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 Posted: Thu Dec 19, 2013 5:28 pm
I just wanted to ask some more experienced cat owners...
We've had our girl Lilith home for about a month and a half, and we've had very few litter box issues with her. She's only pooped outside the box twice (and then she did it right next to the box, so my assumption is the box was too dirty for her liking, but this is before we switched litters). She's only peed outside a few times, once when she knocked some towels into her box and couldn't get into it. Once on a bunch of paper and plastic bags we had wadded up in the corner, which I guess just seemed like an inviting place to do it (sort of like peeing in the grass?)
And the last time was just now... we had put a pillow in a basket for her in case she wanted something to lay on. And out of the blue she just decided to pee on it? We did just clean and moved it, so it may just be that it was finally more accessible for her (I think it may have had stuff on it before). We also did just move her little box out of our bathroom and into our kitchen, but she's used the litter box fine since then. I scooped it a few hours ago too, so I know it's not an issue of being dirty.
I'm guessing since it was in something vaguely litter box shaped it seemed like a good place to go. I'm just worried she'll start peeing on other pillow, like our ones for sleeping. Also, what should I do if I catch her in the act again? I know you don't punish an animal for bathroom issues, but how do I let her know that's not acceptable?
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Posted: Thu Dec 19, 2013 10:10 pm
She may have been trying to mark her territory with the pillow.
Regardless, invest in an enzyme cleaner - regular washing won't get the ammonia out, which you need to do to avoid repeat messes.
If you catch her in the act of eliminating where she shouldn't interrupt her, place her in her box, reward her for going in the box.
If she starts repeatedly going outside of her box, get her checked for medical issues.
Some other stuff to do:
-make sure she's getting moisture in her meals by feeding raw, feeding wet, and/or adding moisture (wet, raw, water) to her kibble meals. Personally, I add water when I feed wet, too. Water fountains also help to encourage healthy drinking habits
-scoop the box at least once a day. It's typically recommended to have one box per cat plus one, but if you have a small home you may be okay with one box for a single cat. When you have to move the box, it's best to do so gradually, just a little at a time.
Also, check out this website
http://www.catbehaviorassociates.com/
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Posted: Sat Dec 21, 2013 9:06 pm
Well, she peed again, this time in a canvas bag. Thankfully both of these issues were easy fixes- the pillow was old so I just tossed it and the canvas bag was full of old papers I could just throw out and I can run the bag through the wash.
I think the issue now is there wasn't enough litter in her box. I had topped it off a few days ago, but it was getting low. So I picked some more up and it seems to be good, since she used the box after.
She gets plenty of moisture. She actually loves to drink water, she drinks from her bowl, the facet, and our personal cups all the time. We give her about a quarter a big can of wet food with a scoop of kibble sprinkled with water every day too. The box gets scooped at least once a day, mostly to keep the smell at bay since we have a tiny apartment. I think there just wasn't enough litter for her liking, especially since when she peed this morning it was right after she had used the litter box.
I'm also wondering if maybe my sister's visit has something to do with it. She's staying with us and she hasn't had a lot of experience with people coming over, much less staying for several days. She seems to do a lot better around new people, but I think that may be a factor.
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