A little help needed...
Some quick background: A few years ago, before there was a dog in my life, my wife and I rescued a cat as we felt our existing cat needed a playmate. Long story short, after 3 months our Calico had had enough of her new "friend" and made sure we knew. So the rescued cat "peanut" (anything but) went to live with my in-laws. At the time, my in-laws had just lost their 16 year old Bichon and were happy to take him in. A few months later they unexpectedly adopted another Bichon. Over time, the cat and dog got used to each other and have become friends, however recently, Peanut has shown some odd behavior. He uses his litterbox, but also poops in one of the bedroom closets. There is brand new carpet in this room so no left over scent. He is a great cat. All orange tabby, de-clawed, loves to be brushed (will brush himself if the brush is left on the floor) and HUGE. How huge? He can reach the top of a standard kitchen counter top from the floor. He loves to play, and will snuggle and knead if you are sitting or lying down, but doesn't like to be picked up. He has a clean bill of health and the vet feels maybe he is depressed and has him on antidepressents. My in-laws basically told us that they have kept him and have tried because they took him from us when we needed them too but that they can't keep up like this. Any suggestions? It's hard to adopt out an adult cat that has a potential litterbox issue (as stated above, tho, he uses his litterbox regularly). We rescued him from a surrounding where he was fostered with a few other cats so he gets along just fine with others (at least then he did). The word euthanize was mentioned this weekend.....a little help here? Suggestions? |
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| Josh,
Alot of times cats will do this if there litter box isn't clean enough (to their likings) - and/or it is too small (especially if it is one of those litter boxes with the covers). Just a thought. Good Luck! Kristen |
| Yes- you could encourage your in-laws to get an automatic kitty litter box- I got mine at Target- It cleans the litter 10 minutes every use, so the box is always clean for the next use. This would definitely help, if the issue is a (even somewhat) dirty box.
Karen  |
| Hi Josh,
We were advised when our new carpet was put in that the tape/glue used has a distinct smell to it that cats will sometimes go to the bathroom on the new carpet. We put all of our litter boxes in a tiled room for that reason. There is a few things that I have always done to prevent the cat from going places it shouldn't. Since he is using the litter box regularly, it could just be an issue of getting picky and wanting his litter box cleaned more frequenly. Sometime an owner will change the litter and this will make a picky cat upset too. If he is only going one or two certain places, you can try orange peels, that has worked very well for me. I wish you good luck. Stormi and co. |
| Hi Josh,
I was experiencing the same problem with our orange tabby cat who not only had a clean litter box but also gets to go outdoors when he wants. He either would poop by our bedroom door or in our dining room. He was also meowing a lot in the middle of the night. Anyhow, I thought he was depressed because his cat companion died right about the same time. So I started reading up about how cats can't see in the dark, only in low light (his litterbox is in basement) so we installed all of these little night lights all over the place. Still didn't help. Finally took him to the vet. Vet suggested bloodwork (he's 6) to rule out Hyperthyroidism since he was kind of young for that. Low & behold he has hyperthyroidism (a little)! Ever since he's been on meds he's been a perfect angel in the litterbox. Not sure how old the cat is but this is something I would definitely look into. It is very common and I'm not sure why the vet didn't recommend bloodwork unless he's really young. Hyperthyroidism is very common in cats. |
| Hi Josh:
Inappropriate litter box usage is probably the number one reason people get rid of cats. First, have your in-laws ask the vet if he could recommend a local cat behaviorist. Other possibilities (some of which have already been mentioned by previous posters): has the type of litter been changed? Sometimes the manufacturer may change the formula which could cause the cat to dislike the litter. Is the litter box big enough? If the cat is that big, the standard size may not be big enough for him to be comfortable. Does the cat dislike the current location of the litter box. If possible, have your in-laws put another litter box in a different location and see if the cat prefers it there. How often is the litterbox cleaned? Most cats do NOT like using a dirty litter box and WILL find ways to let you know. Also, encourage your in-laws to use an enzymatic cleaner like Nature's Miracle to clean up the closet and get rid of any leftover oder. Good Luck Jennifer |
| Hi Deb,
You wrote: Quote: Hyperthyroidism is very common in cats.
I am so glad you posted this. A few months back we were having a horrible time with our oldest raggie, O'Malley. He has always been our greeter and loved everyone. Things changed suddenly and he was attacking the other cats, dogs, kids, even me and my husband. He was out of control. We called the vet as my first thought was hyperthyroidism. I explained in detail to my vet the events leading up to the change and what the behavior is right now. Now, of course I am only on the phone with the vet, but over the phone they tell me that cats don't get hyperthyroidism and that I can bring him in and they can give him anxiety medicine and if it didn't work then we should think of euthanizing him. Euthanizing was out of the question, and was actually shocked that they would mention it just over the phone. Anyway, we did take him in and had a full blood work done up on him that didn't show anything, but they still said that there was no way it could be his thyroid. Long story short, we couldn't figure anything out, so O'Malley went to live with my Dad for a few weeks, he calmed down and we brought him back home again. He is doing well. We figured out that Berlioz, our whole male was giving him trouble and now that we keep them separated, O'Malley is back to his lovable, floppy self. Anyway, I am guessing in his case it wasn't hyperthyroidism, but I am glad to know now that it can happen. Thanks, Stormi and co. |
| Thanks to all who have responded.
The litter box is a Jumbo one, in fact he has 2 for his business and actively uses both of them. My FIL does a great job at keeping them clean...and as far as I know, no change in litter. As far as the cleanup is concerned, before and after the carpet replacement, same location. Not out in the open, but in the closet. |
| Have they closed all doors to that area? If they can't catch him in the act,then perhaps they will just have to take away any chance of going there.
In this house we have no area we can put a litter box, that is not unsightly for us and our guests. So under our stairs, has a storage room with a door. We installed a cat door for our two cats, now we have the option of locking them up at night. Which we now do because they make alot of noise approx 2 am. That's when they decide to play, hunt for food on the counters, and so we lock them up and let them out every morning. Anyways, something they may want to do if they can't watch him all the time esp at night. Since he has a clean bill of health, I'd say it's a convientent place for him to "go"...have they put a litter box in that closest...just to test him on using the box vs using the carpet. Also when you said the carpet is brand new, maybe he's just trying to scent it up a bit. As for being depressed, has he shown any other signs...like not eating, or sleeping more than usual. Bowel movements don't seem like a depression symptom. But I'm not a vet, I jsut know when my male cat lost his companion...he literally moped around, and when we got a new kitten, he perked right back up and when she went missing for a week he got mopey again. They are now 8 yrs(male) and 6 yrs(female). I really hope it works out. |
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