Off-Topic yet another cat question - sorry

[macska]

So I have 4 cats now. My original two brother they are 7y Gatsby and Milo and my daughter's 2 kittens Hux and Finch they are 5 mo. Finally they are all happy together, after the first few turbulences of course, But now Gatsjy started to pee and poop outside the many litter boxes that I have all over the house. He had this habit before to poop on a certain tiny area rug on the bathroom, and that was not a big deal. But now the pee really worries me. I use the very same litter - Feline Pine since the day they were born. Maybe he needs his very own box? But how do you menage that in a busy household where everybody is all over the places with no restriction? Thank you for all the input. oi

[andtckrtoo]

First - get him checked by a vet. Often a change in litter box habits is the first sign of an issue. Once that is ruled out...

How many litter boxes and how often do you clean? Feline Pine is a great litter, but it is not very scoopable, so it's tough to keep really clean. Consider maybe putting Swheat litter in one box. It's healthy, and scoopable made out of wheat. There is some dust, but not like the standard scoopable.

[BunnyHop]

With my old cat, all I had to do to get him back on track was give him a bath. I think it was mostly about asserting my dominance over him (not in a harsh way, just reminding him that yes, I'm in charge here.)

Our situation might have been different, he was the lone cat in our entire household, but I mention it, in case it's helpful.

[amoodygirl]

Originally Posted by andtckrtoo

First - get him checked by a vet. Often a change in litter box habits is the first sign of an issue. Once that is ruled out...

How many litter boxes and how often do you clean? Feline Pine is a great litter, but it is not very scoopable, so it's tough to keep really clean. Consider maybe putting Swheat litter in one box. It's healthy, and scoopable made out of wheat. There is some dust, but not like the standard scoopable.

I second all this - definitely rule out any urinary tract issues . As far as litter, I use Swheat Scoop litter and it's terrific. I have 6 cats now, one is a high moderate CH kitty, and have 6 litter boxes. The CH kitty has a special, flat one. Theoretically, you're supposed to have 1 litter box per cat plus one extra. Has not been a problem without the extra one.

Diane

[macska]

Originally Posted by amoodygirl

I second all this - definitely rule out any urinary tract issues . As far as litter, I use Swheat Scoop litter and it's terrific. I have 6 cats now, one is a high moderate CH kitty, and have 6 litter boxes. The CH kitty has a special, flat one. Theoretically, you're supposed to have 1 litter box per cat plus one extra. Has not been a problem without the extra one.

Diane

Yes, I have 4 boxes. But how do you teach them to use their designated boxes? The babies are going all over and using all the boxes. I'll but Swheat today.

[amoodygirl]

Originally Posted by macska

Yes, I have 4 boxes. But how do you teach them to use their designated boxes? The babies are going all over and using all the boxes. I'll but Swheat today.

If I'm wrong, someone correct me.... but I've never trained any of them to use designated boxes. My 5 use all the boxes, even my CH cat's flat box. Sometimes one of them will pee in one, move on down to another and then poop. Lately my CH kitty is managing one of the very high-sided boxes. Normally he lies down to do his business but he's getting stronger, muscle-wise. I find that, at least with mine, they pretty much will go in whichever box is the most convenient.

Diane

[Kitten]

Originally Posted by amoodygirl

If I'm wrong, someone correct me.... but I've never trained any of them to use designated boxes. My 5 use all the boxes, even my CH cat's flat box. Sometimes one of them will pee in one, move on down to another and then poop. Lately my CH kitty is managing one of the very high-sided boxes. Normally he lies down to do his business but he's getting stronger, muscle-wise. I find that, at least with mine, they pretty much will go in whichever box is the most convenient.

Diane

That's been my experience. I keep one downstairs & one upstairs in my bedroom since all the animals sleep with me.

[cataddict]

I also TOTALLY agree with getting him checked out by a vet. It could be a kidney thing or some other medical issue. I'm assuming they are all fixed?

I've never had a designated litter box for each cat. I can't imagine any self-respecting cat even tolerating the idea. We had six cats until last June, and lost 3 of our boys to different illnesses over the span of a couple of months. It still hurts to think about it, so I won't, but wanted to give perspective on how many cats I had). They never had a problem sharing boxes with the others. I simply couldn't find 7 spots for boxes, and we never had more than 4boxes max. Mind you, they were giant boxes, probably twice the size of a "normal" box. We scooped two or three times a day. It was a chore, but looking back I would welcome it to have the guys back. We are now using 3 boxes, and one of them gets very little use. The two females also DO NOT like the remaining male. Did I say DO NOT like him??? but they don't seem to care about using the same "toilet" regardless.

We've been using Swheat scoop for years. It actually clumps and the dust is much less than clay litter. If you sign up for their emails, they will periodically send you coupons along with a newsletter which is actually kind of interesting.

Good luck!

[LAC]

Agree with others that say a vet check for health issues is the first step.

Swheat scoop was a disaster for us. We have on and off problems with carpenter ants at my house and it attracted them in droves.

Although it is a little expensive, I swear by Cat Attract litter. It's dust free and scoopable (but not flushable). It has some herbs or something in it that draw the cat the litterbox.

[Dorothy J]

Macska, I agree about the vet visit.

But I will share this with you: my 14 yo IBS cat, Bella, started peeing (not pooping, TG) just outside the litter box not long ago. Finally caught her in the act & realized that one of her legs was bothering her & forcing her into a position outside the box. Weird, because we hadn't noticed her limping or anything. I was all set to take her to the vet, but then it stopped happening (knock on wood).

I want to try the Swheat litter now. We use Feline Pine--I love the no-dust aspect with hardwood floors. But with a chronic diarrhea/IBS cat, it's hard to keep the FP clean, ugh!


cataddict, condolences on the loss of your kitties in such a short span of time--oh, that hurts!