Rathbone
Haha! I know what you mean! Our cats destroyed our kitchen chairs, then we reupholstered them... then the King of Cats, Joe, came and destroyed them by "spraying" them... He's fixed so he cant do that... but Joe has a problem with certain fabrics.
:-(
#59
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Location: In the middle of a mess...
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Originally Posted by sandpat
Originally Posted by Alu_Rathbone
Haha! I know what you mean! Our cats destroyed our kitchen chairs, then we reupholstered them... then the King of Cats, Joe, came and destroyed them by "spraying" them... He's fixed so he cant do that... but Joe has a problem with certain fabrics.
:-(
Now, ALL my furbabies are fixed before they can even get an inkling of doing something like that.
#60
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Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: New York State, but I will always be Canadian!
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Originally Posted by Stummel
And we have never declawed any of our cats, I'd rather they scratch the furniture as long as they can defend themselves when they go outside and climb where they want to.
I would not suggest waiting til a cat is seven to perform a declaw if that is a choice...hard for them to heal. Another alternative which I used for years is called softpaws. It is a nail cap that you glue to your cats nails. They need to be replaced about monthly, but they come in a variety of colors and work quite well. I used to "humiliate" my younger boy by putting pink and purple on his nails! It amused me! I loved it!
On topic, I am glad to see that your little girl is starting to adjust a bit and is not peeing outside the box as much. I am sure the feliway takes a little bit to get to a level that works. I am really hoping that you can get it all taken care of!
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