Hi Jeni,
I'm sorry Yodel is having difficulties adjusting :(. You didn't mention
if Yodel's stool is normal looking, or if it is loose. I'm wondering if
using the bathtub had to do with seeking privacy. He might have felt
safer when in, um, such a vulnerable position, having the walls of the
tub around him. Why don't you try a covered box? You could add that
just about anywhere without worry about the dogs helping them to a
smelly treat, (unless your dogs are small enough to go in there too!).
You said you changed the type of litter you were using, but you didn't
say what kind it is. I have found that my cats prefer the silty
clumping litter the best. Maybe because it's softer on their paws, more
like outside dirt in consistency and not as messy in between litterbox
cleaning. From what you say, it sounds like Yodel may need a little
more time to acclimate to your household. One technique for litterbox
aversion, that is not health related, is to isolate kitty in a smaller
room with one or two litterboxes readily available. So putting Yodel
back into the bathroom, might help on both counts. I use a screen door
on the bathroom at first to allow the new cat to adjust to their new
home's sights and smells, it's hard on them to be isolated behind closed
doors. After they have gotten used to everyone's presence and there is
no more hissing, I'll switch to a low barrier, (my dogs respect barriers
though). That way Yodel can retreat back to his safe haven just by
hopping the barrier. Of course, Papoose can follow, but it will be
easier for Yodel to contend with him and it will have been established
that it's Yodel's territory which will give him the upper paw. One
other thing, make sure there are plenty of high "perches" that Yodel can
quickly retreat to throughout the apt. Knowing he can escape unwanted
attention quickly will help him feel more secure. I'm sorry about your
husband's coat, but I'm betting that Yodel is much more upset about
things than he is!
Nina
JENI RECA wrote:
Hi,
I know this was the best place to ask about cat questions, so here
goes...I just brought a new feluk postive 6 month old cat
(Yodel-lay-he-hoo, yodel for short) to our apartment, we have a feluk
postive 6 month old cat (papoose) now and three dogs. Yodel seems not
to like to poo in the litter box, but will poo in the bath tub and
also on top of my husbands coat on the kitchen table (wow was he not
happy about that, since he didnt even want the first cat) ...our set
up at first when we brought him home to our one bedroom apartment was,
yodel in the bathroom with his own litter pan and papoose had the rest
of the place with his own litter pan. Yodel pooed in the tub, the cat
behavorist at the shelter thought he liked the feeling of the tub and
suggested we take out some of the litter, so we did, and well that
didn't help, but we didnt find poo in the tub, but we didnt see any in
the litterpan and well couldnt find any presents in the bathroom. We
gave him more run of the house and (that may have not been the best
choice but he was meowing up a storm in the bathroom!) we thought we
were going ok for a little some poo in the litter box which is located
in a crate with a small opening for the cats to go in and out of, but
the dogs that love to eat poo can not get to it (just our luck dogs
that love to eat cat poo). The other night he pooed on my husbands
coat. I am going to introduce another litter box in the crate, but we
unfortunately can not place a bunch all over the place because of our
dogs. Any suggestions , we are going to try different litter and
hopefully try to get a litter pan that the dogs cant get into...thank you
oh and papoose seems to like to beat up yodel and hold him down and
then lick him furiously and then beat him up again..is that odd? (i
just feel bad for the new cat, cause he is such a lover and he hates
the dogs and papoose is a bully to him)
- Re: a little help with litter training the new cat Nina
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