Kitty box problems.

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

DH & I found two abandoned kittens. The first one we found, a female, learned kitty box training immediately. The second kitty, a male, doesn't get it at all. I put him in the box about every 30 minutes, but can't keep doing this. At night, we shut him in the bathroom with a kitty box & bed, etc. & in the morning when I let him out I can see that he's used the box. Of course, that's a small area & he can't help but see it.

I've had to have two down comforters dry cleaned, plus one duvet cover & this is getting mighty expensive.

What am I doing wrong? I've only had one other kitty & she caught on fine too.

The box is cleaned regularly & like I said, he uses it at night when he's in a confined space. During the day, he's with me in the bedroom so it's not like he's got the run of the house & can't fine the box. It's in the master bathroom sitting right there.

Any ideas?

[Kookaburra]

1. Have you had him checked by a vet?

Sometimes if they're having bladder issues they'll piddle on bed clothes, shoes, etc. instead of using the box.

Also, is he having to share a box with your other kitty? If so, you might want to give him his own litter box in a different part of the house than the other cat's.

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

2. They never shared a box.

We found her a week ago Sunday & found her a great home on Tuesday. Then we found this guy this last Sunday. He's obviously her brother. It looks as if the Momma cat just had the two. 3 of us have tried & none can get near her. We're trying to come up with Plan B. In the meantime, I've got another kitty to watch & hopefully find a good home for.

It's more than just widdling. It's a full out pee or poop. I put him in the box & he jumps out. I put him back in. He jumps out. Then, when my back is turned he jumps on the bed & pees. :eyes:

[Grateful for Hope]

3. Have you tried Cat Attract litter?

It's a bit pricey, but, it does work very well. It can be bought at PetSmart and at other pet store chains. If you try it and it doesn't work, a visit to the vet might be in order.

:hi:

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

4. I'll give it a go.

Thanks!

:hi:

Aside; DH just walked by & I read your idea out. He said "He'll get it". Yeah, Butch, he'll get it. In the meantime I'm the one dragging the stuff through the wash or to the dry cleaners. :eyes:

[david13]

5. You gotta have him checked by the vet. Also, the general rule is

two cats, two boxes.
dc

[Warpy]

9. My cats did share

and they were both adult rescues, unrelated to each other. The key was keeping it scooped out morning and afternoon. If it smelled too strongly of the other cat's urine, forget it. They'd both head for a (hand woven) throw rug to baptize.

They both crapped in the box, though, even if I hadn't gotten around to keeping it as clean as it should have been.

I did have one tomcat years ago that I did have to give up on. The stupid thing would stand in the box and hang his bum over the side and crap on the floor every time. He learned to go outside.

Cats are both clean and territorial. Your tom is just expressing his need for independent territory. It might be time to get him neutered. That can discourage a lot of bad behavior in tomcats.

You really, really want to get it done before he starts to spray everything.

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

10. I tried to explain that I've got two cats & TWO boxes, but

no one seems to want to listen. :shrug:

And please don't worry about me not having my pets spayed/neutered.

[Warpy]

11. Well, I didn't want to mention it

but the only times my cats have peed or pooped on a bed is when a houseguest they didn't like was staying there.

I tried the two boxes with the two cats. They did better sharing, actually, but I was a slave to keeping it pristine.

I did read your update and I'm delighted the tomcat finally figured out which box was his.

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

6. ************ UPDATE *************

My gawd, he used it on his own. Happy days are here again!

[ginnyinWI]

8. if you have any more problems--

look at where the box is, in addition to what kind of litter is in it, etc. Some areas are too noisy or upsetting and just moving the box to a new location helps a lot. Like don't park it next to a noisy washer or dryer.

Also, kitties don't like the litter to be too deep--gives them a quicksand feeling, so keep it to about 2 inches deep or so. And there are different kinds of litter--a picky cat might reject one kind and favor another. Two litter boxes for one cat is the rule--some like to poop in one and pee in another. It's just their way.

For multi-cat households, have one per cat plus one extra. We have four for our three cats, and everybody's happy.

[Critters2]

7. Glad to hear your update. IF the problems begin again, you might want to try

this: http://www.preciouscat.com/attract-litter-p-5.html

or this: http://www.preciouscat.com/precious-ultra-litter-attractantbrconsumer-product-p-9.html

God luck!