Conference misery::feline

558.0. "Help with geriatric cat urinating on wood foyer" by ALFAXP::MITCHAM (Andy in Alpharetta (near Atlanta)) Fri Jun 25 1993 12:52

    Perhaps you friendly feliners can assist me with a problem that has me
    spitting nails...

    We have two cats: Tabatha and Toby.  Tabatha is 19-years-old, suffering
    from chronic kidney failure (we hydrate her every other day with
    fluids) and getting somewhat senile.  Toby is approx. 7-years-old, not
    suffering any illness that we know of -- a typical cat for his age
    (from what I know of cats, anyway).

    Tabatha, at this point in her life, is pretty finicky about certain
    things.  One of these things is where she goes to urinate.  If the box
    is not clean and tidy, she'll go somewhere else (my perception).  My
    job is to make certain the box stays clean and tidy (I was assigned
    this job when my wife first got pregnant 4-years ago :-).  Anyway, if
    the box is clean, Tabatha will just walk into the box, do her stuff and
    leave.  Considering I use scoopable litter, this is perfect for me as
    everything remains whole (as oppose to getting broken into millions of
    little pieces).

    Toby, on the other hand, is hardly the tidy one.  He jumps into the
    box, digs a bit (all the way to the bottom), does his thing in the
    hole and then covers it, along with an entire side of the box, with
    litter.  Of course this leaves the other side practically void of any
    litter (not to mention makes a huge mess) and poses a problem the next
    time Tabatha comes to call.  She takes a look at the box, decides
    against it and urinates outside the box.

    I have two litter boxes and this has helped things (if one is "dirty"
    and the other "clean", Tabatha will use the "clean" one) but Toby likes
    to dig in a clean box more than a dirty one so it doesn't take long for
    both boxes to become a diaster area with Toby around.

    Now the problem has escalated.  Tabatha recently suffered from a
    urinary-tract infection and urinated at different spots in the house
    until we were able to confine her to the laundry room (where we have
    the boxes) and get her to the vet.  Since that time, she apparently has
    found that urinating on our hardwood foyer is better than the box. 
    Considering we are not at home for at least 10-hours of the day during
    the week, our options for eliminating this behavior are limited.  I
    will say, however, that it now appears it does not matter if the box(s)
    are pristine or not -- she will go in the foyer anyway.

    - Can anyone suggest what to do to prevent her from urinating on the
      foyer floor further?  The floor is pretty much ruined from my  
      perspective, but that doesn't mean we don't care that this matter 
      continues.  I currently have an old strip of carpet layed on the floor
      with plastic lined on the bottom and a towel underneath that.  It
      doesn't do too well but it's better than having her urinate directly on
      the wood and have it soak it up directly.
    - Any suggestions how to regulate what boxes each cat uses?  If Toby
      would only use one while Tabatha uses the other, we may be able to
      alleviate the problem to some degree.  I have tried separating the
      boxes but then only one gets used.

    HELP!!!

-Andy

    Sounds familiar....I have an elderly kitty too, he has arthritis in
    the hips and scooting over the box is often quite uncomfortable for
    him. So...he occassionally just sprays whereever it is convenient for
    him to do so.  That way he doesn't have to scoot. Having the box
    absolutley immaculate is also one of his requirements.  In fact, what
    we do now is, after his meals, I carry him to the box, make sure it's
    clean, and put him right in it.  He usually will do his business right
    then and there.  "Helping" him this way seems to have mostly solved
    the problem, unless we are gone for a long time, such as when we went
    on vacation..that was something else!  But anyway, maybe this method
    would help.
    
    Denise

    My Siamese cat at the age of 18 unfortunately started to urinate all
    over, and the Vet said it was because of her kidneys starting to fail, 
    and she just got lazy and weak.  There wasn't very much they could do
    for her, so I laid her to rest, breaking my heart, but couldn't let
    her suffer like that, because she probably had some pain in urinating.
    
    Treasure every moment, they are so valuable at this date.
    
    Nancy

Carrying her to the box is, in most cases, not an option since we are not 
at home most of the entire day.  I will say that having her euthanized is
presently not an option as well.

Any more ideas?

-Andy

	Confine her in a room that you don't mind having to clean?

	This way she doesn't ruin the foyer, and she has her own box.

	Also, she could be smelling that the foyer is "the place to go",
	so without that trigger, and with her own clean box, she might
	get back to her better habits.

	Heather

    Would "stud pants" be an option???  Could you possibly put a
    piece of cheap linoleum down in the foyer for now....it would
    be much easier to wash and you wouldn't ruin the wood.
    
    I do agree if you confine her to her own "space" for awhile...her
    habits could possibly change and you "might" break her of the habit
    of using the foyer.
    
    Good luck...
    

    
    At 19, she may no longer be able to hold it long enough
    to make it to the laundry room, and the foyer is an easy
    toilet?

    Put a litter box, with one of the sides cut down a bit, in the foyer,
    or use the bottom of a cardboard box, with a plastic cat pan liner on
    the "outside".  My cats HATE the liners, so if I have to make a
    make-shift box with cardboard, I use the liners on the oustide.
    And wash the spot with an enzyme cleaner to remove the previous odors.
    I would also cover the spot with something she may not like, wrapping
    paper which is slippery, linoleum, straw. It might dissuade her from
    using that spot.  
    Sarah