Help with my cat!!!!?

Question

We just moved and my cat will only occasionally use her litter box! The litter box is downstairs so she goes on the downstairs rugs, like the rugs at the front door and the bathmat in the bathroom. Now we have to throw out all the rugs, so now she just goes where they use to be. Somebody help!!!!!!!!

Answer 1

She keeps going there because she can smell her scent if you catch her doing this spray her with a little water (have a water bottle handy) to show her you are not happy. also try citrus, cats hate the smell of citrus so use some cleaner with citrus to clean up the mess. It will make your bathroom smell ice and hopefully prevent your cat from going their again!Good luck!

Answer 2

Cats tend to have surface and location preferences for where, and on what, they like to eliminate. Most cats prefer a loose, sandy substance, which is why they will use a litter box. It's only when their preferences include the laundry basket, the bed or the Persian rug, that normal elimination behavior becomes a problem. With careful analysis of your cat's environment, specific factors that have contributed to the litter box problem can usually be identified and changed, so that your cat will again use the litter box for elimination.

Some common reasons why cats don't use the litter box are: an aversion to the box, a preference for a particular surface not provided by the box, a preference for a particular location where there is no box, or a combination of all three. You'll need to do some detective work to determine the reason your cat is house soiling. Sometimes, the reason the litter box problem initially started may not be the same reason it's continuing. For example, your cat may have stopped using the litter box because of a urinary tract infection, and has now developed a surface preference for carpet and a location preference for the bedroom closet. You would need to address all three of these factors in order to resolve the problem.

Cats don't stop using their litter boxes because they're mad or upset and are trying to get revenge for something that "offended" or "angered" them. Because humans act for these reasons, it's easy for us to assume that our pets do as well. Animals don't act out of spite or revenge, so it won't help to give your cat special privileges in the hope that she'll start using the litter box again.

Medical Problems
It's common for cats to begin eliminating outside of their litter box when they have a medical problem. For example, a urinary tract infection or crystals in the urine can make urination very painful. Cats often associate this pain with the litter box and begin to avoid it. If your cat has a house-soiling problem, check with your veterinarian first to rule out any medical problems for the behavior. Cats don't always act sick, even when they are, and only a trip to the veterinarian for a thorough physical examination can rule out a medical problem.

Cleaning Soiled Areas
Because animals are highly motivated to continue soiling an area that smells like urine or feces, it's imperative that you thoroughly clean the soiled areas (see our handout: "Successful Cleaning To Remove Pet Odors And Stains").

Aversion To The Litter Box
Your cat may have decided that the litter box is an unpleasant place to eliminate if:

The box is not clean enough for her.
She has experienced painful urination or defecation in the box due to a medical problem.
She has been startled by a noise while using the box.
She has been "ambushed" while in the box either by another cat, a child, a dog, or by you, if you were attempting to catch her for some reason.
She associates the box with punishment (someone punished her for eliminating outside the box, then placed her in the box).
What You Can Do
Keep the litter box extremely clean. Scoop at least once a day and change the litter completely every four to five days. If you use scoopable litter, you may not need to change the litter as frequently. This will vary according to how many cats are in the household, how many litter boxes you have, and how large the cats are that are using the box or boxes. A good guideline is that if you can smell the box, then you can be sure it's offensive to your cat as well.
Add a new box in a different location than the old one and use a different type of litter in the new box. Because your cat has decided that her old litter box is unpleasant, you'll want to make the new one different enough that she doesn't simply apply the old, negative associations to the new box.
Make sure that the litter box isn't near an appliance that makes noise or in an area of the house that your cat doesn't frequent.
If ambushing is a problem, try to create more than one exit from the litter box, so that if the "ambusher" is waiting by one area, your cat always has an escape route.

Answer 3

Well some may think this is mean but it does work. When ever I got a new cat to get it use to my home I would put the litter box in a small room like the bathroom and then mostly at night or when I wasnt home I would put food & water with it and lock it in there after I showed it where it is supposed to go. And never once did I have a problem with a cat using the bathroom in my house. Even though you have already had your cat it is still in a strange place. So it might still work. But yes they will pee or poo where ever their smell is so it will continue to go back to that spot until you clean the smell or get it use to using the box again.

Answer 4

cats love to scratch and go to the bathroom on rugs so, take them all out and scrub out the urine scent because they like to go in the same spot over and over so, get that scent out and put the litter box there so she can go in the same spot and never move it because if she doesn't know where it is, shell just go anywhere she wants

Answer 5

She is confused about the move which is making her upset, and she is confused as to where she should go. You need to train her to go where the litter box is now. It may take a while until she is comfortable with her new home.

Answer 6

I would try putting the cat in the litter box every hour or so.

Answer 7

sometimes they do this when they are not well. is she eating okay? have you changed to a different type of litter? she may just be feeling a little out of sorts in her new environment. theres a pet forum that may be able to help you with some answers: www.pets.ca/forum/ there are a whole bunch of great people with a lot of answers from experience.

Answer 8

that happened when we moved also.....we had 2 cats....one went in our plants??? and the other one went in our living room........I'm thinking they don't like change.......it stopped after a while......but there's a spot on our hardwood floor in the living room........it just takes time I guess.....we kept showing them the litter box..day after day.........just keep showing her the litter box..........hopefully that works.........

good luck