POLL: Do I get my cat to stop ****ing int the living room by...

wrote in message
...
"jimmy the LD" wrote:

Moving the litter box to the likeable spot in the living room,

OR

Do I try some other method?


Jimmy

You're asking the wrong people in regards to ideal litter box
placement - ask the cat.

Meanwhile find a vet willing to assume there is a health issue and let
him figure out what it is.

-mhd

Amen.

jimmy the LD wrote:
Moving the litter box to the likeable spot in the living room,
OR
Do I try some other method?

This depends entirely on why he's going in the living room, which
could be any of a number of reasons:

-- He's trying to alert you, the only way he can, that he has a
medical problem. This should always be checked out first. If he
has a urinary tract infection, or crystals in his urine, he may have
started associating the litterbox with pain. Many other medical
problems can cause inappropriate urination behavior.

-- He's more finicky than you are about a clean litterbox. If this
is the case, you might have to retrain him by using completely fresh
litter, dumped out every day for month or so, before returning to
scooping the box every day.

-- He doesn't like to pee and poop in the same box, or doesn't want
to share with another cat, if you have one. Try adding an additional
litterbox.

-- He doesn't like the scent of the litter you're using, or the feel
of it on his feet, or someone put an air "freshener" near it that
repels him. Remove any air fresheners and try offering a few boxes
with different types of litter.

-- He saw another cat from the window and marked the living room as
his territory.

-- Something used in the living left an ammonia or urea smell, that
made it smell like the right place to go.

-- The area wasn't ever thoroughly cleaned with enzyme cleaners, and
continues to smell like the right place to go.

After having your cat checked out by your vet, I suggest making
sure the area in the living room is really thoroughly cleaned with
enzyme cleaners. Get down on your hands and knees and give it the
sniff test, cuz if you can still smell anything at all, the cat can
smell it even more.

If the area is carpeted, and a thorough soaking with enzyme cleaner
doesn't get it all, you may have to replace the carpet padding in
that area. If he managed to wet the tack-bar by the wall that holds
the carpet down, you will have to pry up the edge of the carpet and
treat the tack-bar directly. If he's managed to soak through to the
floor, you may have to treat the floor with sealant, although you
might be able to get away with spreading a good layer of OdorZout
(zeolite powder) under the new padding and on the tackbar.

After I had a flood in my hallway from a leak, the carpet service
unfortunately resealed the carpet with iron-on tape that smelled
somewhat like cat urine, and one of my cats started to go at one end of
the tape. I very thoroughly cleaned the area as I described above (and
replaced the tape with duct tape), until it passed the "sniff test."
Then I put down a petfood mat there, and made it their feeding area
for a few months, before slowly moving the mat back toward the kitchen.

--
jamie )

"There's a seeker born every minute."

jimmy the LD wrote:
Moving the litter box to the likeable spot in the living room,
OR
Do I try some other method?

This depends entirely on why he's going in the living room, which
could be any of a number of reasons:

-- He's trying to alert you, the only way he can, that he has a
medical problem. This should always be checked out first. If he
has a urinary tract infection, or crystals in his urine, he may have
started associating the litterbox with pain. Many other medical
problems can cause inappropriate urination behavior.

-- He's more finicky than you are about a clean litterbox. If this
is the case, you might have to retrain him by using completely fresh
litter, dumped out every day for month or so, before returning to
scooping the box every day.

-- He doesn't like to pee and poop in the same box, or doesn't want
to share with another cat, if you have one. Try adding an additional
litterbox.

-- He doesn't like the scent of the litter you're using, or the feel
of it on his feet, or someone put an air "freshener" near it that
repels him. Remove any air fresheners and try offering a few boxes
with different types of litter.

-- He saw another cat from the window and marked the living room as
his territory.

-- Something used in the living left an ammonia or urea smell, that
made it smell like the right place to go.

-- The area wasn't ever thoroughly cleaned with enzyme cleaners, and
continues to smell like the right place to go.

After having your cat checked out by your vet, I suggest making
sure the area in the living room is really thoroughly cleaned with
enzyme cleaners. Get down on your hands and knees and give it the
sniff test, cuz if you can still smell anything at all, the cat can
smell it even more.

If the area is carpeted, and a thorough soaking with enzyme cleaner
doesn't get it all, you may have to replace the carpet padding in
that area. If he managed to wet the tack-bar by the wall that holds
the carpet down, you will have to pry up the edge of the carpet and
treat the tack-bar directly. If he's managed to soak through to the
floor, you may have to treat the floor with sealant, although you
might be able to get away with spreading a good layer of OdorZout
(zeolite powder) under the new padding and on the tackbar.

