Animal Welfare Professionals

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  • 1.  Do you have a cat struggling to use their litter box?

    Posted 10-10-2019 05:33 AM

    Do you have a cat in your shelter or in a foster home who is having urinating problems? In today's Chew on This, @sgs1 wrote about a few different scenarios that she has encountered and the solutions that ensued. 

    Do you have a success story you'd like to share? Or do you have a problem that just can't seem to be solved? Let us know!

    https://chewonthis.maddiesfund.org/2019/10/think-outside-the-box-to-get-a-cat-to-urinate-inside-the-litter-box/


    #cat
    #AnimalBehavior,TrainingandEnrichment
    #litterbox


  • 2.  RE: Do you have a cat struggling to use their litter box?

    Posted 10-10-2019 10:10 AM

      Here are a few suggestions:  Try adding another litter box.   Make sure box(es)  are in a low traffic and quiet area of the home.  Try another litter box style.  Make sure the size of the box is big enough for your cat to stand in comfortably.  Observe this to be sure.Switch to another brand of litter.  I recommend "Feline Pine" or other non name brand of pine pellets ( however they must be "Kiln Dried").  If you have more than one cat, be sure you use at least two litter boxes.  Keep them as clean as possible.  Change litter frequently.


    #AnimalBehavior,TrainingandEnrichment


  • 3.  RE: Do you have a cat struggling to use their litter box?

    Posted 10-10-2019 10:16 AM

      Here are a few suggestions:  Try adding another litter box.   Make sure box(es)  are in a low traffic and quiet area of the home.  Try another litter box style.  Make sure the size of the box is big enough for your cat to stand in comfortably.  Observe this to be sure.Switch to another brand of litter.  I recommend "Feline Pine" or other non name brand of pine pellets ( however they must be "Kiln Dried").  If you have more than one cat, be sure you use at least two litter boxes.  Keep them as clean as possible.  Change litter frequently.


    #AnimalBehavior,TrainingandEnrichment


  • 4.  RE: Do you have a cat struggling to use their litter box?

    Posted 10-12-2019 05:55 AM

    What specific cat attractant's do you suggest adding to a litter box?


    #AnimalBehavior,TrainingandEnrichment


  • 5.  RE: Do you have a cat struggling to use their litter box?

    Posted 10-14-2019 10:30 AM

    Hi Janh! In Max's case, we used Dr. Elsey's cat attractant. It just gets sprinkled over their litter. It is made of a mixture of herbs, including cat nip and has worked very well every time I've used it.  You can buy the herbs separately, or the litter with the herbs already added. I prefer the first one.


    #AnimalBehavior,TrainingandEnrichment


  • 6.  RE: Do you have a cat struggling to use their litter box?

    Posted 10-18-2019 10:07 AM

    It appears some cats who have been declawed become sensitive to stepping on litter.  Some even develop an aversion to the litter box years after the surgery.  In these cases the cats often do better if you find a litter which minimizes  the discomfort of walking on tiny hard pebbles.  Diatomaceous earth is out for sure.   The lighter weight, sandy or loamy type clumping litter might not be too painful to walk on.  Also,  I have seen cats successfully   transitioned to the corn cob litter boxes without too much of a problem.  The cob is very soft to the touch and lightweight.  It doesn't clump very well and needs to be changed more often but it is a decent alternative if your senior declawed cat suddenly stops using the litter box.


    #AnimalBehavior,TrainingandEnrichment


  • 7.  RE: Do you have a cat struggling to use their litter box?

    Posted 10-18-2019 12:47 PM

    I almost forgot: CLEAN your litter boxes OFTEN


    #AnimalBehavior,TrainingandEnrichment


  • 8.  RE: Do you have a cat struggling to use their litter box?

    Posted 10-21-2019 06:57 AM

    My favorite litterbox story is from a  friend  at another organization. An adopted cat suddenly stopped using the litterbox, and my friend walked the adopter through every possible solution she could think of, without any success. She finally visited the adopter's house in desperation hoping to find a cause... turns out the adopter had placed one of those spray scent-plug-ins close to the box(es) to cover up the smell and the cat was scared of this thing randomly spraying at him!

    With the suggestion of a second box, she had added another plug-in for that box... When they had her move the box, she moved the plug-in as well! It never even occurred to the shelter staff to ask about something like that, and it never even occurred to the adopter to mention it! You don't know what you don't know 


    #AnimalBehavior,TrainingandEnrichment