Litter box issues

[trinity]

Help! I don't know what to do...Bouncer had an infection and stones last fall that caused her to decide she liked the basement floor better than the litter box. We got the infection/stones taken care of and all was ok. She even stopped hiding in the basement...instead she moved to the second floor of the house. All was good...for a bit. We moved a litter box up to the bathroom so she would almost have her own personal box. Then she decided to use the bathtub, then the bathroom floor for a day. We figured out she was complaining because someone else used "HER" box The nerve of them....That made us much more vigilant about cleaning the box. No problem we can do that. Now she has decided to use the bedroom carpet. We are now closing off most of the upstairs and are about at the end of the rope. I have an appointment for another of our furrballs tomorrow and will ask the vet for ideas about this, but thought I would throw the question out for assistance from PTers...so as I said...HELP!!!!

[jenluckenbach]

1st are you possitive that she didn't get another UTI?

If not, maybe MORE boxes might be the answer. It may not work, but if their is more choices of places to go, it is more likely that she will like one of them.

[Russian Blue]

One of the main reasons a cat does not use their litter box is because of a UTI (as Jen mentioned). First, you should make sure she doesn't have this infection by visiting the vet.

Also, your cat probably associated the litter box with pain because of her last illness. Maybe you need to get a different type of litter box or multiple boxes for each floor of the house.

Also, make sure you clean the soiled areas well since the cat will return to the area that she soiled. If necessary, get a black light and that will show you if you cleaned the spot properly.

Another suggestion, if she is using one area, like the rug, try putting her food dish at that spot. A cat will not likely go to the washroom where her food is located.

But before all these suggestion, see the vet!

[moosmom]

Good advice guys! One question I have is...is the cat declawed?? Declawed cats often have litterbox issues.

[AvaJoy]

If the vet rules out UTI, you may want to start anew with a brand new litter box and a different brand of litter . . . even consider the depth of the litter, as some cats prefer shallow and others like to dig to China . . . inappropriate elimination is one of the (if not THE) foremost reason people relinquish their cats, so kudos to you for trying to get to the bottom of this issue . . . my best wishes for success in correcting the problem.

[emily_the_spoiled]

Having had PLENTY of experience with Emily and litter box problems the first thing is to have Bouncer checked out for a UTI. I hae also steam cleaned the carpet areas (with pre-treating for animal stains). If possible keep the area off limits for a period of time and that will help to re-train Bouncer. I also put an area rug over the Emily's "favorite" area after everything else and she finally seems to be okay with things (as long as I scoop the box at least once a day).

Good luck and hopefully it is just a UTI that can be treated with some anti-biotics.