Litter box issues

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MindyC

MindyC

Member Since 2019
In the last year, Max's age had caught up to him (he's 17). Both litter boxes used to be in the storage room in the basement. Been there his whole life, regardless of the house. For whatever reason, if he's not going to pee in a litter box, he pees in the bathtub. Easier to clean up, but still a little weird.

Last summer we had issues with him peeing in the bathtub a lot. And he peed on the carpet just outside the bathroom door a few times too. He ended up having a urinary tract infection...I think. I don't really remember, just the frustration with peeing on the carpet. We'll have to replace the carpet to sell the house at this point. Anyway...6 months or so ago, we got a litter box cabinet, so we could put a box on the main floor near the spot he keeps peeing in (can't be in the exact spot as it would block a doorway). And for the most part, he uses it just fine. 2-3 weeks ago, when I took him to the vet, he had diarrhea, and that was pretty much anywhere he felt like doing it. He spent the night in a spare dog crate we have, with the open end pushed up to the opening of the litter box cabinet so he had somewhere to go.

So, he ended up with antibiotics for an infection, and getting put back on insulin. Diarrhea has cleared up, he's acting more like himself, everything seems to be moving in a better direction. And then today he peed in the bathtub. And later pooped in front of the bathroom door--2 feet away from the litter box. To date, if he's pooped out of the litter box, he's either sick (diarrhea) or mad (like if we've been gone overnight). Today was none of those. His sugar was in a decent range for how long it had been since he'd had a shot when I tested him. Any ideas what might be going on? I feel like I'm potty training a toddler and puppy training all at the same time here. I know he's old, but since we seem to have gotten a better handle on the sugar, he's been acting more like himself.
 
Does he any signs of arthritis by chance? Sometimes getting into the litter box is the issue but then that does not explain the bathtub peeing.

Have you tried a change of litter?
 
Tracey&Jones- GA said:
Does he any signs of arthritis by chance? Sometimes getting into the litter box is the issue but then that does not explain the bathtub peeing.

Have you tried a change of litter?
Click to expand...

We haven't changed litter in 8 or 9 years. We tried once or twice back when Max was first diagnosed, but our other cat is very particular about his litter and developed a peeing everywhere but the box problem (for which he is now on prozac). Max has never been particular about the litter, other than that he's usually particular about using the box. His back legs do seem a bit weak, and have been getting weaker the last several months. He can't jump up on our bed anymore, but he can jump onto the toilet to get up on the bathroom counter. And obviously can get in the bath tub. We had some stairs made several months ago for him to get up to the feeding table we use to keep the dogs out of the cat food. And he can jump on and off the couch.

The box itself is the same one we've been using in the basement--just brought it upstairs and put it in the cabinet thingy that makes it not look like a litter box in my living room. Same plastic liners, same non-clumping litter. We usually change the box on Sundays when the trash gets put out, but the last few weeks with him peeing more than usual we've been changing it about every 5 days. I did change it today after the poop incident.
 
I wonder if it is the cabinet thingy...some cats don't like the enclosed area.

I know with Jones when he didn't feel well he didn't use the litter box more than once. I had 4 cats at the time and had 7 litter boxes - 1 up and 6 downstairs spread out in 3 separate areas. He would use each one once when he had diarrhea and then used other spots around that area. I was cleaning the litter boxes twice a day to keep things fresh and that helped. I also got bigger LB's, actually they are storage containers for under the bed that I just put the lid underneath and filled with litter. That helped with him not having to step up in a little LB he could just get in a squat to go.

The other thing is I used catnip in the litterbox. He loved cat nip so it was way to help him with associating good things with the LB.

I also had two different types of litter as one of my cats (on kitty prozac) likes her certain brand, but Jones another...so I compromised.
 
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I have to go pick up more syringes and test strips tonight, so I'll take a look at the litter boxes and see if I can find one that has a lower opening. He's always had an enclosed one, and he's never been particular about the type/scent of the litter. As for size, because he's always been a big cat, we have the jumbo sized boxes. I'll try leaving the side door open to the cabinet and see if that helps. I had that thought already after I left for work today, so we'll see what I find when I get home...

At this point I am betting on neuropathy. I ordered some Zobaline, but it won't be here until next week, so I also ordered a different methacobalamin capsule that I can open and put on his food (no flavor added, no sugar). That one will be here Thursday.
 
Tracey&Jones- GA said:
I also had two different types of litter as one of my cats (on kitty prozac) likes her certain brand, but Jones another...so I compromised.
Click to expand...

My other cat is also on prozac for litter box issues. He's very particular about the litter (must be red-bag Tidy Cats, non-clumping!). At one point several years ago we had a dog he didn't like, and I tried changing to a pine pellet litter. It went over like a lead balloon, and he's been on the prozac since. Otherwise he likes to pee on blankets in the basement, and my kids are notorious for leaving blankets everywhere down there.
 
One of the things that led us to realize that there was something seriously wrong with Benny was his pooping outside the box. He is a very fastidious little guy (we sometimes have called him Felix Unger), so that, combined with his lethargy and general scruffiness. set off alarms. With the diabetes diagnosis came the realization that he probably had some degree of neuropathy causing his back legs to be weak, thus making it difficult for him to poop while standing on the slippery litter. He was still peeing in the box, but he'd come out of the bathroom and poop on a carpeted area, where he had more grip.

Once his BG was under control, the inappropriate elimination stopped completely. There is hope!
 
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