Conference misery::feline_v1

    
    	Eesh!  I forgot I was creating a new note.
    
    	Could one of the mods change this title to
    
    	"Doodling in the sink...help!"
    
    	thanks
    

    Hi Judy,
    
         When we first got Midnight, we had all kinds of bathroom problems
    with her.  She didn't like the litter.  She didn't like a dirty box. 
    She *did* like the bathtub for, as you say, not the peeing ;-) .  Now,
    six and a half months later, she is doing *much* better, can I almost
    say "cured"??
    
         How did we do it?  First off, we started with Kleen Kitty litter. 
    Kleen Kitty is a lot finer grained than the Tidy Cat 3, although
    dustier.  She seemed to prefer that a lot more and, I guess, with her
    tiny paws the TC3 seemed like boulders.  We gradually moved to a KK and
    TC3 mix, and are finally at TC3 only.  No accidents for over a month
    now.  And she now tolerates a less-than-clean box, though all are
    sifted every day and changed once a week.
    
         She only had problems with bowel movements, BTW, she *always* peed
    in the right place.
    
         As far as the bathtub, a little bit of water in the bottom cured
    that, as well as closing the bathroom door when we aren't home.
    
         We may have had this problem with her as she's wasn't weaned but
    was abandoned at approximately 3-5 weeks of age.
    
         As far as the claws, I'm stumped.  It sounds like the retractor
    muscles aren't working properly.  Has a vet taken a look at them feet?
    
         Hope this helps ...
    
    					- Andrea

    JJ, I have found the Tidy Cat III to have an odor to it.  I used to
    alternate between that and Kleen Kitty in the red bag.  One day I
    decided to put Tidy Cat III in one box and Kleen Kitty in the other.
    The Kleen Kitty won paws down!
    
    Now I use the Stop and Shop dust free brand which is equivalent to
    Kleen Kitty and the cats seem happier.
    

	Hi Judy - one thing I've heard about Siamese is that they can't
	retract their claws the way other cats can.  We try to keep all
	of our babies' claws trimmed, but I still have little scratches
	all over my hands - can't resist playing with them :^}  I'm lucky
	in that I've never gotten a scratch on my face, although most of
	the rest of my body has been involved.  Last night Tas accidentally
	stuck a claw into my finger, and when I yelled 'OW!' he came over
	to check it out with me - he seemed genuinely sorry :^}

	Sandy

	P.S.  You can change the title of notes you write.  I think the
	command is something like 'set note/title="whatever"'.

    
    
    	thanks Sandy....I hadn't heard that before.  We';ll just 
    	have to trim her claws more often.
    
    	And the title change did work....thanks!
    
    	JJ
    

    Has she been checked by the vet to rule out a urinary tract
    infection, which often causes going in the wrong places?
    Have you used Nature's Miracle or some other enzyme-based
    odor destroyed (available at pet shops) to clean the areas
    where she went so the scent doesn't attract her again?
    
    The scratches will fade.  20 years ago I leaned against a soldering
    iron and thought I'd be marked forever....  However, there are
    cosmetic products for covering up things like this.  One of the
    "under eye circle" covers would probably work.  Or there is some
    thing called (I think) Dermablend which that model in New York
    who had her face cut is a spokesperson for;  it;'s available
    in pharmacies around here.  Just a little dab should do it....
    

    
    
    	Karen,
    
    	Would a UTI cause her to poop in the wrong places though?
    	Are there any other signs for UTI's?  She's quite the bundle
    	of energy so there are no other signs that anything could be
    	physically wrong.  And she almost always only does it when
    	we're not around.
    
    	We've been using vinegar so far to get rid of the smell.
    	I may have to pick up some NM though.
    
    	JJ
    

    Re: Would a UTI cause her to poop in the wrong places though?
    
    I don't know.  It does cause urinating in the wrong places,
    and often has no other symptoms, but can be dangerous if
    untreated is the cat suddenly blocks and stays blocked.
    
    My guys tend to poop outside the box a bit.  I have a cheap
    Sears bath carpet under the box that I can throw in the
    washing machine from time to time.
    

I added another box to take care of the "missing the box" problem...sometimes
a cat doesn't want to share with everyone...I also recommend cleaning out
the box and turning it twice a day - now, don't start moaning...it only takes
a few minutes and can become part of the every morning drill and then right
after you come in at night.  

