With the arrival of our son, we had to relocate the litter box & food to the basement. Kato is fine with it, but Spike is totally scared of the basement. He has dropped weight & will use the old litter box location half the time (no box there any more). He is very outgoing, but something must have happened to make him scared of the basement. If I carry him down, he will barely move from where I set him down & he cries & howls. I have stayed there with him for hours trying to get him calm & used to it, shut them both down there at night, etc... Nothing is working. He still goes in our 2nd floor regularly. We do not have other places to put the litter & we are too urban to let him out. He is an amazing cat & is so good with my 10 month old. I love him dearly, but we have to get him to stop or he will be going to a new home. PLEASE help me to help my little guy. He will go down occasionally, but not often.
2007-10-14 03:49:21 · 10 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Cats
ok, knuckleheads, first off, the cats are treated extremely well, even doted on. He only does it at night, so we have tried to shut him in our extremely large basement during the night as a last resort (and only a couple times so he gets used to the idea of that being their place), and no, we don't lock him in the dark & he has his brother there with him who just loves it. Kato is too old to clear baby gates jumping, so that won't work. I feel guilty about shutting them anywhere, because they sleep with us too. I just want to keep the boy from getting into the litter. Even with enclosed boxes, they manage to fling it everywhere & also track it all over. We have been trying everything we can think of. If I didn't care about Spike, he would be gone & I wouldn't be asking for freakin' help to keep him.
2007-10-14 04:28:48 · update #1
Since some people seem to be a bit thick, here is the main issue...
I want to get my cat a bit more comfortable with our basement so I know he A) uses the litter there on a regular basis B) eats well (the food is not the real problem, though). Due to the layout of the house, their tendency to spread & track litter EVERYWHERE, and the presence of my young child, the litter & food need to reside there. He has a great life, but the basement scares him a bit. Yes, I take him down & spend time there with him. No, the food & litter are no near each other. Yes, he has a bed there, & a dehumidifier, & company (another cat). He has full run of the house. He needs to stop going on the floor upstairs or the carpet. It does not happen every day, but it happens often enough that it is a problem. I can send him to live at the in-laws (beautiful farm), but Kato does not do well without a buddy to hang with & we want him here. I am looking for help on getting him comfortable in the basement!!!
2007-10-14 11:55:11 · update #2
wow, these people are mean on here, they didn't even read all of your info before they started beating you down. Not cool!! I have a 1 year old, and I understand your concern! My son is mobile and into everything, we have had to close the bathroom door to keep him our of the litter box (bedroom opens to the bathroom and kitty stays in bedroom most of the time.) this may sound silly, but maybe you could start spending a bit of time down there with your kitty, just to get him used to it, like play with him down there, get him comfortable with being down there. Also, is there a way that you can block of the old box area? Make it impossible for him to get to it? I am sure you have thought of these things, but just in case! Good luck and hope you have some luck!!
2007-10-14 05:33:28 · answer #1 · answered by tahneta 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Would you want to go down in the basement every time you had to take a leak? If he doesn't like it, I don't blame him for not wanting to go down there. Maybe you could put the litter box in a closet and install a small doggy door in the closet door. That way the cats could go in and out and the kid couldn't. Or just put the litter box in the bathroom or other out of the way room on the regular level and keep your child out. I'm assuming the child isn't roaming the house alone. You may also try getting one of those litter boxes that have an opening on top so the cats can jump down into it, but not the kid.
2007-10-14 12:01:15 · answer #2 · answered by Lauren M 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Maybe you would want to consider putting in a pet door to the garage and set up a litterbox in there for him. You could kind of kennel off that area so he doesn't get into any of the garage chemicals. Of course, the scare of a car coming in and out would be a no-go if you actually do use your garage as a car storage place. (we only keep tools in ours). If you have some space on the outside of your house, you could put in a little kennel type setup with a pet door, only covered so there can be a litter box in there. I haven't set it up yet, but I bought a covered dog kennel for about $160 (6 feet by 15 feet, I think it is, but there are 6 by 6 ones) and will have a pet door going out to it. I live in Minnesota, so it's not really a good climate to put a litter box in a little shed out there, but if you are in California or something, that would work very well.
It does sound like something scared him downstairs, that's for sure. Good luck, I hope you figure something out.
2007-10-14 23:18:24 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't understand why you moved their litter just because you have a 10 month old... get a gate and put it in front of the room or area where the litter is, and be done with it.
Why do you shut them down there at night? I had cats and babies, and had NO problem with them at all...
If you are scared the cats will "suck the life out of" your child during the night, that's an old wives tale.
Shut the baby's door instead, and get a monitor so you can hear the baby if it should awaken during the night.
2007-10-14 10:55:07 · answer #4 · answered by letterstoheather 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Is your basement a finished basement? Or does it just have a concrete floor and that's it? Might be good to bring an old comfy chair down there, a rug, kitty condo, etc. Make it homey down there. Maybe it needs a dehumidifier. You can try giving him treats when he is down there. Have a sensor night light plugged in that turns on in the dark. (I've seen them at the dollar store.)
Good luck!!
2007-10-14 12:02:58 · answer #5 · answered by hello 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
well this is my suggestion . i do not know where you had the cat litter box at on the second floor but am going to assume it was the bathroom and i know why you moved so your son will not get into it and play with stuff. if you really love this kitty perhaps what you should do is put a cat door in the bathroom door lock the door so your son cannot get in but kitty can and you will be happy and kitty will be happy and not scared anymore
2007-10-14 10:58:56 · answer #6 · answered by hermitofnorthdome 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
It is quite obvious that your cat is afraid of the basement. Why don't you try placing the litter box and food in a small bathroom on main level. He has separation anxiety when you want to put him down the basement...so if you cannot keep him on main level, put him up for adoption.
2007-10-14 17:26:33 · answer #7 · answered by cardgirl2 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I don't understand why you have done this. no wonder the poor thing is so scared being shut in the dark all night trapped in a small room. Give the cats to someone who deserves them and won't discard them once something better comes along. You going to get rid of your son when a baby girl comes along.
2007-10-14 11:09:49 · answer #8 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 2⤋
What about relocating the new baby to the basement and leaving the litter & food where they were?
2007-10-14 12:42:53 · answer #9 · answered by kc 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
LEAVE ALL LIGHTS IN THE BASEMENT ON, AND LEAVE THEM DOWN THERE UNTIL HE/SHE GETS USED TO IT
2007-10-14 10:54:48 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