Cat Chat Feline Forum

I appreciate the quick response, I was almost in panic mode when I saw the bed soaked in urine this morning. I will give him an additional litter box tonight and will not be giving him the bed back for a while. I really don't want to give up on him and agree with Ruth B that it's still early stages of retraining, so I'm hopeful. I was debating on trying a different litter too, but will leave the same one. I also did some research on cat paws and read about how sentitive their paws are. Even the fur on their feet can distrupt them if too long. He is a medium coat and does have really furry feat. I wonder if the litter is sticking to his fur on his feed and he doesn't like that. His little paw pads look dry too and are peeling a little, not sure if that's normal.

If you could, I would suggest getting a vet to check his pads over. As far as I know the pads are normally dry, but I have never seen them peeling, even when one of the family cats we had when I was young reared up onto a hot oven door to see what was in the casserole my mother was stirring. My mother, panicking a bit, rang the vet and was informed that as long as the cat seemed alright and there was no sign of damage then she would be fine, they may be sensitive but they are also incredibly well insulated.

If yours has got peeling pads, then it could indicate a problem that scratching in the litter is irritating and that would explain why he doesn't want to use the litter tray and why he doesn't always cover up when he does go. Also if the peeling leads to any broken skin then more problems could arise, scratching in litter no matter how much we clean a tray can never really be classed as hygienic.

Hello everyone.. I have lost hope. Since the beginning of the month my cat has had two litter boxes and I finally decided to put the bed back in. Within the first hour, he peed on it. Both litter boxes were clean. I did get his paws checked and they are fine. What should I do now? Please help.

Well, in your place I would check around farms and stables to see if there was somewhere I could rehome him as an outdoor cat, where I could trust the people to look after him. And failing that, I'd have him put to sleep, as a cat unsuitable to be a pet. Sorry. But I'd rather do that than let him go to somewhere where I didn't know if he'd be looked after, where he might be punished for being dirty, or even dumped to fend for himself.

Maybe someone else here can offer you a better suggestion.

I am so sorry to read this, I was really hoping that no news was good news and that the problem had been solved. Unfortunately I am out of ideas. He obviously knows what a litter box is for and will use it if there is nothing else available but if he can find something soft underfoot it seems he will go there out of preference.

I now have to go along with MarySkater and agree that the only option left might be to rehome him where it won't matter if he doesn't always use his litter box. I really hoped it wouldn't come to this, and still hope that someone else might be able to give other advice which would solve the problem.

I know how heartbreaking it is, I have been there, but if you could find another suitable home for him it might be best allround. He could live a happy, full life as a barn or stable cat and believe me, once you aren't facing each day fearing the worst your own stress levels will plummet which will make everyone left in the house that much happier.

Whatever happens, you have tried your best so please keep telling yourself that and that you shouldn't feel guilty for failing him, you haven't. (I know I felt this way for months after having to hand Suzie back to the charity when she wouldn't settle in a multi cat household.)

Yes, I agree with Ruth, that you have been very patient and have really tried. If my previous post was rather curt, that's because it is never easy to suggest euthanasia for a young and healthy cat. At the same time, if an animal is going to share our home, there are some behaviours that can't be tolerated. Short of keeping him caged forever, which I don't think he'd want, an outdoor home if available seems the only option. And if it's not available...

forgive me if this has been suggested and has not worked, but would he use a litter tray filled with garden soil or garden compost?

I had a cat who would only use a litter tray if it was really raining hard outside - I lifted a slab of the patio and filled it with soil and he always used that for preference even when he was very ill and could barely get through the cat flap - and this was purely instinctive as he had been home reared and never had to live outdoors without a litter tray

at least it wouldn't have to cost a penny to give it a try