My cat must think my closet is a litter box. It is the only other place beside outside and it's actual litter box that it wants to go. In fact it even makes extra effort to charge in the room when I open the door.....Wierd. I used to have 2 cats with the same problem now I only have one, if this keeps up I will be catching mice the old way, with a trap!!! My house is new NO other animals have used the closet as their personal potty before this. What is the deal and how can I make it stop?
2007-02-22 08:33:51 · 11 answers · asked by pepsi_2_cola 2 in Pets ➔ Cats
1. You must make the closet inaccessible to your cat at ALL times. Once having used it for a potty box it will be fixed in its brain.
2. You must clean the closet with something that gets rid of cat urine odor....I mean the trace odors that cats can smell and you can't.
3. Get some kind of cat repellent, I'm not sure but there are some herbs that cats hate the smell of and will stay away from. Use that in your closet
4. You need to scare the daylights out of your cat when she gets near the closet with an intention of going in. Whatever you use to scare her; noise, water, shock, make sure that you are far enough away and disconnected so that the cat doesn't become scared of you, only of going into the closet.
After all this and some time goes by you may try leaving your closet open under your watchful eye with something covering the spot she used and possibly food on top.
I am afraid that if you try just feeding her where she went without going through the above that she will just refuse to eat food there or even worse eat and defecate in your closet.
Cats are pretty stubborn about fixed ideas and your cat sounds like the closet is fixed in her mind as a place to use for a litter box.
2007-02-22 08:58:25 · answer #1 · answered by Aunt Carol 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Have the cat checked to make sure it doesn't have a Urinary tract infection or crystals in the urine. Both will cause a cat to pee outside the litter box in odd places in the house.
If the medical check up comes back clear you can try some of the other stuff posts suggest to modify the cat's behavior. The only thing I'd add is to actually put a litter box in the closet and slowly inch it out of there back to a place you are ok with. Like move it an inch a day or so till it is where you want the box.
2007-02-22 08:49:51 · answer #2 · answered by shannon_crystaln 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
you can try getting some kind of strong citrus smelling spray that you can spray in the closet or areas you do not want your cats to go. Always keep closets and cupboards closed even if you have to use child locks as kitties are very curious.There is a product called, i believe, Scat Spray(internet), that is essentially a can of compressed air that you put where ever you want the cats to stay away from and when they comes within 1 foot of the area the can emits a burst of hissing air which supposedly scares the cats away. I did find once a product that was almost identical except along with the air it also blew a horn sound to frighten them away. I plan on getting some of the air cans as the horn one might cause a scare if "I" come upon it.
Good luck! I hope you solve the problem so you kitties keep their home.
2007-02-22 08:47:50 · answer #3 · answered by kaylamay64 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Ok... cats aren't picky about where they go. But there's two explanations for why may be going in your closet:
1. He was never trained properly. He probably was, but just to remind him to go in the litter box, first wet your fingers with warm water. Then gently press on his lower abdomen area (with your fingers) for about 30 seconds to 2 minutes. Then place him in the litterbox. If he keeps wanting to get out of the litter box, repeat step one. Once he goes, make sure to praise him highly.
2. He is stressed. When cats are stressed or depressed, they tend to find spots other than the litter box. Make sure you're giving him lots of love and attention.
If your cat goes in the closet afterwards, take him to the closet and rub his nose in it. Say in a deep, firm voice, "No." and put him in the litter box.
2007-02-22 09:09:41 · answer #4 · answered by rosemary 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
You may need to replace the carpet. Make sure you clean as much of the urine up as soon as you can. Go buy Natures Miracle - It works great at getting rid of urine stains/smells. Pets will keep urinating in a spot if they smell old urine there. Make sure to keep the litter box clean and use a box without a lid if possible. Also speak with your Vet about Feliway Sprays or the possibility of medical issues that may be causing this behavior.
2007-02-22 08:43:26 · answer #5 · answered by Kare 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
How weird of your cat.
Put a bowl of it's food in the closet and show him. Leave it there for awhile. Cata are clean and do not like to eat where they go. This will inforce in his mind that is not a bathroom area.
Try to keep his litter box really clean, some cats are very picky about that
2007-02-22 08:41:53 · answer #6 · answered by allyalexmch 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
just put a litter box in there that takes up the whole closet and then he will have nowhere else to go so he will just go in the litter box. trust me this works. i've had past experiences
2007-02-22 09:00:42 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
so put the cat box in the closet?
2007-02-22 09:01:59 · answer #8 · answered by Nikki Valentine 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
clos ethe closet door when the cat comes directly to it say "NO" with a firm voice look directly into its eyes i did that with my cat and it stoped useing the bathroom in my room
2007-02-22 08:43:03 · answer #9 · answered by crescentmoon93 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i had this problem the best thing to do is use a scooper to scoop the poop and put it in the litter tray then put your kitty next to the litter tray she will soon get used to this and realise where she is supposed to go to the toilet HTH!!!! gud luck!!
2007-02-22 08:43:45 · answer #10 · answered by dracofan93 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