Male Cat Not Using Litter Box...HELP!

[MtyMax]

I have had two foster cats since October 2011. The male (2yrs old) has recently peed at the front door and also on the couch. Both times either someone was sitting on the couch or in the same room as him. This has happened two days in a row, and I’m not sure exactly what do to. Both times he was caught in the act and scolded fairly harshly.

We have had no problems except for him peeing in my purse :mad: in December. To his defense, we were having guests and I moved the litter box and also switched to a covered box. Other than that one time, there have been no changes. We have two boxes (2 different types with 2 different litters).

Could this be a physical issue? UTI? Is so, or there other symptoms?

Can anyone recommend a really good cleaner in the meantime? If I cannot get this resolved quickly he may have to go back to the rescue :no: Carpet and cat pee is not a good combination.

[rubygirl1968]

Vet visit, first and most important. Urinating out of the box is often the first symptom of an UTI - you don’t want to wait for other symptoms to show up, but if he shows any sign of straining in the litter box or vocalizing (crying) in the box, get him to the vet asap. Male cats can get blockages and die.

One of my (neutered) male cats started spraying last year when I had too many fosters so I’ve had alot of experience with cat pee & carpets. I’ve tried all the enzymatic cleaners out there, but what has worked the best for me is straight hydrogen peroxide.

Blot up pee, pour peroxide on and it may take alot to soak down through the carpet and pad and let dry. It might take two applications, but it sure takes care of the odor.

But vet first - let us know what he/she says.

****I’m not fostering anymore and my cat has thankfully quit spraying.

Stephanie

[bdj]

Ugh - this is a big fat no funner.

And moving the box AND switching to a covered box sounds like it may have precipitated the problem (I’m totally sympathizing with you here, not blaming - I tried to switch litter types on my guy and created a major issue that took several months to fix!)

I would definitely look for a physical issue (my guy didn’t have any, but I felt like it was only fair to him to rule out anything that he couldn’t help), but if there’s nothing physical, you may have to retrain him to use the box.

What I did might sound a little drastic, but it was correct the problem or else, so I blocked his access to carpeted areas and “reverse crate trained” him. I bought him one of those cat condos (this one actually: http://www.petco.com/product/112629/Precision-Pet-Kitty-Condo.aspx ) , put a brand new, uncovered litterbox in the bottom of it, filled with the old acceptable litter and installed him in it if I wasn’t able to supervise him. It turns out that he has a pretty regular elimination schedule (and he’s not shy about that), so once I saw him use the box, he could come out and socialize with the rest of the critters afterwards.

It didn’t take very long, and he’s now allowed to wander most of the house at will. The box is still in the condo, and he’s VERY good about using it there. He also takes his meals in the condo (doors shut), which is helpful, as I have 4 dogs who would be more than happy to help him finish his food. Most of the dogs won’t climb inside the condo to help me clean the litterbox, which would be great, save for the one who’s perfectly willing to climb in for cat leavings… It’s not a perfect solution, but it has worked out well for me.

As far as cleaners? I usually end up with Nature’s Miracle Just For Cats - it seems to work about as well as any of them, and conveniently, seems to work just fine on dog messes too…

[paulaedwina]

Please don’t scold fairly harshly for 2 reasons.

1. He’s not going to make the connection that he’s being hurt because he peed in the wrong place. And, as a consequence…

2. He’s just going to hide where he eliminates so the problem will be worse.

Paula

[MtyMax]

Vet appointment at 2:30pm today. The rescue mentioned that tap water in NC is notorious for causing stones and blockages, we I’m switching to bottled water and also a food specifically for these issues (Not sure which as the rescue will provide it).

BDJ - the kitty was given his original box and litter back immediately after trying to switch to the covered. His distaste was obvious and my purse hit the trash

I’ll try to update this post when we get back this afternoon…pray that its a physical issue!

[bdj]

[QUOTE=MtyMax;6171120]
BDJ - the kitty was given his original box and litter back immediately after trying to switch to the covered. His distaste was obvious and my purse hit the trash

I’ll try to update this post when we get back this afternoon…pray that its a physical issue![/QUOTE]

Like I said, BTDT - I immediately switched back, too, but once he decided it was bad, it was all bad, hence the re-training effort.

Did your guy go back to using his old box/litter after you switched back? If he did, I’d definitely be thinking physical issues. Hopefully it’s something that can be quickly fixed!

[HenryisBlaisin]

I’m glad you’re checking for physical issues first! the vast majority of LB issues are physical, not behavioral.

