Automatic Litterbox Central

Our daughter is almost 1 year old. I am not sure if this has anything to do with it, but he has been peeing on things for a while now. Not daily, but once in awhile. more than he did. we are wondering of this is because of our new daughter? or if he is having issues with our litter robot?
Let's see, he has pee'd on my nikon film camera and ruined it, a box of stuff animals, couch, car seat, a towel in the activity center, on a comforter in the play pen, a futon. etc.....
how would we know if it's the baby or just him having issues?
thanks.

Hi and welcome to the forum. Sorry you are having problems.

Lots more info needed

How old is the cat?
Has he been checked by vet to make sure it is not a medical problem - could very well be?
How long have you had him? Daughter?
Is the Litter Robot New?
Was he ever using it 100% if the time?
How often do you clean it?
Where is it located? In a busy area or someplace where he can have some privacy?
Was he peeing inappropriately before daughter arrived? Ever?

Lets start with this then we can go from there

How old is the cat? He is almost 6 years old.

Has he been checked by vet to make sure it is not a medical problem - could very well be?
No it is not a medical problem, just had him checked out.

How long have you had him? Daughter?
I have had him since he was 14 days old, I bottle fed him myself, he was a rescue and I was his foster parent who decided to keep him. I believe he is offspring from a feral cat,from his actions when he was lost for 2 weeks. I found him with the help of a website called http://www.catsinthebag.org, I found him after 2 weeks after reading that site and profiling him. My daughter is almost 1, will be 1 next month.

Is the Litter Robot New?
No the litter robot is not new it is about 1.5 years old.

Was he ever using it 100% if the time?
He was after weaing him from the regular covered box to the litter robot.

How often do you clean it?
I clean it every other day, and I completely wash it out every 2-3 months and put fresh little in about once a month or so, aside from adding litter when I empty it.

Where is it located? In a busy area or someplace where he can have some privacy?
It's located next to the washer and dryer, I know it shouldn't be, but that is the only feasible area we have. I does seem now that I think about it, he pees when the wash is going. Especially when the bedding is being washed as he lives in under the covers of our bed. But it is NOT always when the wash is going or there is no bedding on the bed.

Was he peeing inappropriately before daughter arrived? Ever?
It doesn't really seem like he was. I have tried to figure out a pattern but we can't put a finger on it.
any help would be greatly appreciated. He has ruined a very nice camera and a few other really valuable things. I won't get rid of him though.
I love him to much...
Larry

My take is that your cat is reacting to your child. Perhaps now the child is getting older and you are interacting more with your child which is causing your cat to feel neglected. Since you have had your cat since it was an infant and you have no other cats; your cat must be used to getting the lion's share of you attention. My advice - get another cat. It's going to be rocky for a few months untill your cat gets used to the new cat but I beleive you will find that when the cats finally bond, your cat won't be as upset about losing some of your affection. If you do go this route make sure to introduce the two cats slowly. there are plenty of websites that describe this procedure.

Good luck
Colleen

I'm sorry Larry, I spaced out and forgot to get back to this.

Uh, the problem is your daughter. You will have to rehome her if you want to please your cat. Do you know anyone that can take her?

Just kidding (but probably not really! I'm sure the cat would suggest that)

The cat is jealous. Also daughter is at or close to that toddling age which represents horror for the cat. Stomping feet, toys being dropped or thrown, noise, all this is upsetting to the cat. Cats HATE change and frequently react by peeing inappropriately. Has the cat peed on any of the kids stuff? or in her crib? If not, dont be shocked to find her stuff peed on at some point. For now, he is just wrecking your stuff.

It really doesnt take much to stress a cat out. Change your schedule, move the furniture or worse, move to a new house. Probably the worst is a new family member aka baby. I used to have a cat that peed on my boyfriends clothes regularly. She hated him being there because it disrupted her whole routine which basically revolved around me.

A new cat may or may not work. At first, there will be new turmoil, because of the new cat. They will need to work out their territory issues and if they can do that and become friends, yay!

this is important: Spend time with just the cat when the kid isnt around or awake to distract you. He needs to know that he is still a part of the equation and isnt being replaced by 'that baby'

As the child grows, and becomes less erratic like toddlers are, he will become more accepting also. (lol not saying he is going to pee on things until the kid is a teen)

This doesn't strike me as a cat peeing for attention. If anything, I bet the cat gets more attention now that it did when the baby first arrived. If it was the baby, I would expect that the cat has been peeing out of the box for a long time now and this issue would not only be the peeing but also the horrible smell and everything in the house being ruined.

