One of my mom's cats simply refuses to use her box. Any suggestions?

[BreweryYardRat]

Cat was originally paper-trained, before we got her. She did fairly well at using her box for a while, but lately (by lately, I mean in the past few years). My mother just cleans up after the cat, and I haven't been living with my mom for three and a half years, so it hasn't been an issue for me.

Until now. My dad's brilliant decision to get back together with my mother means that her problem is now our problem. So I'm humbly beseeching you guys for help, because neither I nor my dad want to live in a house that reeks of cat waste.

Details of the problem:
If we leave paper on the floor overnight, the cat will piss on it. Even when there's a box full of newspaper just for her, she'll use stuff on the floor in preference.

The cat almost never takes a dump in her box. She usually finds a corner somewhere.

She's an old cat (about 15), so that may be part of it.

Suggestions/ideas, guys and gals?

[LynneSin]

1. Two things

First, how many cats vs. how many litter boxes. If you have one litter box and 5 cats sharing it then there might be some litter dominance amongst your cats

Also - checkup, perhaps the cat has a medical reason it can't wait for the litterbox

[BreweryYardRat]

4. Well...

We've got 4 or 5 boxes for three cats, so I doubt that's the issue.

Mom swears she's had the vet look the cat over, and he didn't find anything immediately causing it. We did have to have the kitty's spleen removed about 5 years ago...could that be the problem?

[LostinVA]

2. What Lynne said, plus this:

1.) Is the cat declawed? If so, then it'll be more difficult, because declawed kitties often have litter box issues because of the unnaturalness of declawing, and

2.) it may be the litter or litterbox. My sister's cat HATED the covered litter box, and I've known cats who hated certain types of litter.

[BreweryYardRat]

3. Y'know, that might be it. Mom had this one declawed shortly after we got her.

[LostinVA]

5. Google about it and tell the vet that

That may very well be it.

You'll probably find some good advice/info online.

Just remember: it's not the kitty's fault -- she isn't being a furry little bword (this time, anyway!).

[stuntcat]

6. all this stuff^^ and also

Is it hard to get into the litter box? some old boxes are just a few inches high, which can still be tall for an old cat, but some new boxes are a lot higher.. the edge I mean, that she'd step over. Maybe if she had a couple steps up, or a box with a section of the edge cut out. or maybe not, but it's something I've thought about lately with aging cats.

[nini]

7. Try 'Cat Attract' litter

it solved a problem with my cat and I had tried EVERYTHING else.


You're going to have to clean the heck out of any location she may have used before to try and get the scent out too.

good luck

[Samurai_Writer]

8. Get Cat Attract cat litter

And take her to the vet. She might have something medical going on with her. But Cat Attract really does work. Cats LOVE that stuff!