Another thing to consider if it’s not a UTI…make sure he doesn’t have a cut paw pad or something that could make the litter hurt his feet. Is he declawed? Declawed cats do often develop LB issues because it hurts their feet! Experimenting with different litters may help in that case.

If you do switch to a uringary RX food, beware of Hill’s s/d, which is only for temporary use and only then if there are struvite crystals present. Long-term use of this food can promote calcium oxalate stones instead, and those almost always require surgery!

Here’s a great article on urinary tract issues (it’s weird to say that the problem is hopefully an infection, but in this case, i hope it is, because it will be much easier to fix the LB issues if it is!) and on feeding properly and preventing future issues: http://www.catinfo.org/?link=urinarytracthealth.

Good luck with your kitty! That is such a nasty issue to deal with, but hopefully it will be resolved soon!

[MtyMax]

Yes, he immediately went back to using the box once I gave it back to him.

I’ll check his pads, but he did poo in the box at some point today. Yesterday’s accident was an actual pee…a whole puddle of it. Last night he got the couch but it is higher up (6inches), so would that be spraying? Or peeing? He squats to pee…

Anxiously waiting news from the poor husband that took the boy to the vet.

I’m can’t think of anything that could be causing stress now. He has had a rather traumatic past: getting kicked out of his owners home, living in a vet’s office, and then coming to my home 3 months ago as a foster.

[MtyMax]

Update: The vet says that the foster kitty does not have any urinary problems. I’m not going to lie, I was hoping he would have a UTI that I could treat and know problems would be fixed. My husband took kitty to the vet so I’m not sure what all was done, but as the rescue paid for it we don’t have much say over the tests anyway.

The vet prescribed some kitty prozac and said she has had alot of success using it for LB issues. I’m VERY skeptical. In the meantime, litter boxes will be scrubbed and refilled with fresh litter, new toys for entertaining will be bought, and we’ll be keeping a very close eye on the kitty. Please send good thoughts our way…I hate cat piss! :lol:

[wigo]

good luck, good health for a kitten

[paulaedwina]

[QUOTE=MtyMax;6172743]
Update: The vet says that the foster kitty does not have any urinary problems. I’m not going to lie, I was hoping he would have a UTI that I could treat and know problems would be fixed. My husband took kitty to the vet so I’m not sure what all was done, but as the rescue paid for it we don’t have much say over the tests anyway.

The vet prescribed some kitty prozac and said she has had alot of success using it for LB issues. I’m VERY skeptical. In the meantime, litter boxes will be scrubbed and refilled with fresh litter, new toys for entertaining will be bought, and we’ll be keeping a very close eye on the kitty. Please send good thoughts our way…I hate cat piss! :lol:[/QUOTE]

I know how you feel! I have a macaw that plucks her feathers. After a battery of tests I was disappointed to find out it wasn’t physical. Physical would have been a lot easier to deal with.

Paula

[rubygirl1968]

I’m sorry it’s not physical, it would be easier to treat.

Some other suggestions, until the meds kick in, do you have a smaller room to put him in until he’s no longer urinating out of the box? Maybe a bathroom that’s easier to clean? Alot of the fosters I had were so stressed out from the moves and the changes that they were just overwhelmed by having a whole house to roam around in.

I also used Feliway and it did help some with Jellybean. I can’t say it was a cure, but it did lessen it. Of course, he was spraying everywhere and all the time, so yours doesn’t sound as bad and it might do more.

[SquishTheBunny]

Ive had amazing results with Feliway. And yes, agree that keeping kitty in a small room for a week or two with two litter boxes (keep them clean, but dont use a lot of soap). Give him a chance to re-train.

[lcw579]

Good luck. I hope you have better luck than I did. I have told this story before:

Worf would sporadically pee anywhere he chose. Many times I could trace it back to a change in the house - furniture moved, overnight guests. However, sometimes he would just decide that the diningroom rug was the best place. He also liked dirty laundry (did teach the girls to pick up their clothes).

We tried everything, feliway, cat attract litter, the vet and even an animal communicator a friend swore by. The AC actually worked the best - go figure. This was an inside/outside cat too. So if he hated the box he could go outside. Instead he would sometimes come in, look right at us and go on the rug. Anyway, nothing worked for long. We learned to deal with it.

Invested in a black light and gallons of Nature’s Miracle and XO cleaner. Eventually just did without a rug in the dining room and learned not to leave any piles of clothes or anything soft on the floor. He was a lucky cat to end up with us because I know a lot of people would have tossed him out for good. But we had him before the kids and loved him dearly. He was about 18 when he was finally PTS. I miss him but not the cleaning.

