Mindy & Max
Active Member
So...my civie has decided he doesn't want to use the litter box. Several weeks ago, I tried transitioning the cats from non-clumping clay litter to 100% pine litter. Personally I think the pine works better, especially for odor control, and there isn't any clay dust all over everything. BUT...the first few weeks of the transition (part pine, part clay), it was fine. Then we started having issues with litter box refusal.
Since we have two cats, it took a while before we figured out who was doing what. Max was pooping in the corner of the laundry room (basement is unfinished, we have two jumbo sized boxes down there), so we moved one of the boxes to that corner. The boxes will go there when the basement is finished, so no biggie. THAT problem was solved and that box was used heavily.
Then someone started peeing on the spare bed we have in the basement. It probably happened a time or two before we figured out where the smell was--the bed was made and the comforter pattern hid the wet patch. So we stripped the bed, sprayed it down with Nature's Miracle, and washed the bedding with vinegar. We still haven't remade the bed. Unfortunately we discovered this right before we went out of town for a few days, so the mattress had a few pee spots when we came back. Sprayed it down with Nature's Miracle again, and as long as that stuff is still wet, no one pees on the mattress. I bought a vinyl mattress protector and the mattress is now encased (it was dry before I did that), but Truman is still peeing ON TOP OF THE VINYL COVER. So now we have puddles on the bed almost daily. He only seems to do it once a day, not all day long. And when I clean it with Nature's MIracle, it stays clean for 24-36 hours, and then he pees there again.
Oh, and we've switched back to non-clumping clay litter entirely. As much as I hate the stuff, this is the second time he's rebelled from trying a litter switch, so I won't try again. We switched back a week ago, and he's still peed on the bed about 4 or 5 times since then, today being the most recent. And he's still pooping in the litter box, unless he's found some secret corner amongst the stuff stored down here to do that that I haven't discovered yet.
So...I realize I probably have to throw this mattress out. I wish I didn't, it is a full-size mattress and was in good condition. But is there any way to get him to stop peeing in that location? I'm afraid that even if we get rid of the mattress, he'll pee on the box springs, and then I'm really going to get mad (it was not a cheap mattress set). As much as I hate the idea of having an outdoor cat, we may have to put him outside, and he's front declawed...so that is a last resort. We're probably going to start finishing the basement before the end of this year, so I need to fix this problem. We can't have him peeing everywhere downstairs. He doesn't do it anywhere else in the house. He is 6 years old, and we've lived in this house his whole life--he's never peed anywhere but the litter box, not even as a kitten. Any ideas?
Since we have two cats, it took a while before we figured out who was doing what. Max was pooping in the corner of the laundry room (basement is unfinished, we have two jumbo sized boxes down there), so we moved one of the boxes to that corner. The boxes will go there when the basement is finished, so no biggie. THAT problem was solved and that box was used heavily.
Then someone started peeing on the spare bed we have in the basement. It probably happened a time or two before we figured out where the smell was--the bed was made and the comforter pattern hid the wet patch. So we stripped the bed, sprayed it down with Nature's Miracle, and washed the bedding with vinegar. We still haven't remade the bed. Unfortunately we discovered this right before we went out of town for a few days, so the mattress had a few pee spots when we came back. Sprayed it down with Nature's Miracle again, and as long as that stuff is still wet, no one pees on the mattress. I bought a vinyl mattress protector and the mattress is now encased (it was dry before I did that), but Truman is still peeing ON TOP OF THE VINYL COVER. So now we have puddles on the bed almost daily. He only seems to do it once a day, not all day long. And when I clean it with Nature's MIracle, it stays clean for 24-36 hours, and then he pees there again.
Oh, and we've switched back to non-clumping clay litter entirely. As much as I hate the stuff, this is the second time he's rebelled from trying a litter switch, so I won't try again. We switched back a week ago, and he's still peed on the bed about 4 or 5 times since then, today being the most recent. And he's still pooping in the litter box, unless he's found some secret corner amongst the stuff stored down here to do that that I haven't discovered yet.
So...I realize I probably have to throw this mattress out. I wish I didn't, it is a full-size mattress and was in good condition. But is there any way to get him to stop peeing in that location? I'm afraid that even if we get rid of the mattress, he'll pee on the box springs, and then I'm really going to get mad (it was not a cheap mattress set). As much as I hate the idea of having an outdoor cat, we may have to put him outside, and he's front declawed...so that is a last resort. We're probably going to start finishing the basement before the end of this year, so I need to fix this problem. We can't have him peeing everywhere downstairs. He doesn't do it anywhere else in the house. He is 6 years old, and we've lived in this house his whole life--he's never peed anywhere but the litter box, not even as a kitten. Any ideas?
