Re: 6/14 James PMPS 131; +1 141; +2 125
Oops, missed your post Liz. Get ready for LOTS of detail :? PS. Hope you are feeling better!
James has completely stopped defecating in the box, but has never had a single pee accident. I know it's not a matter of not being able to hold it, because sometimes he pees first, then finishes out on the living room carpet. No litter brand, box type, or schedule changes. He is extremely regular and has never been picky about the cleanliness of his box. He has 2 boxes, one with 5 inch sides and one with 3.5 inch sides. (I just measured!)
Today it seemed like he was maybe having a little trouble going, but I think this was mostly darting around trying to get me not to notice him. (He pretty much went at my feet in front of the couch, hard NOT to notice!) He went in 2 different places, and dragged himself all across the floor. He slinks around after he goes on the carpet, so it seems like he knows he shouldn't. One time he covered his mess up with a towel that was covering a wet spot from a previous cleaning! He prefers to go in the same general locations, but it's basically all over the living room, never in a single spot. It's also never in the bathroom where his litterboxes are or beyond the doorway of my bedroom. (It's a small apartment.) I clean with a cleaner that says it's enzymatic (Woolite pet) in the spot where he's gone. I usually pick it up with toilet paper and then spot clean the carpet. The consistency hasn't changed that I've noticed, though it's less volume after the change to all wet food.
The vet thought it was diabetes/neuropathy related and would clear up as his blood sugar came down. (He has never been able to jump in the time I have had him, and has very little muscle tone in his hindquarters.) At first I thought the problems were stress from my having bought new furniture that was harder for him to jump on, but he has used the box like a champ when I had family visiting and chasing him around and being loud, which I would have thought would be the most stressful situation he's been exposed to recently. It doesn't seem to matter if I'm home or away; he goes mostly on the floor but sometimes in the box.
It's been about a month now, with maybe 4-5 days of actually properly using the box. (I've only had him for about 2 years, but he's never had any litterbox problems before.) He does tend to slide himself on the carpet after using the box (or using the floor, now) which I always attributed to him being overweight and not able to clean himself (maybe that is the neuropathy as well). He also used to "run from" the box after he pooped and would sometimes have a little stuck to him, but that would usually fall on the bathroom floor.
I've started Zobaline (3 mg) as of 3 days ago, but am really not sure what else to do. I'm going to look into some other cleaners to see if I can clean a larger area of the carpet to get any of the smells I'm missing. I'd especially be interested in behavioral suggestions. I have family members who sometimes keep him for me, but I hate to take him to their houses while he's not using the box reliably, so I'd like to get this under control as quickly as I can.
