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Told my buddy the best part about staying at a hotel is getting out of the shower and not having crap stick to your feet. (lemmy.world)
submitted 1 month ago by to c/cat@lemmy.world
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He told me I probably need to clean more....

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[–] 10 points 1 month ago (8 children)

My cat makes a huge mess and will piss on anything on the floor that isn't his litter box. Door mat, shower mat, any dropped laundry, a mat next to the litter box for trapping the litter. Weirdly he's perfectly fine with furniture and carpet. Anything loose that he can sit on? Piss. Ruined the hard wood floor in a rental closet once because I didn't realise he was going on the mat and it was trapped between the mat and the floor, turned the wood solid black. If nothing is on the floor when he needs to pee? Perfectly capable and more than happy to use his litter box.

Now the main bathroom is his. The litter box is in the shower so we can contain it and just rinse the shower out when he's kicked enough litter out. It also reeks because he will bury his piss but not his turds so they just sit on top of the litter. It's so bad we just don't use the bathroom anymore except to clean up behind him. We're just happy he contains it to one room if we pick up after ourselves.

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  • [–] [S] 5 points 1 month ago

    You have probably already checked into this but I figured I'd mention it.

    Sometimes cats with bladder infections or UTIs pee all over because when they pee it hurts. So they make some connection with the pain and the place. Instead of the action.

    So they think the litter box is making it hurt.

    So they constantly try to find a new spot that hurts less.

    Male cats can get worse infections because of anatomy.

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  • [–] 3 points 1 month ago (2 children)

    Have you tried different types of litter? Different types of litter boxes? My cats are pretty accepting of different types of boxes & litter, but I've convinced them to only poop in the bedroom box if the door is closed by using a litter they like less in that box. The typical recommendation for litter box troubles is to offer a box that has low sides, is very spacious, not tucked into a corner or cubby, and a fine grained, unscented litter. Clay litter is what my foster program usually recommends for litter box avoidance.

    If his poops smell that bad, changing his food might help. I have a litter box right next to my couch, and my residents also don't really bury their poops, but I rarely notice the poop smell unless I have fosters with intestinal parasites using that box.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 month ago (1 child)

    I've tried every litter box type I could find and ended up getting him a giant low sided tub from the hardware store. Anything smaller and he hangs his ass over the edge. I've also tried every type of litter, and clumping clay is the only one he'll use regularly.

    I don't think he avoids the litter box, I think he just prefers my clean laundry basket that I was too lazy to fold.

    He's also on a specific diet because he's old and gets UTIs easily. I think he just likes being mean to me at this point cuz he's a crotchety old fuck.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 month ago*

    We've tried all the boxes and all the litters. Now she has a box with a bit of litter and a weewee pad on top of the litter. She will pee on that daily and poop on it about 2/7 days per week. The other days she poops on the floor in front of the box. If there's a rug or any laundry on my husband's side of the bed, she pees on that. He's successful with not leaving clothes on the floor about 5-6/7 days per week. I'm pleased to have the data to show that he's more trainable than the cat.

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  • [–] 3 points 1 month ago (2 children)

    I have a cat that’s done that since he was a kitten. No idea why. Will shit in the box, but always pee next to it. We put multiple boxes in one closet on a plastic mat and then surround the mat with dog pee pads. That way wherever he goes it gets on a pad that soaks it up.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 month ago (1 child)

    What type of litter are you using? I have Okocat litter in my bedroom litter box, and my cats have no issue peeing in there, but if the bedroom door is open, they'll go find a box with silica litter to poop. I've also had fosters that would pee in the box with pine pellets, but then would poop next to the box. Once I switched them to a different type of litter, all poop & pee was in the box again. Unscented, sandy/fine grain litters are usually the most well accepted. I hate clay, but Dr. Elsey's Kitten Attract did the trick for my most challenging cases of litter box avoidance, and then I was able to gradually transition them to a litter I hated less.

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