Re: trimming the claws - I find that kittens grow claws FAST...and then it
seems to slow down as they age.  I am trimming Mandycat's claws once a week,
religeously, and trimming everyone else's claws twice a month..If you keep
them down to right next to the quick, the cat will withdraw them just fine...
if you let them get curved and sharp, they will not be fully retracted.
If, when you press gently on the cats paw, the claws come out with an
obvious curved point, it is time to clip them....clip with a light nearby
so you can hold the claw up to a light and see the clear area from the
area with quick in it - trim just to the edge of the quick...each week. if
you keep at it, the quick will gradually retract into the nail, and you 
will be able to trim shorter - this procedure is not painful to the cat as long
as you do not cut into the quick - and once the quick pulls back, you can
keep nice short nails on the kitten and she will be able to keep them
sheathed until she feels she needs them....

    The fact that she refuses to step in the box leads me to think that
    there is something about it she finds distasteful.  Either its
    the litter - texture, smell etc - or the box is too dirty for her.
    Some cats won't poop & pee in the same box.  And some just plain
    refuse to share a box with other cats.
    
    Try adding a third box and using one of the litters recommended in
    previous notes and see what happens.
    
    re: UTI's - I don't know if that would cause her to poop outside
    the box, bit I do know that failure to use the box may be the
    ONLY symptom you see.  It was discovered that Bob had a mild
    UTI about 3 weeks ago and peeing outdside the box was the only
    symptom he displayed.
    Nancy

    Is this odd??  I have two litter boxes with seven cats.  Only four
    cats actually use the litter box and the other three go outside.  But
    one box is strictly used to pee in by all four...and the other box
    is strictly used to poop in by all four.  It sounds like mine
    like to keep things separated. 
    
    Anyway...the poop is scooped twice a day. And they boxes are totally
    cleaned atleast once a week. This is a job for Daddy!  I take care 
    of one end..(feeding) and he takes care of the other end. I think
    I got the better half of that deal!
    
    Sandy
    
    
    

    Isn't it nice to know that all of us know our cats 
    litterbox habits??  :-) :-)
    
    Seriously, one of mine will perch on the edge, but none
    of the four go outside of the box.  My litterboxes are
    8 inches tall, which makes it hard to kick out the litter.
    Right after a change, all four will pile into the same
    just cleaned litterbox, even if there are two boxes! :-)
    I have even started mixing in wood shavings to cut down on
    the expensive litter.  We get it from our local sawmill for
    my horse, and it's more like tiny ground particles.  Very
    absorbent, smells nice & fresh and the cats don't mind it.
                                         
    Lynne

    Lynne,
    
    You are the second person that I heard that uses
    wood shavings at the bottom of the litter.  The other
    person swears it stays dryer and the smell is 
    absorbed (somewhat).   How is this working for you????
    
    Sandy

    All the barn cats know LOVE to dig in freshly cleaned stalls...;^)

    Re .13 - Yes! Very absorbent stuff, and the natural 
    pine fresh smell of the wood helps with the odors.
    Besides, at $5 a pickup truckload vs $5 a 50 lb bag
    for catlitter, it's a bargain! :-)
    
    Re 14. - Same here....never met a barncat that didn't
    adore digging in the shavings pile or using a stall...
    
    Lynne 
                   
    

    Geez Lynne!  Where do you get 50 pounds of litter for $5!  The best
    I've done is 6.66 for 50 lbs of Tidy Cat 3 at BJ's.
    

    
    	WEll I picked up some Kleen Kitty on Saturday and that
    	seems to have helped a bit.  Although this morning she
    	did poop in the sink.  I think that daddy just needs to
    	scoop the box though.
    
    	Thanks for the suggestion!  Will keep you posted.
    
    	JJ
    

    Re .16 - There is this terrific little petfood store
             the next town over called P&P Petfoods.
             I get my cat & rabbit supplies there.
             The 50 lb bags of litter are $5.85,
             and are discounted if damaged.  They also
             discount damaged bags of dog & catfood, and
             take B/O on these.  Some good deals can be
             had on some good brands of dogfood.  They pile
             them up on a pallet at the front door.  Last
             time I was there, they had about 20 of the 50
             lb bags of dogfood with a "make us an offer"
             sign.  I remember seeing Ken'l Ration, Iams,
             Come n Get it. Maybe I should get a dog to 
             take advantage of this good deal! :-) :-)
             They carry most of the grocery store (9-Lives)
    	     AND specialty (Iams) cat & dogfoods, in cans
             and dry.  Prices are good to reasonable.
            
             (it's located in Lakeville, MA, BTW)
                                                     
    Lynne

    Re .18 - That's 495S , BTW.  If anyone wants something 
             priced out, let me know and I will look next
             time I am there.
    
    Lynne