My cat is avoiding her litter box for the first time in 15 yrs.! Any ideas???

Question

My 15 year old cat has recently been diagnosed with Hyperthyroidism so she is peeing A LOT more that usual. We switched the type of litter in her box to a more absorbent paper pellet (my mind is drawing a blank, did I spell that right?) and she started peeing outside the box. We changed the mix to half clumping litter and half paper pellet so it would be more like old times. She then decided to pee in the living room. We moved her litter box to the living room and showed her its location. She now pees all over the living room even though her litter box is just as accessible as always and her litter is almost the same. This has been going on for about 2 weeks and I need some tips on how to get her to go in the box and NOT on the living room carpet!

Answer 1

with older cats, it it likely to be one of a few things. She clearly does not like the litter and now she is out of the habit of using the box so you have a little work to do. Lots of cats will use the pellets but some won't. Second, make sure you clean the box more than usual and/or have more than one so it is always immaculate. Older cats get picky about hygiene. Have her checked for a urinary tract infection that could be there on top of the hyperthyroidism. If it hurts her to urinate she will go searching for a place to do it where it doesn't hurt. She is likely to pee near the litter box. She wants to use it but she thinks it makes her hurt. I assume they checked for kidney problems when they diagnosed the hyperthyroidism. You should exercise some tough love and confine her to a tiled room with her litter box until she gets back in the habit of using it and then let her out in small, ever increasing times and spaces. You may even need to crate her in a collapsible dog crate with her litter box for a week or so until she gets back in the habit of using that box. You don't want to wait on this...you need to take these steps right away. It is very, very important to use a product that completely and totally eliminates all smell of the urine where she went. I like Nature's Miracle the best but don't be shy with it. You have to really soak, soak, soak the area...it dries quickly and most importantly, she can't smell the old urine either. Don't just spray it on, drench the area liberally with the stuff and let it dry or wait a bit and then blot it up. I also strongly recommend Cat Attract litter until you get her back being reliable. At our shelter we rarely, rarely have an inappropriate elimination problem that is not successfully dealt with via the above method. However, if she has a urinary tract infection, it will not get better until it is treated with antibiotics. The drugs are cheap and the result is huge. Good luck.

Answer 2

Go to felinediabetes.com (or .org I can't recall). Hyperthyroidism won't increase urinating that much. Several possiblities

1. diabetes: does she drink a lot? Get her sugar checked. If you know someone with a meter use the directions on felinediabetes to take a measure, taking the drop out of her ear. It is not quite as accurate as the vet but is close. Normal is 100 plus or minus. If you don't feel comfy doing this go to the vet

2. urinary tract infection. Get this ruled out.

3.nerve or other damage. She hurt herself lately? Also she is older.

4. you really need a thorough physical on her

5. Stress: Change in litter can be traumatic. Go back to the old type and the old place. Also: other stresses: you travel a lot, have you had anything done to the house or apt? Any more fighting? New children? New pets? Had to board her?

6. If diabetic she can get weak back legs; there are other reasons this can happen too. Has she had trouble jumping? She may not be able to get into the litter box. Or, if there is a wall not too far from the opening, or a cover she may not be able to get in and out as easy. It can be subtle

Get her re-checked by her vet before you do anything else (besides move box to old place with old litter) and make sure you get a blood sugar and check for other causes.
In the meantime confine her to one or two rooms or to a large carrier and put down plastic and something absorbent.

Answer 3

Completely change her litter back to the old kind. Sure, you will have to clean more often, but the new paper ones might smell funny or feel funny on her paws...there is something there she doesn't like. Be sure to clean the box thoroughly first, too, in case it is the smell--then the smell will be gone.

You may also want to get a few more litter boxes and put them around your house. That way, if she is having trouble holding it (which she may be), she won't have to go as far to find a litter box.

Is she being medicated? If not, get her on meds ASAP. That may help to return her to normal. If the problem doesn't ease up after awhile, you may want to talk to your vet about another medication or perhaps have her tested for diabetes on top of the hypothyroidism.

Answer 4

It's quite possible that she also has another ailment. Have you had her checked for a UTI-Urinary Track Infection ? That will cause any cat to avoid the litter box and pee everywhere else. Have you noticed any blood in her urine or is it darker than normal ? You may want to take her back to the vet to have them check for this. It's a relatively simple test.

Answer 5

Cats do not like change, especially their litter. If you changed her litter completely, then she won't use it at all. I have a cat that is 11 yrs. old and I found out the hard way too. Once I put his regular litter back in it, he started using it again. Good Luck!

Answer 6

Is the Hyperthyroid under control? If not, you need to get that under control before you change anything else.
Change the litter back to what you used before, and get her meds adjusted correctly.
She could have picked up a bladder infection.
Dementia also hits elderly cats. Does she seem confused or lost?
Good luck to you and your kitty

Answer 7

If your cat has some sort of urinary infection, it may find the litter is aggravating it. If you're using scented litter of any kind, try switching to an unscented brand.

Answer 8

Try switching out the cat litter or put the litter box out in the open to see if she/he uses it more in the open.

Answer 9

attempt getting a greater muddle container. some puppy shops carry one greater-super length. additionally, while you're utilizing classic muddle, attempt switching to the clumping kind. it form of feels to be much less messy. i does not advise a cardboard container, because of the fact over the years cat urine will reason the container to fall apart. likely your cat is having problems with cleanliness simply by age. puppy wipes are probably a solid concept. that's recommended to additionally take your cat for a verify up on the vets to rule out the different problems like worms that would desire to be making grooming his backside a sprint greater painful.

Answer 10

shes probably just mad that you changed but also because of old age. my old cat stop peeing in litter box then got really sick a week later.