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Cat Not Using Litter Box?
First a little background: We have a 10 month old, 11 pound MaineCoon mix (Apollo) that we took in when he was 3 months old (he was feral). We spent a lot of time socializing him and getting him to trust us. He has adapted to a certain extent; he still hisses at my husband and hides for a good portion of the day but he does come out and lay in our laps and play.
A little more than a month ago, we started finding poop outside the litter box. It would just be a turd here and there. We have a covered litter box so we tried uncovering it. No effect. He peed on the floor one time when my husband got home from work.
Two weeks ago, we took in a stray cat and decided to keep. Once we made sure he was healthy, we started slowly introducing him to Apollo. It's been about a week since introductions and they seem to get along well; they play but sometimes they fight as well. We now have three litter boxes in the apartment, one covered and two uncovered. We thought Apollo had stopped going outside the litter about a week ago when we started introductions but yesterday I found more poop on the ground and this morning we found pee from overnight.
Anybody know what I can do to help a healthy young cat start consistently using the litter box again? He's quite anxious and stressed but having the second cat seems to be good for him; he is out of hiding more, playing more, etc.
Sorry for the lengthy post, tips would be most appreciated!
Re: Cat Not Using Litter Box?
My cat, Paco, pees outside of the litterbox occasionally, usually when he's stressed or anxious. We've been dealing with it for 10-plus years. Couple of thoughts:
How do you know it's not the new cat going outside of the box?
Is it possible that the new cat is startling Apollo when Apollo is attempting to use the litterbox?
Are both cats neutered? If not, get it done ASAP.
Have you taken Apollo to the vet to rule out a medical problem?
You acknowledge that Apollo is stressed and anxious- maybe the new cat is contributing to this. I would consider keeping the cats separated for a longer period of time.
When we adopted a second cat, we purchased a Feliway pheromone diffuser to Paco with the transition. I think the diffuser helped a lot, but they are kind of expensive. Here's a link: http://www.amazon.com/Feliway-Plug-In-Diffuser-Refill-Milliliters/dp/B000WHUOEI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1337445535&sr=8-1
Be sure that you're thoroughly cleaning the areas where Apollo poops and pees. I like Nature's Miracle Just for Cats. Also, we've found that keeping the litterbox super clean helps. I clean our litterboxes every day, sometimes twice a day.
Good luck! Having a cat that pees outside the litterbox is no fun, but there are ways to manage it.
It's not the new cat because anytime they are together it's supervised. When we've found the poop/pee, it was after Apollo had been in the living room by himself. Apollo is neutered and the new cat is getting neutered next week- the soonest they could get us in for it.
I thought it was not keeping the litter clean that was the problem- with me being pregnant, it was up to my husband and he would rarely scoop. I researched more into it and decided to do it myself while wearing gloves. These past few days I have been scooping/cleaning all the litters daily and it still had no effect on him going outside.
I was looking into the diffuser; we just got the Whisker City At Ease spray to try first. I can't really say if I've seen a change yet but it's only been a few days.
Now that you mention keeping them separate, he could be upset that he is not allowed in the bedroom at night. He never slept in there all night but would usually come in the morning after my husband left for work to have some snuggle time with me. I just try to get up early and let him in my lap but maybe he is acting out because he is jealous of the new cat.
Thank you for the advice, I'm definitely going to look more into the diffuser and clean the entire apartment after I get some of the nature's miracle for cats!
Have you given the cat attract litter a shot? a lot of people have had success with that...
Beyond that, I have no advice, just wanted to commiserate. My 8 y/o poops at least once a week outside the litter box, no matter how clean the boxes are, how many boxes there are, what type of litter I use, etc.
GL to you and your kitties!
Every bit of this is excellent advice!