Help. One of my cats is not using the litter box for #2. I've changed the litter.

[applegrove]

It is still happening. Does anyone have a solution. Would phermones work if i sprayed it on the litter in the litter boxes? One of my cats is male and 7. One is female and 16. Maybe the litter boxes are too high for her as she ages?

[rampartc]

1. they mostly do this as a means of communication

has anything changed lately? brand of cat food? new baby or pet? they HATE change.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

2. If both are still doing #1 in the box one would assume the box sides are not too high for either

Other than that I got nothin, I've always had only 1 cat and never seen this particular problem

Good luck in any case! That can't be fun.

[CountAllVotes]

3. Common Reasons Why Your Senior Cat Is Not Using the Litter Box

https://be.chewy.com/solving-litter-box-problems-in-senior-cats/

Crawl’s veterinarian ran some tests and found an electrolyte imbalance and what they thought was early kidney failure, which can be a reason for an old cat peeing outside the litter box.

The Donnellys experience is common among owners of senior cats and it can be an incredibly stressful one. But if you know what to look for and how to manage the situation, you can make life more enjoyable for both you and your pet.
Common Reasons Why Your Senior Cat Is Not Using the Litter Box

Jackson Galaxy, a cat behavior and wellness expert, host of Animal Planet's “My Cat From Hell,” and a New York Times best-selling author, says that a sudden change in behavior—like an elderly cat pooping on the floor—can be a small hint of a larger issue.

“If your cat starts doing things [they] never did before, such as avoiding the litter box, go to the vet. Don’t bother Googling or asking friends—just go to the vet,” Galaxy says.

*************

I tend to agree with Galaxy. Take her to the vet. It could be a serious problem.

Take care applegrove.

[applegrove]

5. Okay I will. I just wish i knew for sure which cat it was. I'm not there when it happens.

[yonder]

8. +1.

[Mersky]

4. Oddly, you're gonna need a crayon

Can add a small amount of shaved crayola bits into one cat’s food, and see if it, ehh, shows up in the errant deposit. It’s been a while, but a bright green color worked to determine it was indeed our Newton, and not his sister, missing the box.

This help you identify which cat is having troubles and needs to go to the vet. A bonus is that you can bring a sample with you, which might save you a second trip to the vet.

Good luck, and hopefully will be something easily treated with a food change (as was Newt’s case with bladder crystals, which altered his behavior for going #1 and #2). Might be a logistical problem with the boxes. Could be something more serious, but knowing is better — there’s so many more options for treating cat health problems than there used to be.

https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/cat-behavior-problems-house-soiling

[applegrove]

6. Good idea. Now where do i get a crayon?

[Mersky]

7. Oh, c'mon, you've gotta have a box of Crayolas hanging around somewhere?

Honestly, I’m not sure where/if I have any.

Might find some at a dollar store, but don’t get ones with scent or any fancy glitter stuff. Just plain ol’ nontoxic crayons will do.

[applegrove]

9. I will look there. Now to keep them from eating each other's cat food when i feed it the crayon.

Crayola are non toxic. Of course they would have to be to give to kids to draw with.

[Mersky]

10. Favorite wet food in separate bowls, some distance from each other

Take up the bowls when they’ve had their fill, then wait 2–3 hours and put ‘em down again. It is kind of tedious for a day, but can get results. I used a carrot peeler to shave the crayon. Didn’t use much per serving — little more than 1/8 teaspoon or so.

Hope you get some answers. Is frustrating, but Newt (as in, Sir Isaac) has done much better ever since we got his stuff figured out.

[applegrove]

11. Thank you so much.

[Karadeniz]

12. It may be that it hurts her to poop and she thinks it's the box's fault so she's putting off pooping

Until there's no choice. Does she poop in just one or two places, anywhere or near the box. I've also heard pooping outside the box is a dominance/insecurity issue. Could she have an anal gland impaction or infection? I can check my animals, but most people need a vet for this and cats hate it even more than dogs, unbelievably. She should probably see a vet.

I have one elderly cat who's always been a stinker about using her box. She puts the pee near the box, so I put a super blue bed pad in front of the box.... not the paper ones sold in stores. This is super thick, huge, not disposable... I only have to wash it once a week. The problem was the poop. Hideously loose and smelly. And dumped anywhere. So I now feed her canned food with a teaspoon of ground psyllium mixed in, some water and an egg yolk. Now her poop is so perfect, I just lift it off the tile floor with a bit of paper and throw it in the litter box for her.

[lark]

13. If you only have 1 box, set up 1 more, 2 if possible.

Be sure that one of them has a low entry for your older girl. My old cat got arthritis and this issue started and vet recommended this. It helped in our situation.

[CountAllVotes]

14. Good idea anyway

I have three litter boxes; one for each cat of course!

[lark]

15. I have one for each cat plus a spare.

Our rescue from last year is picky about "dirty" boxes, so we put in an extra and no more accidents since then. I also often clean them twice a day for that same reason.

[CountAllVotes]

16. I have a stack of them here

They had a sale on them for $5.00 each so I picked up six of them, two for each cat if I need them.

Even the ones that are supposed to be treated so nothing will stick to them get old and yucky too fast for my likes.

I take them out in my backyard and hose them out and wash them with dish washing liquid and let them dry in the sun if the sun is out.

I know my cats sure like it a lot when I clean them out with the hose and dish washing liquid!

Who can blame them?

I have three going at a time, one for each cat and I have their litter delivered from Walmart as it is a lot cheaper and easier to do it that way.

I buy Tidycats litter, they type that does not clump.

This process seems to work well for me.

Never any "accidents" luckily!

This is a picture of my beautiful black cat, Missylaneous.

She was in a kill shelter and they were going to get rid of her the next day because she was sick.

Then along came me!

[lark]

17. Lucky kitty to get saved by a nice person like you.

My tuxie kitty was really sick/injured when we got her, rescuing her off the street. She had been in a bad accident and her 2 front legs were broken and healed wrong, her stomach was really hot swollen, & red. Turns out she has some severe allergy to something outside, so she can't even go out for short periods of time. We were letting her go out briefly a year ago and her infection recurred and it took forever to get her settled back down - so not outside for her!

She slept on our bed almost 24/7 for a year, while she was healing. She's much more mobile now that she feels so much better, and can actually run in a funny way sometimes just because she's a cat. She's still limited, can't run the right way, can't jump far at all, and has only 3 teeth. She's been such a joy, shes so bossy and loud when she wants to be fed, has to have me escort her to her bowl and will cry loudly until I do, and is such a sweet cuddler the rest of the time.

[CountAllVotes]

18. Bless you for keeping her!

She sounds like a nice kitty, few teeth and all!

I'm so glad you found one another!

It is a forever bind for both of you.

Take care and thanks for saving this precious girl!