In my opinion, this is a litterbox issue. If you've noticed that sometimes the peeing occurs when the laundry is going - move the box. This is going to be the easiest way to see if the location is the issue. I know it might not be practical for everyday life, but move the box to a quiet location where he can't be disturbed and your child can't get near him. Put up a baby gate if you have to. Block out an area just for your cat. If you do this for 2 weeks and no accidents - then you know the laundry is the issue. If he still has an accident then you know something else is up.

I found a stray kitten (whom we eventually adopted) and she was not really interested in using the litterbox. To make matters worse, my other two cats use a cat genie - so I knew the transition could be an issue. I bought this stuff called "Litter Attract" at PetsMart. It looks like a plastic jar of cat litter and smells like dirt. I sprinkled a little bit in the litter box and a little in the genie *SHAZAM* she hasn't had an accident since. I have 99% of the litter attract left (you only use a spoon full) so you don't have to worry about the added expense or upkeep.

I also used the Feliway spray. Was it expensive? YES. Did it stop my older cat from marking? YES. I know it comes in a diffuser also but I figured since he had a specific "spot" - spraying that area would be more effective. I only had to buy 1 bottle and have half of it left.

Aside from the camera - everything you mentioned him peeing on was fabric. I'm assuming he's accessing and peeing on these things on the floor. Keeping the baby's toys in her room with the door closed and the laundry off the floor (I'm not preaching - I drop stuff on the floor too!) will greatly reduce his urge. In my experience, if you put a litterbox challenged cat in a room with tiled/linoleum/hardwood floors, with a litterbox and shut the door...the cat will go 100% in the box. But throw a towel on the floor...or a rug...and you're giving that cat a choice.

My last piece of advice - I would never ever consider bringing another pet into a household that already isn't functioning as it should. Regardless of the issue, until your cat uses it's box 100% of the time without fail I would not consider adding another cat to the family. You are only teaching that new cat that it's acceptable to pee outside the box - and the issue with your first cat could develop into something worse.
Hope that helps!

Ozzy&Cher wrote:My take is that your cat is reacting to your child. Perhaps now the child is getting older and you are interacting more with your child which is causing your cat to feel neglected. Since you have had your cat since it was an infant and you have no other cats; your cat must be used to getting the lion's share of you attention. My advice - get another cat. It's going to be rocky for a few months untill your cat gets used to the new cat but I beleive you will find that when the cats finally bond, your cat won't be as upset about losing some of your affection. If you do go this route make sure to introduce the two cats slowly. there are plenty of websites that describe this procedure.

Good luck
Colleen

Actually Colleen I have 3 cats altogether. It is only this one that is having the issues.

WickedKitten wrote:I found a stray kitten (whom we eventually adopted) and she was not really interested in using the litterbox. To make matters worse, my other two cats use a cat genie - so I knew the transition could be an issue. I bought this stuff called "Litter Attract" at PetsMart. It looks like a plastic jar of cat litter and smells like dirt. I sprinkled a little bit in the litter box and a little in the genie *SHAZAM* she hasn't had an accident since. I have 99% of the litter attract left (you only use a spoon full) so you don't have to worry about the added expense or upkeep.

I also used the Feliway spray. Was it expensive? YES. Did it stop my older cat from marking? YES. I know it comes in a diffuser also but I figured since he had a specific "spot" - spraying that area would be more effective. I only had to buy 1 bottle and have half of it left.

Aside from the camera - everything you mentioned him peeing on was fabric. I'm assuming he's accessing and peeing on these things on the floor. Keeping the baby's toys in her room with the door closed and the laundry off the floor (I'm not preaching - I drop stuff on the floor too!) will greatly reduce his urge. In my experience, if you put a litterbox challenged cat in a room with tiled/linoleum/hardwood floors, with a litterbox and shut the door...the cat will go 100% in the box. But throw a towel on the floor...or a rug...and you're giving that cat a choice.

My last piece of advice - I would never ever consider bringing another pet into a household that already isn't functioning as it should. Regardless of the issue, until your cat uses it's box 100% of the time without fail I would not consider adding another cat to the family. You are only teaching that new cat that it's acceptable to pee outside the box - and the issue with your first cat could develop into something worse.
Hope that helps!

ok so we have gotten him to stop peeing in other places, but now what has happened is he is peeing on a futon we have. we cleaned the futon and soaked the futon with anti icky poo, and it smells not like pee anymore. we then washed the zebra covering and placed it in a ball on the top of the futon. well guess what. the cat pee'd on the zebra fabric covering. that was placed in a ball on the futon. damn it.
I had heard that AIP repells cats after it has done it's job. so we thought that would cure him of peeing on the futon, well maybe it did but not the zebra covering.

oh well.
damn it.

yes we do keep the toys up off the floor, we pick things up and close the babies room off to the cats.
I am going to try the dirt stuff you mentioned, I am also going to find a place to put the litter robot,
thanks for all the feedback.
I really appreciate it.

