[Casey59]

I have had LOTS of cats over the years. All were easily litter trained. One trip to the box and BINGO trained. I got a 4 month old kitten, Blossom, last Sat. She will use the litter box only if I put her in it. I do not have a large house (the box is easy to find and get to). She has peed on my bed 2 times already, gggrrrr.................... I can't lock her in the room with the box until she starts to use it, she will cry and carry on. As it is if I go outside to she cries for me. She follows me all over the house and even wakes up if I move off the couch. I have another cat. An adult, spayed female, Lucy. They don't fight and Lucy is NOT keeping Blossom out of the box. Does anyone have any ideas? HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[acerlt]

Hello and welcome to our forum! Congratulations on your new family member!

I recommend that the first thing you do is take Blossom to the vet. She may have a urinary tract infection, and that will need to be addressed before anything else.

Once she gets treatment for an infection or a clean bill of health, if the problem continues there are other things to consider.

First, many cats do not like to share litter boxes. In addition, often they prefer to poop in one and pee in another.

With two cats you should have at least three litter boxes. If you have a covered box, add uncovered boxes.

Do you know what kind of litter was being used before you brought her home? She may not like the litter being used. If it has a fragrance added she may not like the smell of it, many cats hate perfumed litter.

Is Blossom spayed?

[Casey59]

Yes, Blossom is spayed. We got her at Pet Smart in Dothan, AL. from "SAVE-A-PET, at the Dothan Animal Shelter". She was in foster care, not a shelter. I spoke with her foster mom yesterday relaying the issues that we are having. She said that there was an adult cat that sort of took over the raising of Blossom and everytime he went to the box so did she. Not sure what kind of litter they used. I am using scoopable, doesn't everyone? LOL!
I know about cats avoiding the box and going outside it if they are sick. She doesn't avoid it. When put in it she uses it if she has to go. It seems like she is clueless as to where it is. I feel like I am housebreaking a puppy, gggrrr......

[acerlt]

No, not every one uses clumping litter I don't, I hate the stuff.

And there are different brands, so if the foster used something different from what you are using (especially as I said, something that smells perfumey) then that could be contributing to the problem.

Does she poop okay in the box?

It does sound as though she is used to being herded to the litter box.

Here's what I recommend.

Stop putting her in the box as this is only going to continue the problem. She is used to being guided to the box, and if you keep doing it, she is going to keep expecting it.

Add at least one litter box. Fill it with Cat Attract litter, and see how she does.

If she continues to have accidents, you will have to tough out the yelling and keep her confined to one small room or a large dog crate for retraining, usually a period of 2 weeks is recommended. Use the cat attract litter for retraining also.

You can visit her and play with her of course, she doesn't need to be isolated, but she does need to be contained in a small space so her only choices are to pee near her food, her bed, or in the litter box.

Installing feliway plug in diffuser may help, especially if you have to do the retraining, as it will help reduce stress.

(I am compelled reiterate I still think a urine check is in order, especially if she is pooping in the box without problem, and that is what I would do, before trying anything else. If there is an infection, no amount of retraining will help)

Please keep us posted on Blossom.

[Casey59]

She pees and poops in the box if put there. Can I get Cat Attract litter in Pet Smart? Is Feliaway in Pet Smart? That is the only "pet" store around here. I actually have a smaller box that I used when I had just the one cat. I will, hopefully find Cat Attract litter and see what happens. Thanks for the info and your help.
Just found this site while looking up Blossom's "problem" I will continue to use it. I hope to meet lots of wonderful cat purrsons.

[acerlt]

You're welcome!

It looks like petsmart does carry Cat Attract:

Dr. Elsey's Cat Attract Cat Litter - Sale - Cat - PetSmart

That's the webiste store of course, but I would imagine they carry it locally too, or will order it in for you if they don't.

Also on their website I see they do have feliway diffusers but you can get it much cheaper through amazon.com or entirelypets.com. I am recommending the diffusers not the spray as I have never used the spray.

I did forget to mention that you will need to use an enzymatic cleaner to remove odor from the places she has gone. Even if you can't smell it she will be able to unless you use one of these special enzymatic cleaners. Enzymatic means "breaks down bacteria".

I am glad to hear you plan to stick around, this is a friendly little forum, it's been quiet here lately and we're hoping to get it bustling a little more. I'll look forward to hearing more stories about Blossom and Lucy (and pics, when you have enough posts) and I'm sure you will be able to contribute helpful ideas too.

[Casey59]

We returned Blossom to her foster mom lastnight. Blossom is a Russian Blue and apparently they have strange quirks (don't all cats?) Russians, while not acting upset or mad, will pee on things if they are unhappy with their environment in any way. ALSO, her foster mom is going out of the country for more than 2 weeks and I didn't want to become more attached to her and she to me. We got a spayed 9 month old Calico. We were told that she was shy at first. WELL......I have never had a cat that is sooooooo loving, almost to the point of seeming needy. We couldn't sleep last night for her wanting to be loved on. My husband, who had never had cats until he had me, was concerned that she, too, would have a hard time with the litter box. No problem what so ever!!! I tried to explain to him the reasons that cats don't use the box and how easily they use it. Anyway, I now have a call into the shelter because she has diarrhea. Coxcidia? (sp?) Change in surroundings and food? HHHMMM............She is eating and drinking so I will wait a day or two to see if it clears up.

[acerlt]

Casey59 I'm a little confused as you keep posting the same paragraph over and over. That's generally the type of thing trolls or spammers do. Four times now you have the same post, without any new information. What's going on?

I'm going to ask the mod to remove the duplicate posts, and perhaps you can give us an update or more information.

[AK49BWL]

I edited one, removed another. Fixxxxxxxed, as they say

[acerlt]

Originally Posted by Casey59

We returned Blossom to her foster mom lastnight. Blossom is a Russian Blue and apparently they have strange quirks (don't all cats?) Russians, while not acting upset or mad, will pee on things if they are unhappy with their environment in any way. ALSO, her foster mom is going out of the country for more than 2 weeks and I didn't want to become more attached to her and she to me. We got a spayed 9 month old Calico. We were told that she was shy at first. WELL......I have never had a cat that is sooooooo loving, almost to the point of seeming needy. We couldn't sleep last night for her wanting to be loved on. My husband, who had never had cats until he had me, was concerned that she, too, would have a hard time with the litter box. No problem what so ever!!! I tried to explain to him the reasons that cats don't use the box and how easily they use it. Anyway, I now have a call into the shelter because she has diarrhea. Coxcidia? (sp?) Change in surroundings and food? HHHMMM............She is eating and drinking so I will wait a day or two to see if it clears up.

Yes all cats have Quirks. It was smart of you to recognize quickly that Blossom was not a good match for you, but I hope you aren't going to get into the habit of returning every cat that isn't perfect. I am not trying to be offensive here but no animal is perfect and most coming from a rescue carry baggage of one sort or another.

A change in food would take more than the short time you have had her to cause diarrhea. You'd better get her to the vet right away, and bring a sample of the diarrhea with you.

What's her name?