After I had a flood in my hallway from a leak, the carpet service
unfortunately resealed the carpet with iron-on tape that smelled
somewhat like cat urine, and one of my cats started to go at one end of
the tape. I very thoroughly cleaned the area as I described above (and
replaced the tape with duct tape), until it passed the "sniff test."
Then I put down a petfood mat there, and made it their feeding area
for a few months, before slowly moving the mat back toward the kitchen.

--
jamie )

"There's a seeker born every minute."

My mom's boy cat started ****ing around the basement, and she finally found
out he had pnuemonia. He acted perfectly healthy otherwise. A round of
antibiotics later, he no longer does it.

You don't want a litter box in the living room do you? You'll be back at
square one if you want to move the box again. Wash and clean the area, then
use some of those suggestions to cover up the section Rutherford is ****ing
on.

My mom's boy cat started ****ing around the basement, and she finally found
out he had pnuemonia. He acted perfectly healthy otherwise. A round of
antibiotics later, he no longer does it.

You don't want a litter box in the living room do you? You'll be back at
square one if you want to move the box again. Wash and clean the area, then
use some of those suggestions to cover up the section Rutherford is ****ing
on.

jimmy the LD wrote:
Moving the litter box to the likeable spot in the living room,

OR

Do I try some other method?


Jimmy

No, I don't think that would work, or else you'd need about 5 litter
trays for each new spot!
My kittens have just been litter trained - they're doing pretty well now
- and here's the tactics:

1) make sure their food is not too close to their litter (would *you*
like to eat near where you poop?)

2) in the UK you can get a product called Swifty which is an attractive
smelling fluid to cats - you put two little drops a day in the litter.

3) I use a UK product called Pet Away (I think) which you spray where
you *don't* want your cats to go pee pee/poop - use this especially
after cleaning up a pee that the cat has just done.

Also, just be vigilant, and if a cat looks like it's about to go, put
him/her in the litter. Obviously, you can't be there all the time to
catch this, but when you can, it will help...

Remember to remove clumped urine/poop from the litter frequently (I do
it almost daily for my two kittens), and every now and then completely
change the litter (which I do every few days).

The last word: positive reinforcement works much, much better than
negative. In other words, reward kitties for being good, don't punish
them for being 'bad' - it's not worth it.
Make sure you act pleased towards them when they do use the litter!

alex

jimmy the LD wrote:
Moving the litter box to the likeable spot in the living room,

OR

Do I try some other method?


Jimmy

No, I don't think that would work, or else you'd need about 5 litter
trays for each new spot!
My kittens have just been litter trained - they're doing pretty well now
- and here's the tactics:

1) make sure their food is not too close to their litter (would *you*
like to eat near where you poop?)

2) in the UK you can get a product called Swifty which is an attractive
smelling fluid to cats - you put two little drops a day in the litter.

3) I use a UK product called Pet Away (I think) which you spray where
you *don't* want your cats to go pee pee/poop - use this especially
after cleaning up a pee that the cat has just done.

Also, just be vigilant, and if a cat looks like it's about to go, put
him/her in the litter. Obviously, you can't be there all the time to
catch this, but when you can, it will help...

Remember to remove clumped urine/poop from the litter frequently (I do
it almost daily for my two kittens), and every now and then completely
change the litter (which I do every few days).

The last word: positive reinforcement works much, much better than
negative. In other words, reward kitties for being good, don't punish
them for being 'bad' - it's not worth it.
Make sure you act pleased towards them when they do use the litter!

alex

Alex Hunsley wrote:

Remember to remove clumped urine/poop from the litter frequently (I do
it almost daily for my two kittens)

Almost daily? Try several times a day, even if only for keeping your
house a little fresher. Just because it's a litter box doesn't change
the fact you have urine and feces just sitting there, and by my
standards that is not very pleasant or civilized.

-mhd

Alex Hunsley wrote:

Remember to remove clumped urine/poop from the litter frequently (I do
it almost daily for my two kittens)

Almost daily? Try several times a day, even if only for keeping your
house a little fresher. Just because it's a litter box doesn't change
the fact you have urine and feces just sitting there, and by my
standards that is not very pleasant or civilized.

-mhd

Try a Feliway diffuser.
It releases a synthetic felins pherimone that calms cats and also,
reportedly, will deter unwanted toileting.
"jimmy the LD" wrote in message
...
Moving the litter box to the likeable spot in the living room,

OR

Do I try some other method?


Jimmy

--
"...that simple light may rise out of complex darkness."
and don't forget to run like an antelope.

http://www.jimhutchison.com
http://music.jimhutchison.com