We went away for 3 weeks and had friends take care of him. Asked them to clean the box at least once a week (although it should be cleaned more often, they didn't like the idea of cleaning it out). We came home to a full litter box, and he had **** and pissed in a few other areas of the house. Since then, he's done crapped 3 more times. The other day, I was cleaning his litter box out and turned around to see him doing it 2 feet away from me. I thought to myself I might have to get rid of him.
Tonight he did it again. I'm not sure if it's because he's not getting enough attention, or if he's pissed at us for not ever being home (we've been having to go out of town a lot and still have 3 more weekend trips before the end of August) or what, but it's very frustrating
2007-07-22 15:33:29 · 5 answers · asked by fguz77 1 in Pets ➔ Cats
I would not ask those friends of yours to take care of him again. You need someone who will clean his litterbox while you are away. The poor thing has been neglected while you were away, and I wouldn't blame him for not wanting to use the litterbox.
Retraining him should be easy enough. You should clean his box out every single day, not once a week. I would keep up that habit, and have a friend whom you trust to do so, keep it up as well, for at least a few weeks. You can confine him to a small room, like a bathroom during his retraining. After a few days, you shouldn't be having any problems. If you still are, it's possible he may have an infection.
When he's out with you, show him much love and affection. Keep showing him where the litterbox is, and he'll get the idea to continue using it once more. I use the clumping litter, and it seems to do quite well.
We leave our kittens sometimes on the weekends, and we went on a trip a few months back that lasted nearly four weeks. Our cats did fabulously because we had someone stopping in nearly every day to clean their litter and feed them as well as show them some love. They still use the litterbox, so it's not the trip taking that's so traumatizing on the cat, it was your friends refusal to clean out his litterbox. Would you want to use a crap filled portable potty? Your cat doesn't want to either.
Good luck.
2007-07-22 15:51:22 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
He probably got turned off by the dirty litter box and has now learned a bad habit. Get 2 or 3 totally different litter boxes and fill them with an unscented scoopable litter (which is preferred by most cats according to behaviorists). Put them in easy to find places that still offer privacy. You may have to confine him to one room for awhile with the boxes. Cats hate change. Maybe think of hiring a pet sitter (call your vet for a number) to come in once a day to clean the box and spend some time with him. Your friends were cruel to neglect him like they did.
2007-07-22 15:39:19 · answer #2 · answered by KimbeeJ 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it 'could' be a frustration kind of thing towards you, for not being there... OR.... it could be, that with the pan not getting cleaned, it's gotten it'self into the habit, of just going wherever it might be at that time. You may need to 'retrain' it to USE the pan ! I know, sounds like a pain in the a**.... but, it 'can' be done, and in less time than you would think. Try putting a 'few' pans around the house... so he has a good choice of 'clean' ones to use, while you're not there. Be patient, and keep working with it.... when all of your trips are done / taken care of, 'then', you can really get down to business of the retraining. Givin a little time (consistent time)... things should turn around.
.. Good luck !
2007-07-22 15:41:01 · answer #3 · answered by JSSK 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If the litter box is too full, he will not go in it, and will go somewhere beside it. The smell also will cause them to go somewhere else, so be sure to clean it out as often as possible. And once a week change the whole litter box and add new litter. Also, if it's at a place he can't get to easily, he will find somewhere else to go.
2007-07-22 15:37:44 · answer #4 · answered by USMC Wife 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
we used to have the same problem with our cat,then we started letting it outside and it would take care of it's buisness there. only problem was we have cyotes in our area. problem solved i guess
2007-07-22 15:38:07 · answer #5 · answered by lineman 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