Here is a picture of the little pi**er:

[witherbee]

I have been dealing with this for several years now. It started when hubby brought home a declawed cat that had been dumped and was hanging around at his work (a horse farm). The cat got beat up and had bloody claws and that is when they realized he was declawed, so my sweet hubby took him home. At the time, I had 3 other indoor cats - 2 females and a male who would NEVER THINK of peeing outside of the litter boxes.

Well, Sylvester peed ON me the first night, but I chaulked it up to newness. He continued to have issues, but got somewhat better.

Then I got a puppy and the puppy had health issues and it was winter, so his housetraining did not progress as it should have. Between the 2 of them I think they went on most of my rugs. I did have the vet check the cat and we ended up putting him on Prozac for a while (he is not on it now). Removed all rugs from the house, closed all guest room doors so he could not pee on the beds (thank goodness I had waterproof mattress pads on them as he did pee on the beds at first) and problem seemed solved.

Seemed to get that under control and we got another stray - a long haired female that was starving and cold in the middle of winter. Sweet natured and beautiful, we named her Peaches and in she came. Got along with everyone =, but was scared. Seemed housetrained, but became fearful of my chihuahua and pretty much stayed up in the livingroom area of the house. Had a couple of accidents so I actually put a litter box in there for her, but after about 2 years in the house she decided my leather couch was her litterbox and we had a free for all with her and Sylvester peeing all over that couch (even with the scat mat). Back outside she went (she has claws) and she is MUCH happier out there.

THEN, arrives a feral cat who is emaciated - I mean a rack of bones. I feed her and sure enough note that she is pregnant (hard baseball sized belly). Try to catch her/trap her and cannot in time - she has a litter of kittens under the neighbor’s barn and then moves them into my shed on her own. I try to tame the kittens and end up trapping them all and getting them spayed/neutered, vaccinated etc with a Feral Cat group (they paid for most of it). Ended up “taming” 2 of the kittens and rehomed one of those 2. Found a rescue to take the 3 that were still feral and they worked with them and they are now up for adoption. Hubby really liked the remaining tame kitten, Harry, and he seemed to be no bother - was easy to housetrain and very sweet and got along with everyone - even the rotten chihuahua. We decided to keep him if a home could not be found (rather than sending him to the rescue), and all was well…

Until 2 weeks ago when he peed on the couch. The BRAND NEW couch. Thank goodness I had covered all of the new furniture with waterproof covers (mattress pads covered by slipcovers) because I did not trust Syvlester. Kitten has now peed on the couch at least 3 times, and was suspected in a couple of other incidents. Last night I went to put some clean laundry away that I had sitting on my office chair and he had peed on that.

Also, someone, no him, is peeing in the mudroom on our shoes as of this week.

I am at my wits end. I have tries the sprays (currently using the pheremone spray daily in the litter box area), have 5 litterboxes scrupulously clean - 2 covered, 3 open, lock the cats in the litter area and our bedroom at night (except for the 2 “good” cats).

I think I have just an issue with too many cats and they are feeding off of eachothers anxieties or dominance issues or something.

Sorry for the rant, but I can really feel for you. I am a sap and love animals, but this has cured me! No more cats when these “go”. I am a prisoner in my own home -cannot have anything nice, cannot open rooms up, spend time and money cleaning (that urine cleaner is expensive!). They are all on the best food, get plenty of attention (I work from home) and seem to get along really well. Not sure what is causing the anxiety - kitten LOVES the chihuahua and so does Sylvester.

I did mention this to my vet (and I am convinced the kitten has no UTI issues) and she immediately said she would prozac him - she understands the lengths I have gone to. My problem now is that I cannot even try to rehome him with this issue and I feel so bad because maybe he would not have had it if he was not in a household with so many other cats (lest I sound TOO hoarder-ish, there are 5 including him and it is a big house).

Good luck with yours - it is a HORRIBLE problem. I really am stuck because mine are not placeable and we live right on a busy road and there are lots of predators, so I cannot let the declawed guy out and I really, really do not want to put Harry the kitten out… So sad.

[Simbalism]

Everytime my male cat urinated outside the litter box, he had a UTI. I would get him checked.

[MtyMax]

Wow! Some of these stories are discouraging! Luckily this is only a foster cat who will eventually find a home. The rescue is not against letting him be a barn cat or outdoor kitty if the problem continues and we also continue to find no physical issues.

This guy is pretty indifferent to humans and would rather not be touched, talked to, or held. He was NOT feral and has a sister that is also our foster. She is the sweetest little thing. This guy is not mean or violent (except for being a bully to his sister) he just could care less about people.

Thanks for the advice…right now we are just watching closely.