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Cat stopped using litter box
I have a 10 year old calico, and she has suddenly stopped using her litter box. We've done everything we can think of to correct the problem, and have run out of ideas. Does anyone have experience with this?
We took her to the vet immediately. They did a physical exam and ran bloodwork, and deemed her perfectly healthy. We have two cats and only one litter box, so our next move was to set up an additional box. That didn't work. Next, we tried a pheromone diffuser, which seemed to have no effect. She's now been wearing the comfort collar for about three weeks, and that doesn't seem to be helping either. We've even tried her on anti-anxiety medication, but she had a bad reaction to it (vomiting, diarrhea, constipation), so that was a definite no go.
She stopped using the box in May, and the only thing that changed in our household lives around the same time was that I found out I was pregnant. She does seem to have become clingier with me in this process, and so I've been devoting specific time to her every day, for extra cuddling and petting. But that doesn't seem to have made a difference either.
We're tearing our hair out over this, but we're completely out of ideas at this point. Can anyone think of anything we haven't tried?
ETA: I read the post a few below mine, about the similar kitty problem. We have also tried the Cat Attract, with no effect. I'm thinking maybe we can look into Rescue Remedy? I had never heard of that. I'm also going to go out and buy the Nature's Miracle tonight. There's no lingering smell that we've noticed (we've been amazingly lucky in catching the accidents right when they happen), but I'm sure the cats are much more sensitive to it than we are.
Re: Cat stopped using litter box
Did your vet check your kitty's urine?
A lot of urinary issues in cats don't show up in bw you need urine.
Very much agreed. Frankly I am quite disappointed that they didn't do that the first time you went in for urinary issues. That is the 1st thing that should be done not bw, and even if bw was done first and all was normal it should be no question that it was needed.
I would also recommend looking up feline lower urinary tract disease (FLUTD). It is the most common cause of inappropriate elimination and while we can help make them comfortable there are out side factors that need to be changed to help your kitty.
Veterinarypartner.com is a fantastic wealth of info.
Thank you for the info, I really appreciate it. It's my understanding from my husband (who took the cat to the vet) that they wanted a urine sample, but she peed in her crate on the way there, so they weren't able to get one. But we've had many subsequent conversations with them in the past month or two as the problem has continued, and they were never concerned about doing more testing. I'm probably going to insist on it now.