# Cat is scared of her litter box



## Infinity (Mar 12, 2007)

To start, I discovered she'd been peeing in my bedroom, and apparently the hallway for quite some time (I have 2 cats, so I couldn't tell scooping the litter boxes). When I first discovered it a few weeks ago, I thought it was an isolated incidence. I found it again and grabbed a blacklight. It is BAD. The entire perimeter of the bedroom, hallway, and one spot in my living room. Now, she refuses to use the box at all.
I have taken her to the vet, no UTI/crystals. I bought her a 3rd litter box after reading stickies here. She won't go near it (tried 3 different litters). I can't even place her in it- she cries and struggles. Luckily, the house doesn't stink, yet, but I'm unsure how to proceed. I can handle cleanup or carpet replacement, but I need her to start using the box again. This is very frustrating.

Thanks,
Aaron


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## coaster (Dec 1, 2004)

Aaron, what kind of boxes are you using? And what kind of litters have you tried? Have you tried different boxes, too? Where are the boxes located? Is the other cat preventing her from getting to a box?


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## Infinity (Mar 12, 2007)

Let's see-

Largest pans I can get (Newest is a Rubbermaid-type container). I have tried 2 differing brands of clumping, Feline Pine, and sWheat (spelling?). All 3 boxes have been changed, one in the laundry room where they've been forever, one in the bathroom off the Master BR, and now one in my "offfice"/computer room- and the older cat seldom even comes in here while the problem cat stays with me most of the time. There is zero animosity between the 2 cats, that's why this is so perplexing.

Are there any softer litters? She seems afraid of the litter itself, not the box. Maybe she hates the feel of the litters I've used (tried crystal and plain clay in the past- BOTH cats hated it. I use the pine for my rats, so it was already around).


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## coaster (Dec 1, 2004)

Arm and Hammer is about the finest, softest clumping clay litter I'm aware of. What kind of litter was in the boxes when she last used them regularly? Have you tried going back to that? Or was that the litter that she first got phobic about? Is there anything you can remember happening that might have spooked her about using the litterbox?

BTW, if I'm understanding this right, she's just urinating outside the box, right? She's pooping in it all right?


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## Infinity (Mar 12, 2007)

Full litterbox aversion. To be honest, she hasn't used the box now for about a year, I'd guess. I didn't know she'd been peeing outside the box. Poop was simple to clean, so I guess it was just lazy on mine and my wife's part.

I've used Arm and Hammer and Tidy Cat in the main boxes (whichever was cheaper) for the last 6+ years. She'd used those for several years until she quit. I know of nothing that would have upset her. No kids or anything. I went back to working nights, but that leaves someone here 24/7 to entertain her.

I'm waiting for her to pee on the carpet again, and I'm going to soak it up with a paper towel and place it in the litter box. Maybe I can "bait" her?


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## coaster (Dec 1, 2004)

No, I don't think that will work.

What I'd suggest is the following plan: isolate her in a small room with a litterbox, food, water, bedding, and everything she needs. A room with a window and window perch is best. She needs to be in there full time. Cats don't normally like to mess up their nesting areas, so the purpose is to establish that room as her nesting area and give her the litterbox as the only option. Use Cat Attract brand litter in her litterbox.

While you're doing this, conduct a rigorous full-house cleanup using a cat urine enzymatic cleaner such as Nature's Miracle. Buy the gallon size. The biggest mistake most people make is to not use enough. Every spot needs to be completely soaked. Follow the steps in the urine sticky. Use the blacklight to make sure you've got all the spots. Don't let her out of the room until she's using the litterbox.

If this doesn't work, my last suggestion is to work with a feline behaviorist to figure out what behavioral issue is causing this. If the trigger that initiated the behavior is ongoing, then it can only be stopped if the behavioral trigger is removed.

Good luck and keep us posted.


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## Infinity (Mar 12, 2007)

Thanks for the advice. I have the gallon jug of Nature's Miracle, plus a spray bottle of Simple Solutions, and the blacklight. I think we're changing the entire flooring in our bedroom, so cleanup will be "easy" in there. The hallway will be more difficult. I'll start her on lockdown tomorrow. Is there any way to curb the guilt from her crying? I sleep during the day, and she is right there in my bed 99% of the time. It'll likely be harder on me than her  

What if the lockdown room is the one she defaces the most? Not the best way to fix it, huh? I'll use my office after I cat-proof it tonight.


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## coaster (Dec 1, 2004)

Sounds like a good plan. :wink:


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## clintsworld (Apr 12, 2005)

Try this too:

http://www.amazon.com/Feliway-75mL-...7?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1173822756&sr=8-1

This is supposed to works wonders. I know it's helping tazz with his dog attack incident and wild cats spraying around our house stuff too.


