Cats Are Very Shy Toileters
 

Cats in general are very shy toileters and will often only pee or poop
in their litter box if it is placed in a quiet, secluded area, away
from family members and other animals. The importance of your cat
toileting regularly cannot be over-emphasized. Too often owners do not
provide their cats with private & clean litter boxes, an unlimited
supply of water or access to the outdoors. Such a lifestyle quickly
leads to urinary tract disease which is very common in cats and often
very debilitating. In this disease, large crystals form in your cat's
bladder, which can then flow through your cat's urethra (the tube
linking the bladder to the outside world) and they often become lodged
and stuck! This obstruction of pee then causes a cat to become very
ill and very sore, at which time veterinary intervention is the only
option.
The key to preventing this problem is to encourage your cat to drink
more and to pee more! This helps prevent the formation of the crystals
in the bladder in the first place! Ensure that you have a couple of
full water bowls for your cat around the house as well as outside.
Your cat should have an unlimited supply of water. As for toileting,
you will need to encourage your cat to pee by ensuring privacy and
security when he does so. In general, there should be more than one
litter box in your household. In fact, the generally accepted formula
for the best number of litter boxes for your household is, one per cat
you own, plus one. So, if you have 2 cats, you should have 3 litter
boxes around the house, while if you only have one cat, have 2 litter
boxes - and so on. Just as important is that you use a good absorbable
litter that your cat likes and that you regularly replace this litter
once every 2 - 3 days (rather than once a week!). The cleaner the
litter, the more your cat will want to toilet on it. Then when placing
the litter boxes around the house, it is important to ensure that they
are in a secluded area away from a busy area of the house - however
make sure you don't leave a litter tray in a corner, or anywhere where
your cat may feel trapped while he is trying to toilet.
The key to avoiding your cat developing urinary tract problems and
toileting in inappropriate places, is to make the toileting experience
as stress free for your cat as possible. By providing unlimited water,
allowing some outdoors access and maintaining clean litter boxes in
private areas of your house you will be providing your cat with this
stress-free environment.
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Cats Are Very Shy Toileters
 

Huh, that's interesting. We've never had any trouble with our cats - at
least they seem healthy and happy and the vet doesn't have any
complaints - and we normally have indoor cats sharing one unsecluded
litterbox, sometimes in a corner. We've had some cats that didn't like
the litterboxes that were like covered little houses with a door, they
just wanted the 'bottom half' with an open top. We do try to make sure
they always have water available, though. I suppose one's mileage
varies.

-- Mark

Cats Are Very Shy Toileters
 

On Mon, 16 Apr 2007 10:53:22 -0400, Mark T.B. Carroll wrote:

Huh, that's interesting. We've never had any trouble with our cats - at
least they seem healthy and happy and the vet doesn't have any
complaints - and we normally have indoor cats sharing one unsecluded
litterbox, sometimes in a corner. We've had some cats that didn't like
the litterboxes that were like covered little houses with a door, they
just wanted the 'bottom half' with an open top. We do try to make sure
they always have water available, though. I suppose one's mileage
varies.

-- Mark

Same here; just the one cat, but Ketzl doesn't care who watches him, and he
very often accompanies *me* to the john. I'll admit *I* was a little P** shy
at first with *him* in there, but he trained me to get used to it.

He doesn't like the covered litter box either, and I'm sorry I sprang for it
when I could have just gotten the pan type.

As for water, he's got the fountain going in the kitchen and two glasses of
water elsewhere (which I refresh twice a day) so he's okay there.

He does have a hairball that won't dislodge, though, so I've had to smear his
paw with gel for the last few days and I'm hoping he passes it. He won't take
the gel off my finger, but he seems to like it when he's licking it off his
paw. (Too bad he doesn't like licking it off his Pa, 'cause that would avoid
his having to be smeared with it. :-)

Still, he's a good guy. All around. When he crawls up between my arm and my
chest in bed and rests his little chin on my bare shoulder and drops off to
sleep, nose whistling ever so slightly, I know god is in its heaven and even
though very little is right with the world these days, it's okay.

--
Joey DoWop Dee
Remember: It is To Laugh

Cats Are Very Shy Toileters
 

Joey wrote:
....
Still, he's a good guy. All around. When he crawls up between my arm and my
chest in bed and rests his little chin on my bare shoulder and drops off to
sleep, nose whistling ever so slightly, I know god is in its heaven and even
though very little is right with the world these days, it's okay.

Awwwwww!!!

--Karen D.