Bathroom Dilemma

[Bunniii]

Hey! I have a 4 month old kitten (Yuki - Tortoise Shell - Female) who has recently been having issues using her bathroom. When I first got her we had issues with her not using her litter box (yes at the time my two cats shared the one - is a very large litter bot). I asked my vet about how to prevent it and she suggested cleaning it regularly because cats are very clean little things. After I started cleaning it twice a day she stopped using my bed, her bed and my bag as a toilet. Everything was going well up until 4 days ago. She started using my bed, her bed and my bag again as a toilet even thought I put her in the litter box (she seems to go when I put her in there) but I still find puddles all throughout my room. They don't use any other part of the house either, only my room (they spend most of their time in here so I assume that's why). I did use a new type of litter for the last 2 weeks, 2 days ago I switched back to their original one in hopes that she just didn't like the new litter and it would fix the issue - not the case.

I have purchased a second litter box and put it in a different area to the first one. I do have 1 other cat (Yuumi - Tabby Medium Hair - Female) she is 5 Months old and they get along very well. They eat together, play together, sleep together and clean each other. Unfortunately because of my living circumstance if I cannot prevent her from having these bad habits I may have to rehome her as I cannot afford to do 3 or 4 loads of washing every day.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, she has become a huge part of my life and I would be heart broken if I had to rehome her.

Thank you!

[fjm]

The extra litter box should help, especially if you make sure it is positioned so that one cat cannot guard both boxes at once (remember cats tend to guard by staring as much as by any physical action, so try to put them out of lines of sight). Have you used an enzymatic cleaner everywhere she has soiled to stop the smell encouraging her to go there again? I would also get some big polythene or similar waterproof and slightly slippery sheets to cover everything temporarily, to discourage her until she relearns to use a tray.

It may also be worth getting her checked for a UTI, if you have not already done so - it is a common cause of litter box problems.

[Ruth B]

I would say the first thing is to get her checked by a vet just to make sure there is no medical cause making it so she doesn't want to use the tray.

Next a water proof cover on the bed, covering the bed with a water proof sheet during the day will help a lot, even some bin bags cut open and taped together should help save on washing the bedding all the time. You might even try putting one over her cat bed and then putting an old towel on top so it is less to wash and dry. I would also recommend getting a proper mattress protector, a water proof cover that goes under the bottom sheets to prevent anything soaking into the mattress. When one of my old cats was at the end of his life, he spent his last day on our bed, we took him to the vets that evening knowing he wasn't coming home. However it wasn't until we were getting ready for bed that we found out he hadn't moved from that spot on the bed and had become incontinent, the bed spread, the duvet, the sheets were all soaked through, the top of the mattress protector was wet and needed washing, but the mattress underneath was dry. Heartbroken as we already were, having to remake the bed to go to sleep was bad enough, if we hadn't be able to use the bed we would have been even more devastated. I've never been with out a mattress protector since then, and now always keep a spare just in case (It hasn't been needed again, but I don't want to risk it).

An extra litter tray should help, really for 2 cats you should have 3 trays to really stop any chance of guarding, but I know that isn't always possible. Cats guarding areas isn't always obvious to us humans, they have a very good ability to be 'passive aggressive' where they will hang around somewhere looking all innocent and peaceful while sending out signals to another cat that they will be attacked if they come close. One of mine does it, he gets to the top of the stairs and just flops over as if he is half asleep, but my other two know if they go near him he will bat them one, not hard, but enough to let them know he could attack them. Your may seem happy enough together, but there might be an under lying level of tension you aren't aware off. I would also suggest making sure there is plenty of water bowls and if you can a few bowls of dried food around the house means that one cat can never guard them all.

Next consider what type of litter tray you are using, some cats hate ones that have lids on them, ones with cat flap entrances are even worse, try an open one, while more offensive to us humans, they are often preferred by cats, also consider where you are putting them, what routs in and out are there, can they see anyone approaching or are they in danger of being sneaked up on and pounced.

Finally what litter are you using, It sounds like she was using the new litter for a while so that might not be the problem, but it might be worth checking out and trying different ones. An unscented fine grained one is often preferred by cats, large lumps as found in some of the wood pellet ones can become uncomfortable on the paws as the cat gets older and bigger. I adopted my Mothers cat when my Mother had to move into a nursing home, i was told she would not use a litter tray and always insisted on going out to the garden no matter what the weather. As she had to be kept in for a few weeks, I was prepared to buy compost or topsoil to fill her tray, but as soon as she was out of the carrier, she went over to the litter tray and started happily digging. My Mother had insisted on keeping to the wood pellet she had used when the cat was a kitten, I used a fine grained clay based litter. Scented litters can also be offensive to cats so try and avoid those.

Finally I would suggest trying to make sure her scent is spread through out the house so she can feel she owns the whole place. Sometimes if something upsets a cat they will start to mark territory by urinating on things to say 'this is my place'. Anything she sleeps on (not one she has peed on), whether it is fancy cat beds or just old towels, scattered through out the house will help spread her scent around will help her feel more in control of her surroundings.

Finally is there any chance that something she has seen outside is making her feel unsafe in her own home, could any other cat have got inside through a cat flap, could she have seen one through a window that has upset her, if something like that is the case then spreading her scent through out the house will hopefully help that, but if it doesn't you might have to do a bit more investigating to see if you can work out what is upsetting her.

I hope you can get her sorted and she can have a long happy life with you.