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There was a point where I needed to know for sure which of our two cats was using the litter box. This is going to sound crazy, but my husband had bought me a dropcam so that I could put it in the kitchen/family room where they usually hang out, so I could see what they were doing. I decided to move the dropcam into the laundry room, where we have the litter boxes they use the most. I can go back along the camera feed and see who does what, when, and how.
In lieu of spending so much money on a dropcam, if you have a smartphone or tablet, you can turn the videocamera part of it into your recording device. There's an app called Camio you can use to do this, and to monitor the first camera is free. My only problem with it is that is records only movement, and sometimes the movement of the cats using the box isn't enough to trigger the Camio recording, so I'm still using the dropcam app.
Maybe there's a way you could set something like this up?
....In lieu of spending so much money on a dropcam, if you have a smartphone or tablet, you can turn the videocamera part of it into your recording device. There's an app called Camio you can use to do this, and to monitor the first camera is free. My only problem with it is that is records only movement, and sometimes the movement of the cats using the box isn't enough to trigger the Camio recording, so I'm still using the dropcam app.
Maybe there's a way you could set something like this up?
We have none of those things. All we have are plain old cellphones and regular computers.
My husband caught Callie in the act. She's using both the litter totes and the throw rugs. We took up all the throw rugs.... she went to the vet today.
Just like with people, with age comes less strong bladder muscles. Even though your cat may be a young 18-year-old in mind and spirit, bodily functions just can't match. When the urgency arrives, she just has to go, and if she's not upstairs, then the laundry room will have to do. I understand the tight quarters of the laundry room that doesn't allow space for a litter box. Is there any space outside the laundry room door for a litter box so that you can close that door?
Cats aren't lazy - that's a human trait that can't be applied to nonhuman animals (anthropomorphism). Everything an animal does is with a purpose (and some of these behaviors might look like "laziness" to a human mind). At this point I'd say that using the laundry room rug is a habit, an action that was fortified because it's been allowed. Your cat thanks you for washing the rug often and giving her a clean spot to pee in.
Cats aren't lazy - that's a human trait that can't be applied to nonhuman animals (anthropomorphism). Everything an animal does is with a purpose (and some of these behaviors might look like "laziness" to a human mind). At this point I'd say that using the laundry room rug is a habit, an action that was fortified because it's been allowed. Your cat thanks you for washing the rug often and giving her a clean spot to pee in.
You are right - it wasn't laziness.
Over the weekend she was upstairs sleeping on our bed, and my husband followed her just to see what she was doing. She jumped off the bed, went downstairs, into the laundry room, and promptly peed. Instead of using the JUST CLEANED litter tray that was UPSTAIRS IN OUR BATHROOM adjacent to the room she was sleeping in.
My husband immediately went out to the store (while I steamcleaned the rug AGAIN), bought a 2nd litter tray and we put it in the laundry room. We know she has STEPPED into the litter tray because we saw paw prints, but do not see any evidence of wet litter.
Grrrr....we went a few days where we found no cat pee in the house other than the litter boxes. This morning: she peed in the laundry room a few inches away from the litter box!!! I also believe I'll need to steam clean the rug in the dining room again because late last night I walked through there and it smelled bad - but it was near midnight and there's no way I could steam clean and wake the family the night before school started. I'll do that tonight (we're planning on throwing away both rugs once she is over the bridge).
She is faithfully using both boxes to poop, but is hit or miss on whether she'll use the boxes for peeing.
A week or two ago we stopped having issues with inappropriate peeing with the cat's upstairs box, but were still having issues with the downstairs box in the laundry room - she'd pee right outside the box, or head into the dining room.
Over the weekend my husband bought clumping litter for the laundry room litterbox AND we opted not to clamp down the box liner around the entrance - doing so kept the liner up high. The result is that she is forced to go all the way into the box - rather than step in the entrance, but keep her butt hanging over the side of the box. Sure enough - she never peed on the carpet the entire weekend. The pee was safely contained right at the very front of the box in the clumping litter, which I promptly scooped out.
She never peed in the dining room the entire weekend, and peed at least 4-5 times over the weekend in the box with the "higher" walls, with no accidents.
We still will have to take the dining room rug to the dump - no amount of steam cleaning will remove the smell, but once we get a week under our belt with her faithfully using both boxes, we'll replace the dining room rug altogether with hopes that resolution has been achieved!
A week or two ago we stopped having issues with inappropriate peeing with the cat's upstairs box, but were still having issues with the downstairs box in the laundry room - she'd pee right outside the box, or head into the dining room.
Over the weekend my husband bought clumping litter for the laundry room litterbox AND we opted not to clamp down the box liner around the entrance - doing so kept the liner up high. The result is that she is forced to go all the way into the box - rather than step in the entrance, but keep her butt hanging over the side of the box. Sure enough - she never peed on the carpet the entire weekend. The pee was safely contained right at the very front of the box in the clumping litter, which I promptly scooped out.
She never peed in the dining room the entire weekend, and peed at least 4-5 times over the weekend in the box with the "higher" walls, with no accidents.
We still will have to take the dining room rug to the dump - no amount of steam cleaning will remove the smell, but once we get a week under our belt with her faithfully using both boxes, we'll replace the dining room rug altogether with hopes that resolution has been achieved!
99.9% of the time there is a reason that a cat has a litter box problem, and it can be a challenge to figure out what it is. Glad you were able to find a solution.
Like I always say... Happy Cats make for Happy Humans.
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