When confining a cat to re-train to use the litter box (kitten, vomit)

[cmjones311]

How long do you have to confine them?

I've done everything possible to get my 12 year old cat to consistently poop in the box. Since I moved into my house 2 years ago and gotten a roommate, she's been so stressed that at least 5 times a week, she would go on the hardwood floor.

Tried everything that's always suggested...Feliway, new box/cleaner box/additional box, you name it, it was done, to no avail. Took her to the vet twice, and this last time, she finally got put on an anti-anxiety med, and the vet told me I would have to confine her to a small space and re-train her to only use the box. But she didn't say how long for.

I have her set up in my bedroom closet with a box, bowl, and bed, and have a screen holding her in so she can still see me. I put her in last night when I went to bed, and just let her out in my room to eat. I figure as long as she's in my room, she's fine, because she typically only goes in one room. So, if I'm here and awake, she can be in my room on my bed with me, but if I'm gone or asleep, she's going to have to be in the closet. I hate that she's going to be stuck in there for over 18 hours a day, I feel like I'm torturing her :-(

So how long do you think she'll need to get back on track? A few days? A week? More?

[Laura707]

I'd say that depends on her! They are all different. Some might "get it" in as little as 3 days when others seem never to get it.. I have one that just a scolding will do the trick and she will do great for sometimes months, then she will suddenly go on the floor again.

You said she is 12 years old and she stresses easy? I'd say the problem is the stress she feels and confining her to a closet might make her feel more safe and secure.... or it could stress her even more.

[cmjones311]

Yes, she HATES change, apparently. She started doing it once in a while (a couple of times a year) when she was a kitten, and over the years she's taken spurts where she'd do it once in a while for a period of time, and then be completely fine for a long period of time. I just noticed a marked difference when I bought this house, that got worse when I got my first roommate (who moved out because of it) and now my second roommate, who is threatening to move out over it. Both roommates have been women, and I wonder if that's the problem, because I've been married before and lived with an ex fiance and an ex boyfriend, and she never got crazy like this with any of the three men.

A few months ago, I started her with Cat Attract litter, and after about two weeks, she stopped completely for about 2 months. YAY! Then my roommate's furniture got moved into the spare room, and the christmas tree got put up, and she started again almost a month ago, back to about 5 or so times a week. Took the tree down, didn't fix it.

It's so weird, because she doesn't do it all the time. I've caught her pooping in the box, and praise and rub her when I do. But then the next day, I'll find a pile on the floor. If it was "regular" cat poo, it wouldn't be as bad, but it's very runny. (Had to take up all the area rugs and make sure nothing soft was left on the floor, because diarrhea isn't pleasant to get out). The vet says she can't find anything medically wrong with her, but thinks she might just be having stomach issues. I've tried her on different foods, but she has the same issue with everything I've tried.

This is something I HAVE to get under control. This time next year I'll be moving across the country, and will need to rent an apartment. I refuse to have to pay thousands of dollars to replace apartment carpet while I still have to pay for a house that I own. I'm not made of money. As it is, when I was looking to buy a house, I wouldn't even look at houses that had carpet because of this cat, even thought I HATE hardwood floors with a passion. I've lived with this for the better part of 12 years, and I just can't do it anymore.

[greg42]

Please don't take this the wrong way, but are you certain what you are finding on the floor is poop and not vomit? Vomit can look suspiciously like poop, especially hairballs.

I suggest this based on my own experience here in our house. Sometimes the vomit is obviously vomit, looking like chunks of food. But other times, again especially the hairballs, we have gotten right up to the thing and still wondered if this is finally the time that it's not vomit. It always has turned out to be vomit. They *really* can look quite similar! The other human in the house has a couple times been "certain" it's poop on the floor before I verified it as a hairball.

We also had someone else on the forum here a couple months ago who reported the same thing, and upon further inspection after suggesting this they turned out to be hairballs. Not saying this is definitely the case because there's no way for me to know, but given the info so far it's not outside the realm of possibility.

Just a thought. It may not help, maybe you ruled this out already, and if so I'm sorry for the useless suggestion. But the way you're describing it as what's on the floor is always very runny and messy and the fact that it's happened on and off for years makes it suspicious to me. Obviously if it is vomit that doesn't make the cleanup any easier but it does turn the entire situation into one of looking at the food mainly (or perhaps grooming) and not at a litter box behavior issue at all.

Either way I hope you find a solution.

[ParallelJJCat]

I would ask the vet about IBD (inflammatory bowel disease). She's having soft stool for SOME reason- it might just be stress, but it could be something more serious. Personally, I would visit a specialty center, as it really isn't normal for a cat to always have soft stool.

To answer your question, I would suggest a week at the minimal. Then I'd watch her very closely for a few more weeks and perhaps only increase how much access she has one room at a time.

You might want to try a small amount of Pepcid to help her stomach, but ask your vet about it conflicting with her other meds. What does the vet have her on?

[cmjones311]

Oh, yes, it's most definitely poo! It's very, very stinky, and I've caught her in the act several times. She does upchuck some, too, because she eats too fast, and it looks markedly different, and so do her hairball chucks.

Right now, the vet has her on 3 meds. Metronidazole in case it's a stomach bug, a steroid of some sort, and Buspar for anxiety. She's on half a pill of each every morning and the other half every night, for the next 30 days.

