I think I might kill my cat.

[Club'nBabySeals]

...Okay, not really, but I could sure use some help:

We have five cats total--four of them are perfectly well behaved. One is not. This one is almost seven years old and has been with us since we adopted her six years ago. She is deaf, if that makes any difference. She's always been strong willed, but for many years now she has managed to coexist with our other cats and for the most part behave.

Anyway, we just moved to Florida from SOMD in the Spring. Since then, she has refused in any capacity to use a litterbox. I took her to the vet to see if there was a medical problem...there wasn't. I clean the boxes every day, and change the litter frequently. We added an extra litterbox. We changed the type of litterbox. We changed the type of litter. We moved the litterbox to a different spot. Nothing works.

So now, each and every day I get to clean up a pile or two of cat crap off my bathroom floor; as well as a few puddles of cat pee (sometimes she is kind enough to do it in the bathtub so it's easier to rinse...but not lately). This has been going on for six months or more. Today she peed on my baby's bed. Sometimes I swear she does it just to be mean.


I'm really at a loss. My husband thinks maybe she's just homesick for our old house in Maryland, but we can't exactly accommodate that ailment. We refuse to give her up or anything of that sort, as even though she is a b(&^ch she is a part of our family....but I'm getting to the end of my rope with this. What am I missing? Suggestions?

 

[Kain99]

5 cats, isn't an illness.... Don't worry.

 

[cattitude]

I think she's upset about the move. Do you have the option of keeping her somewhere with her own litter box for a month or so and let her gradually get used to the house?

You might talk to her vet about a med called amitriptyline..it's a tranquilizer of sorts and can help her to calm down. It is used for inappropriate peeing in cats. Sometimes just using it for a month or two will help a cat get back on track.

 

[AnnieC]

Get a cat condo and let her live there for a month.
She can learn to use a litter box all over again.

 

[hvp05]

Anyway, we just moved to Florida from SOMD in the Spring. Since then, she has refused in any capacity to use a litterbox.

I will be moving my cats in less than two weeks. I am hoping they don't freak out like this.

Sorry I don't have a solution suggestion for you.

 

[WildCherry]

I agree with the cat condo. We have a female cat that was the first cat here that started acting out cause she was not happy about the new additions. So we put her in a condo with her own litterbox and only let her out when we were there to supervise her. It has worked out well and she can come out of the condo now anytime she wants and she returns to it to use her own box. She seems to like it that way. Whatever makes her happy!

 

[Peabody]

She may be upset about the move. You can try something that may work. You will need a large dog crate, big enough to hold a small litter box at one end and food and water at the other end. Also a towel or blanket for the cat to lay on. Try to keep this crate in a room you use often so she does not get lonely. Obviously what you are tyring to do is force her to use the litter box, sometimes this will retrain them. You may have to do this for a while. Start with 2-3 weeks and see how it goes, you may need to repeat the process. Take her out as often as possible to hold her or let her sit on your lap but then put her right back into the crate. Good Luck