Cat Attract | The Animal House Blog

Jan

1

2010

Dear Abby (Volume 4) Hello Bad Kitty

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Dear Abby,

We have two cats; our male cat is 12 years old and our female cat is 5 years old. One of them has started to use the carpeted basement family room as a bathroom. It started out as only an occasional #2 in the corner of the room and has gradually become more frequent. In the past it was only #2, but over our recent week-long vacation, we came home to cat pee smell in the basement and it has been recurring daily since then. First, I’m not entirely sure which cat it is, but I have my suspicions that it is the older cat. I have seen the younger cat using the litter box but not the older cat which he used to paw around in the litter and I haven’t noticed that recently. When this first started happening we changed the litter box to a new one with lower sides (thinking perhaps the older cat was becoming arthritic), but that didn’t change anything. We scoop the litter at least every other day if not every day and have used the same brand for years. How do we remedy this problem? Please help!

Missy B

Dear Missy B-
I am very sorry to hear of your cat’s inappropriate elimination issues. Unfortunately, this is a very common problem. I hope that some of the suggestions I have will help.

First, I recommend you take your cats to your veterinarian for exams, fecal floats, and a urine evaluation. There are certain underlying medical issues that can cause cats to go outside of the box (ie urinary tract infections, parasites, etc.).

There are many things that you can do at home that may help the situation. Veterinarians who are animal behaviorists recommend that owners have one litter box for every cat plus one. In your situation that would be three litter boxes. I suggest you try putting a different type of litter in each box. My cat, Ray, really likes the pine litter from the Animal House. You can also try the Cat Attract Litter (http://www.theanimalhouse.net/products/Cat_Attract_Litter_20lbs-72-15.html). It is recommended that you scoop every day & change to a fresh litter once a week.

Sometimes inappropriate elimination will stop when owners add Rescue Remedy to their pet’s water. I would put 4-8 drops in the water once a day. If you live near Damariscotta you can find this at the Rising Tide.

Finally, you can find extensive information on inappropriate elimination at www.veterinarypartner.com.

Good luck, Missy!
Abby Strobbe, DVM

Dear Abby, Pet Safety cat attract, litter, rescue remedy
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