Your probably right about not getting another cat. The new cat will assume it's ok to pee on things if it smells the other cat's pee around the house. So scartch my suggestion. My third cat has the habit of peeing on laundry laying on the floor and the bathroom rug that is next to close to the cat box. I'm going try the products suggested here.
Thanks
Colleen

well the cat continued to pee on the futon, so much so even after we put garbage bags on the thing he just moved them aside and pee'd on the futon anyway. we have gotten rid of the futon. now I find he has been peeing in my studio. I have a photography studio setup in our front area of our house. He is peeing on the baseboard area along the back wall, RIGHT IN FRONT OF US as we watch TV.
I just don't get it. I think I am going to get the scent plugin thingy to maybe make him feel more comfy, that pheromone thing. damn brain fart... whats it called???
felaway

Feliway?
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.j ... Id=2755197

Xwindowuser - I so feel your pain. Do a search here for Milo and you can read about all of the different things he did and the things I did to try to solve the problem. Nothing worked. At all. He was the reason I originally came here. I finally had to rehome him to a farm where he spent his days chasing gophers and bugs. It about killed me to lose the battle and have to give him up. I loved that little shit so much. At the time I got him, I only had 2 sister cats. He was the newcomer. He had a personality like no other cat I have ever known. He also caused me more grief because of his pee, than any other cat I have ever known. I had to rip out all of the carpet, paint the house with 2 coats of Killz, then paint, cover everything with plastic, and on and on. I got those scat mats that shock you if you step on them and had them all over the place. He would jump over them. I put one on the couch cushions and he jumped up onto the back of the couch, hung his butt over the cushion and peed onto the scat mat! Right in front of me!

I had those feliway diffusers in every socket in the house - about $400 worth of them. He would spray on them. At one point, There were little bowls of food all over my house, trails of them, because supposedly they wont pee by their food. Ha! Milo did. I could tell you stories about him peeing for the rest of my life, and not have to repeat one, he was that bad.

Seriously, do a search for Milo and read about him and my efforts. It may save you some time and grief.

ab

Have you tried getting a second litter box next to or near the first (maybe nonelectric with crystals -- they are fairly easy to care for). Or, locking Mr. Pee-around-the-house in with one or both litter boxes for 5 days to a week (with toys, food, visitors welcome, of course)? I have a cat door in the laundry room door that has a four way lock. You might use a similar system so the other kitties could get in to use the litter boxes but Mr. P can not get out. While he is relearning his litter box habits,thoroughly clean & deodorize any peed upon areas around the house. I got some awful Arm & Hammer stuff that I hate...It was meant to remove urine odor & it seemed to do the trick. You are retraining the cat.... After his retraining period, let him out... Watch him. Get him into the laundry room if he appears to want to pee elsewhere. If he pees anywhere but in a litter box, its back to kitty boot camp. Locking up our little darlings is not easy but I have had success with this process with one cat. He did seem to have elimination accidents when the dishwasher or washer was running although perhaps not only at these times...

Good luck!

*sigh*

the wood where we found that he has been peeing is ruined now.
I will search for Milo. I think I will try the extra box, and if that doesn't work, I will have to re-home him.
I just can't do this anymore.

well all was good till last night. I started putting a bowl of water adn food where he had been peeing on the floor, and got the cat attract litter and started keeping the litter robot even cleaner than it was before. started putting cat attract in the little every few days, not much just enough. and he had stopped peeing on the floor. Things had been really good. until last night.

I got a mirror from a friend down the street and set it behind my chaise lounger in the photo studio. I also have a faux bear skin rug that I use on the floor to lay on and the models lay on also. I use it to crack my back when it’s out. Anyway it was sitting on the back of the chaise lounger and the mirror was right behind it. Last night I was watching TV and saw him walk up onto the rug on the back of the lounger and point his butt toward the mirror, somewhat pornographically, and started to pee. Right there in front of me in the light. I got up and said “oh no you don’t!” and walked over to him. He stood there and pee’d to the last second before I reached him and then split.

The bastard peed on my rug, and down the mirror and got some on the covers that were covering the chaise lounger. Damn it. Now what? is it the site of himself in the mirror that causes the cat to pee? or is it a smell on the mirror? or what? Damn it I am so tired of the smell of cat pee, and pee on the floor and furnishings. grrrr…..