(re)Litter training an adult cat?
I recently adopted a new cat. The first few days, he was fine to go to the litter box, but he has stopped and is now going under beds and in the tub. I want to keep him, but I really can't if he doesn't return to his good litter habits.
Any thoughts on why he may have stopped? Any tips for getting him back on track?
Please don't bother if your only advice is 'go to a vet.' I know I ought to take him to the vet, and I intend to if he doesn't return to his good habits with some help, but I don't want to spend that kind of money without first trying to correct the problem, because nothing else seems wrong. He's just as active and friendly - he's even starting to eat the cat food (rather than stealing the dogs) and play with our other cat. His poop is solid, no sign of worms. So unless you know of something else which would cause this with no other effects, again, I don't want to see 'go to a vet' without some other relevant answer in front of it.
He's neutered, and up to date on his vaccines and deworming. He's quite large - about 11 or 12 pounds, I'd guess. Pure siamese.
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If he is a male cat – has he had ‘the chop’.
If he hasn’t: male cats do have a habit of spraying to mark their territory, something that can be pretty annoying. As he is new to your home he may well want to spread his scent around.
When I was littler training my cats and they went elsewhere I would go up to them, firmly but gently hold them and show them what they have done, in a stern voice say no and then with out my usual affection take them to the litter tray and place them in it.
You could also buy some cat treats and try to reward him when he uses the litter tray as encouragement.
Hope this helps
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I adopted a 5 month old kitten in September. Like your cat, mine started out using the litter box, then started going under tables, in the bath tub, and kitchen sink. One day I was preparing dinner and he was playing on the counter and all of a sudden ran over to the kitchen sink and pooped right in front of me. The vet suggested we put a litter box closer to where he is kept most of the time and/or to put him in a smaller room with his litter box, food, water, toys, & bed.
Long story short – none of that worked. He had a regular visit scheduled and the doctor found that he had round worms even though he had been de-wormed prior to his adoption. He gave him medication and my husband and I had to also de-worm along with the other household pets. It took a couple of months, but now he’s only using the litter box and everyone is worm free.
Your cat may not have worms, but you can check his feces for worms. Round worms will look like he/she ate rubber bands (see link below). Or if you can get a sample to the vet prior to his/her appointment and you’ll know if that is even an issue.
Cats, as you probably know, are incredibly clean and will only use alternate places to potty if there is either a dirty litter box (in their eyes) or a medical reason. I wouldn’t wait too long to seek advice from your vet – even if you just give him/her a call – because you don’t want your cat to get in the habit of using someplace that is inappropriate.
Hope this helps.