FRIENDS WITH CATS (or who have had cats)

[obliviousally_lj]

So we have the four cats, right? Three of them have absolutely no litterbox issues. Even if I forget to clean the box, they don't gripe about it, they'll still use it. There's four litterboxes in the house - one for each cat - in different rooms in the house (one downstairs, one in my office, one or two in the animal's room, depending on if I need to move one somewhere else temporarily).

Dean, however, is a whole different issue. Dean will not use a dirty litterbox. Dean will inform us of the box not being up to his standards by peeing on things. Namely: the bed. He'll do it while we're sitting right there, if he can.

Is there anything that can be done to stop this? Is it just the one cat being a nitpicky bitch about something? He'll use the box up to some intdeterminate time that he deems wherein the box is no longer clean enough for his liking, despite the other cats having no issue and the box really not being all that dirty.

It's really frustrating because we never know when he'll decide that the box he chooses to use that day isn't up to par. He's otherwise a really good cat and I don't think he's pissed off about something and it peeing on our things out of spite.

Comments

[squeeji.livejournal.com]

Well the easiest thing is to scoop it daily, but...don't rule out a bigger box? Some cats just need more place to 'roam' so to speak, I'd just pick up a large shallow sweaterbox...like you get by the Sterlite/rubbermaid containers at Walmart and use that.

[squeeji.livejournal.com]

Oh and derp- might not hurt to go with the +1 rule. One box for each cat...plus one.

[obliviousally.livejournal.com]

I think I'm going to try to start scooping it regularly. I mean, there's not a lot that can be done otherwise, if that's his main gripe.

I have one of those expensive self-cleaning boxes which is pretty roomy and he'll use that - when it's clean, of course. I really think he's just being a finicky little shit about it, but some cats are like that.

[leopardwolf.livejournal.com]

A few thoughts come to mind on this.

It could be like Squeeji said. One question - what type of litter do you use? Do you use any other litter box add-in deodorizers or anything like the powder Arm&Hammer or Fresh Step litter crystals or anything? If it is a matter of him being finicky about the scents or whatnot, these things might help.

A main concern being from a male cat doing it, is that he might have something wrong with him health wise. Male cats can get really bad urinary things happening, like crystal blockage in the tube, etc. When sick or overly stressed, some cats will do the behaviors you described.

I am guessing all the cats are fixed?

[obliviousally.livejournal.com]

Augh! I forget to point out, Dean's actually female. We got them (him and his brother, Sam) when they were young and just named them boy names and the gender stuck. XD I'm so used to calling them 'he' that I forget they're actually females.

They're all fixed, yeah. For awhile I was using the cheap scoopable Walmart litter, but I've been getting some better stuff that might have deodorizers in them. Though, he's gone in the boxes with that litter in them often.

[leopardwolf.livejournal.com]

Oooohhh, haaha. Well that was unexpected. Though it doesn't change my answer much. Female cats can have similar problems that result in the same urinating behaviors when they are sick.

How often do you actually dump out all the old litter and replace it with fresh litter, as opposed to just scooping to clean it? If not very often, that might have something to do with it, too. Especially when it is a cheaper litter.

I'd recommend trying to change litters, and get one of those powder sprinkle in deodorizers as well. Fresh Step makes a rather affordable scoop-able litter that has really good odor control carbon and such, and one specifically for Multi-Cat households. I get mine at Walmart all the time.

That should help the boxes seem more 'clean' to the cats than the cheap litter does. The litter you currently use might agitate her in some way, which compels her to relieve herself in places she should not, just to avoid using the litter.

[pocket-entropy.livejournal.com]

I would get her checked out to rule out anything like an infection. Then, if she still pees everywhere even after you've got clean boxes for the cats, ask your vet about kitty prozac. It is a wonderful last resort fix. It worked on our house pisser.

[suzanami.livejournal.com]

we are SO lucky that moses is probably the least litter-finicky cat in existence. zero problems even when we changed his type of litter, got him a new box with a top, and moved -- all at once. T~T;

cats are generally REALLY funny about their boxes -- which is understandable enough. they don't like sitting in their shit, just like a person wouldn't. a yucky box can cause all kinds of behavior problems..

it sucks and you probably know this, but definitely scoop it every day. i'm bad about it sometimes. >:\ changing the litter entirely is usually recommended weekly, but if you have a really good litter you can go a week and a half to two. (if piss is clumping/crystalizing on the bottom, it absolutely needs changed)

we use nature's miracle. it's expensive (but not the most expensive) but it's been SO worth it. we can go two weeks without changing the litter (which cancels out the price since we use it half as fast). it has deodorizers in it but really natural ones that shouldn't bother most cats. we also use a pine deodorant that you sprinkle on top every couple of days -- smells like rodent mulch. :3