Thursday, July 22, 2021

Breathing a Trifle Easier

It’s been forty-eight hours with no sign of Portia wetting outside the litter-box. Indeed, I have today witnessed her actually inside the litter-box when she wet. Despite the invasion of privacy that this entails, I was quite pleased at the observation. Though it is early days yet, the new ‘flooring’ in the library seems to be achieving what it was intended to do.

I suspect that Po thought for some time that she should urinate on the soaker pads. I don’t know why she reached that determination suddenly, after months of restricting such actions to the litter-boxes. But, unlike Tucker, who occasionally used a soaker-pad immediately in front of the box, and who usually did so in the initial stages of a new cat’s arrival, Portia would pull up the soaker pad after she was finished. This may have been the equivalent of burying her waste in litter, which would suggest that she was merely doing something natural in the wrong location.


While the new surface to the library floor will resist any liquid deposited on it, thus making cleaning easier and cheaper than soaker-pads, the object is to keep my girl from putting it to the test. A cat who wets outside the box is not going to be adopted, no matter how simple is the cleaning of her mess. Therefore, we in the Cosy Apartment have our eyes on the long-term. Even so, this is a very good start.

20 comments:

  1. Hooray, that is good going that she is now using the proper spot to wet.

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  2. That is very good news that the new flooring is working. I think you may be right. Because the soaker pads were there Portia thought they were to be used.

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  3. Ah! Bless! It strange, but even so called
    experts cannot explain the moods and behavior
    in cats...They are unique to themselves!

    I had a pusy~cat..Mufty..some years ago now!
    Now! He got into the habit, of weeing in the
    kitchen sink, just weeing..his number two's
    he'd do in the litter tray or outside! He'd
    even wait for me to remove the bowl, so he
    could get into the sink and wee! It was
    amazing, and he always wee'd down the plug
    hole..! Mufty was unique in other ways to...! :).

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    1. Not quite hygenic, but like there are worse places he could have gone, eh?

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  4. A very good start indeed. We'll keep our fingers and paws crossed that Portia continues to use the litter box.

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  5. You even have all your books back in the bookcases. And the lovely Portia is using the litter box as needed. Funny thing was she was doing and certainly glad for you that this seems to be working out.

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  6. I had the idea as well that she thought that was the place to pee as opposed to the box. I can see where she would put two and two together and come to that conclusion. In other words I can see how she would be confused. So she took the other fork in the road. Thank goodness she has changed her mind about the right course

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  7. Yay!!! Hopefully this is the answer and she continues to use her box. Like I have said before, I learn so much from your blog and your commenters.
    Have a great weekend!

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  8. That's great news! Hopefully Portia will continue to use the litter box now that the soaker pads are gone. Like Willie, I also had a cat that would urinate outside the box, but Logan would urinate over the drain in the bathtub.

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    1. When Renn is stressed - usually when a new cat arrives - he too will urinate in the bath-tub. There are worse places for him to go, I guess.

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    2. Potter--my cat who would urinate on the floor--also eventually discovered the bathtub and took to doing his business over the drain. I felt I couldn't complain, as that was certainly easier to deal with than the carpeting.

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  9. So far, so good, that's terrific. We had a kitty that was here when Brian first came (Ivan). He would pee on anything super soft, like soft bed blankets. Once we changed out things to a rougher texture he never did it again.

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  10. when we waz at catster we all; like everee one; all wayz said when a "thing" werkz....we due knot say it "werks" for feer oh jinx...
    sew frum R dayz oh yore... portia we iz happee for ewe bout that which we canna speek of ☺☺♥♥

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  11. We won't jump with joy yet...let's keep it on the low-down.

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  12. That is a great start and we hope Po keeps up the good work

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  13. Well seems to be a good start. Here's hoping Portia continues to do her duty in the appropriate spot.

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  14. That sounds like a great start. We are keeping our paws crossed that Po keeps up the good work!

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  15. Glad to hear the good news about Portia... I wish Ayla was doing as well. She didn't do well when Laz arrived last year (he was a troubled cat from a bad home and is only recently mostly socialized) she and stayed in the bedroom only venturing out to pee and poop on the bathroom mat. Best she could figure out what to do, I guess.

    Well, the mat is washable and on a tile floor. And her poops are firm, so easy to pick up and drop in the toilet. And she and Laz get along better now.

    But, she has formed a habit! I bought a 2nd mat so I can soak one in the washer and let it dry overnight while she uses the other. I leave an old washcloth on the mat for "cover-up" instincts (and as a good signal she has used the mat). And sometimes she goes several days using the regular litterboxes.

    But it is hard to break new habits...

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    1. I read just recently that one person who had the same problem found success when she washed the bathmat in vinegar, then let it dry in the sun. Her cat ceased wetting on it.

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