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## Infinity (Mar 12, 2007)

*Isolation Day 1*

Well, I decided to use a bathroom for her "quarantine" room. The carpet in my office is the same as the bedroom (sans urine :roll: ), and I was afraid she'd make her own association. She's been in there all of 20 minutes, and her crying is KILLING me. I'm the big tough-guy bodybuilder- it shouldn't bother me.

Anyway, she has her favorite toys, a fresh, clean litter box, food, water, Catsip, and my terry cloth bathrobe to lay on (maybe my smell will help comfort her?). Everything is soaked down with Nature's Finest (that power sprayer is nice), and I'm going to bed. I'll check on her in about 8 hours. When should I do supervised "leave"?


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## coaster (Dec 1, 2004)

Not until she's using the litterbox 100% reliably. This may take days, it may take weeks. Remember that it's for her own good. She'll stop crying once she realizes she can't wear you down and get you to let her out of there. She has to stay in there 24/7 else she'll just wait to do her littering until you let her out. Just a guestimate based on my own experiences with changing cat behaviors: after one week of faithfully using the litterbox in the "quarantine" room you can let her out for a trial run.

Power sprayer, eh? Ha ha.... :lol: That's the first I've heard of someone using one. But I know how tired my trigger finger gets using the spray bottle. So that's a good idea.


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## Infinity (Mar 12, 2007)

coaster said:


> Power sprayer, eh? Ha ha.... :lol: That's the first I've heard of someone using one. But I know how tired my trigger finger gets using the spray bottle. So that's a good idea.


The power sprayer ROCKS! It came with a 1.5 gallon jug.
I've done a re-soak since there's still a bit of odor in the bedroom (hallway is stink-free). Hopefully it'll dry odor free by weekend and I can scrub the carpets.

Update.

Squeaky has used the litterbox! She's been rewarded, and me and the wife spent about 45 minutes in there petting/brushing the cat. I hope this is a good sign. She's in very good spirit, she just wants out.


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## coaster (Dec 1, 2004)

Way to go Squeaky!!


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## coaster (Dec 1, 2004)

But don't break down and let her out, yet. That's a really well-established behavior pattern you're trying to break. I think a good solid week _without an out-of-the-box accident_ is the minimum you'll need.


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## Infinity (Mar 12, 2007)

Been discussing that with the wife. Agree. I'd hate to have a false sense of security dashed by another ruined carpet.


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## Infinity (Mar 12, 2007)

Cleanup question:

Do the blacklit hotspots go away when the cleaner is working? Or, does it have to dry completely? I'm trying to figure out when to reapply.


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## coaster (Dec 1, 2004)

I'm going to have to hope someone else can answer that, since I've never cleaned up using blacklight. My guess is the answer is yes, since the action of the cleaner is to break down the urine.


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## Infinity (Mar 12, 2007)

Things are going well. She's out visiting the house for now, but I've yet to see her go to her litter box while out. When I see that, she'll get unsupervised roam.

I think my other cat is the problem. We'd never noticed her being territorial, but she tried to mark Squeaky's litter box. Any way to positively prevent that? That could be the entire problem all along.


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## coaster (Dec 1, 2004)

In multiple-cat households, each cat marks the litterbox. The only way I can think of restricting a litterbox to one cat would be to put it in an enclosure with an electronically-activated cat flap. And there are other problems with that approach.


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## Infinity (Mar 12, 2007)

Thanks for that. All of my training involved laboratory animals. Since we didn't have any cats, I never really studied them until now.


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## coaster (Dec 1, 2004)

The usual solution to litterbox dominance is multiple litterboxes in multiple locations, but you've already done that. It's good you're trying to figure out if there's a trigger that remains active in the cat's environment. If there is, then it either has to be removed, or the cat has to be desensitized or deconditioned.

Keep up the detective work!!


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## OctoberinMaine (Sep 12, 2006)

Infinity, just an idea in case your kitty doesn't stick to the new use of the box. We had the same problem with Rookie, who suddenly was intermittently peeing on soft surfaces around the house. This went on for about 3 months until we found a perfect solution . . . giving her a second litterbox with only a liner and a couple sections of folded newspaper in it. She now pees consistently on the newspaper box and poops in the litterbox! The newspaper gives her the perfect soft place to pee that she was looking for. Maybe it's worth a shot. Good luck!


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## coaster (Dec 1, 2004)

Excellent suggestion -- worth a try if the litterbox retraining fails.


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## Infinity (Mar 12, 2007)

Well, she's been out for 2 days without an accident. I hope like **** she's better now. I have even moved the litterbox out of the bathroom to the hall. In a couple of days, I'll move it down the hall a bit, until I can get it into my computer room. I'd guess she's comfortable in here:


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## gunterkat (Aug 19, 2006)

Awww! She's so cute, and loooks so comfy and relaxed.
Fingers crossed that all continues to go well with the litterbox use.
rcat


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## coaster (Dec 1, 2004)

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz............







:lol:


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