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Thread: Not using the litter box?

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jun 2004
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    Not using the litter box?

    Hey all you fellow cat lovers, I know I don't normally post here, but I've "lucked" myself into 5 cats (will be 6 cats, possibly, on Saturday). To make a long story short, my grandmother had 6 cats and I promised I'd take care of them or find homes for them if anything ever happened to her. So, alas, I have 5 cats. The other one is still at her house refusing to be captured, but he's still eating, drinking, and going to the potty.

    A little background info, 5 of the 6 cats were cats who could come and go if they wanted to. They were all fixed, and all had their shots, but if they wanted outside they could go. Then it got to the point that only 4 were allowed outside (hehe, Mamoo had her 2 favourites that she didn't want to get hurt outside). We brought home Trey as soon as he came out of the scared state. Trey is a 3-legged brown tabby, absolutely a sweetheart. This is the cat that knew both of my grandparents before they passed. Then, we went to try to capture Jessie, Callie, and Jake, but only managed the first two (Jake is the one refusing to be captured). We've had them here for a little less than a week, and Trey has been here almost twice as long as they have. They were all 3 doing GREAT. My parents went down today to take care of some legal issues, and caught two more of the cats, Jack and Jill. When they arrived at the house, they noticed piles of cat poop all over. Some in the bathtub, some on the rug. We knew it wasn't Jake because he had been there alone without the other two for days and nothing happened, but my uncle let Jack and Jill inside and that's when this all started to happen.

    So we know the culprits are Jack and/or Jill. We believe Jack is the one that doesn't know how to use a litter box, or to even go there to poop. Jack is the one that would go outside for a long time, come home, sleep and eat, and then go back out. So he had no real need to learn how to use it. Jill, on the other hand, would be inside for days at a time sometimes. Earlier this evening, we found a pile of cat poop, and we haven't had problems until Jack and Jill arrived.

    Thinking it could be Jack, how do I get him to learn? Do I just need to let him outside, hoping he'll come back when he gets hungry? Or what? I need to do something with him tonight, because we're not having cats here who cannot use the litterbox. And we cannot let him poop again on the carpet... something needs to be done tonight. My parents are suggesting to let him out, I'm thinking of just putting him in the bathroom. But that won't solve anything - he'll just poop in the bathtub, or on the floor. He just doesn't know what the litterbox is. I even showed him all of the litterboxes -- some had poop and pee in them (obviously, covered up), but he just didn't know what to do. He even laid down in it!

    So what do I do? I'm leaning towards just letting him out, but I'm thinking one of you smart cat people will be able to guide me in another direction with terrific advice.
    ~Sara, Daisy, Jessie, Jake, & Jackson



    <3 Gone but never forgotten <3
    {Benjamin, Russell, Chester, Dexter, George Harrison, & Leeroy} {O.D.} {Trey} {John-Paul & Earl}

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
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    Has he visited the vet recently??

    When animals are sick or not feeling well they can't just come up to us and say "hey I'm not feeling so hot", so they have to get our attention in other ways.

    It could also be linked to stress. Have there been any MAJOR changes in their routine or to the household recently?

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  3. #3
    Join Date
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    ALSO - are there enough litter boxes?

    Someone posted here that there should be one for each cat, and an extra - or something like that(please correct this!).

    I have a Jumbo size for two cats.

    How many boxes do you have?

    Take the poop in to the vet to have it checked. That also might solve everything.

    hugs
    Catty1

  4. #4
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    Thank you for the replies.

    There seems to be nothing wrong with him, but if I'm not mistaken, he was just in to see the vet 3-4 weeks ago.

    He mostly wanders inside and outside, so he had no "real" reason to learn, so I'm wondering how I can teach him. Or, what to do with him because he cannot poop in the litterbox.

    We have 3 litterboxes, and only two of them were being used by the 3 cats. They seemed content with that, and knowing that I'm rehoming some of them in a few days, I'm going to try to see if 3 will be enough.

    Jack just doesn't know what to DO with the litterbox. How do I teach him? I taught my rats to use a litterbox, how do I teach a cat to use it when he's not in a confined space smelling his poop in the box? :/
    ~Sara, Daisy, Jessie, Jake, & Jackson



    <3 Gone but never forgotten <3
    {Benjamin, Russell, Chester, Dexter, George Harrison, & Leeroy} {O.D.} {Trey} {John-Paul & Earl}

  5. #5
    Join Date
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    If you put him in a real small room with a litter box, he would learn. Or cage him in a cage big enough for a box. They are pretty smart and learn pretty fast.

    You must remember, his life has been turned upsaide down, he is in a strage place and is stressed to the max... Please cut him some slack. If he is use to being outside and now finds himself shut up 24/7 in a house, you can BET, that is adding to his stress and confusion. Cats do not take change very good, it upsets them a LOT! Add to that, he has always went outside to do his business and you got a ready made problem.

    Try that small room or cage... He will learn...

    Special Needs Pets just leave bigger imprints on your heart!

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jun 2004
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    Quote Originally Posted by Laura's Babies
    If you put him in a real small room with a litter box, he would learn. Or cage him in a cage big enough for a box. They are pretty smart and learn pretty fast.

    You must remember, his life has been turned upsaide down, he is in a strage place and is stressed to the max... Please cut him some slack. If he is use to being outside and now finds himself shut up 24/7 in a house, you can BET, that is adding to his stress and confusion. Cats do not take change very good, it upsets them a LOT! Add to that, he has always went outside to do his business and you got a ready made problem.

    Try that small room or cage... He will learn...
    Thank you for the advice.

    That's what I'm trying him out right now on. He's in my bathroom with a litter box, a blanket to sleep on, food, and water. Hopefully he'll learn. If not..
    ~Sara, Daisy, Jessie, Jake, & Jackson



    <3 Gone but never forgotten <3
    {Benjamin, Russell, Chester, Dexter, George Harrison, & Leeroy} {O.D.} {Trey} {John-Paul & Earl}

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Aug 2004
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    Alberta, Canada
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    Also, what has worked for me with kittens and cats(I do this whether they know about boxes or not, when they first come to my place), I gently set them in the box, take their front paws, and "help" them scratch the litter. Left paw, right paw, left paw....etc

    Since this is a reflex action for covering up their poop and stuff, the penny seems to drop pretty quickly.

    Let us know what happens.

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