Giving a skittish and scared kitty 6 pills a day is, as expected, rather difficult. But it's my last resort. I was in tears at the vets office on Tuesday, because I can't deal with this anymore. She's ruining my hardwood floors (real, not laminate) because her runny poo is seeping into the cracks. I've had her 12 years, and I love her so much, but this has literally taken over my life.

I really hope it works.

[greg42]

Ah, again my apologies. I sincerely hope some of the other suggestions are of use and you are able to work this out with your kitty. Good luck and best wishes to you both.

[ParallelJJCat]

Originally Posted by cmjones311

Oh, yes, it's most definitely poo! It's very, very stinky, and I've caught her in the act several times. She does upchuck some, too, because she eats too fast, and it looks markedly different, and so do her hairball chucks.

Right now, the vet has her on 3 meds. Metronidazole in case it's a stomach bug, a steroid of some sort, and Buspar for anxiety. She's on half a pill of each every morning and the other half every night, for the next 30 days.

Giving a skittish and scared kitty 6 pills a day is, as expected, rather difficult. But it's my last resort. I was in tears at the vets office on Tuesday, because I can't deal with this anymore. She's ruining my hardwood floors (real, not laminate) because her runny poo is seeping into the cracks. I've had her 12 years, and I love her so much, but this has literally taken over my life.

I really hope it works.

Give the meds a chance- you might be surprised. I dealt with this with my oldest girl Heather- she was always a very nervous cat. A short course of Prozac had her using the box again and then we were able to wean her off the medication. She never had the problem again.

Have you tried pill pockets for the pills? Or wrapping them in something? You can also get them compounded into a liquid medication with a flavor- we did that for Heather with the Prozac.

But really- I honestly would urge you to see an internal med. specialist. A consult would probably be around 200 hundred, but IBD is a very real possibility here. The interesting thing here is that the problem may resolve, but you might not know WHY. If she does have IBD, the steroids will help and might put her into remission- but then it could flare later on.

[cmjones311]

Originally Posted by ParallelJJCat

Have you tried pill pockets for the pills? Or wrapping them in something? You can also get them compounded into a liquid medication with a flavor- we did that for Heather with the Prozac.

But really- I honestly would urge you to see an internal med. specialist.

lol Yeah, over the years we've tried everything. She'll eat the pill pockets and cat food from around the pill and leave it. If the pill is crushed up in wet food, she turns her nose up at it because she just "knows". And liquid? Let's just say that the last time I had to give her liquid, well, there's still purple benadryl spots on the ceiling. lol

I'm just wrapping her up like a burrito in a towel and tossing them down her throat. She's doing better this time than last time, which is good. I think (I hope) she just gets resigned to the fact that she's gonna take them no matter how much she fights, so she might as well make it easier on herself.

The vet also said she would recommend a specialist if it didn't work, but to be honest, I've had to put off my own medical needs to pay for her vet visits and meds and more expensive food. I have a roommate because I can't make ends meet on my own right now, which is one part of why I'll likely be moving at the end of the year when she moves out. I simply cannot afford to go any more in depth with this.

[ParallelJJCat]

Originally Posted by cmjones311

lol Yeah, over the years we've tried everything. She'll eat the pill pockets and cat food from around the pill and leave it. If the pill is crushed up in wet food, she turns her nose up at it because she just "knows". And liquid? Let's just say that the last time I had to give her liquid, well, there's still purple benadryl spots on the ceiling. lol

I'm just wrapping her up like a burrito in a towel and tossing them down her throat. She's doing better this time than last time, which is good. I think (I hope) she just gets resigned to the fact that she's gonna take them no matter how much she fights, so she might as well make it easier on herself.

The vet also said she would recommend a specialist if it didn't work, but to be honest, I've had to put off my own medical needs to pay for her vet visits and meds and more expensive food. I have a roommate because I can't make ends meet on my own right now, which is one part of why I'll likely be moving at the end of the year when she moves out. I simply cannot afford to go any more in depth with this.

Yeah, it's tough when you have a clever cat who eats around the pills. Maybe try giving her a treat right after- she might fight less after awhile. JJ now comes running when he hears me shake his inhaler because he knows inhaler time = cheese (and his sister comes running too)

If she shows very quick improvement, it is probably the steroids working, which would indicate an inflammatory process like IBD. Buspar can take several weeks to kick in, so if she takes longer to improve it would point more to anxiety. So there's a simple way to at least have a general idea of what might be going on.

This, btw, is why I always push specialists so heavily and very early on (and this is no judgement on you whatsoever, most people don't think of a specialist until after multiple visits to their regular vet). You end up spending a ton of money at your regular vet for tests, and then by the time the vet has admitted they don't know the answer you have no resources left for a specialist. Specialists are more expensive up front, but you can save money (and time) in the long run because they can pinpoint the true problem more easily.

I did this myself - my cat started with a bloody spot above her ear. Cue MONTHS of skin scraping, biopsies, antibiotics, e-collars, etc. I joked with my vet several times that it would probably turn out to be something terrible like brain cancer and she laughed it off because I have a reputation for being paranoid. Finally after thousands of dollars and months of suffering, we did an MRI- and of course it was actually multiple tumors in her brain and encroaching on the brain stem. I wish so much I had taken her for the MRI much earlier.

My best advice to you right now is take a deep breath and remember if it is anxiety it won't be fixed overnight. You've dealt with this a long time, so hold tight for a few weeks longer. Hopefully no matter what the cause you'll start to see results because your vet is doing the smart thing and covering the bases.