Sunday, July 31, 2022

A Good Record for a Hundred

Minuet continues to wet periodically outside the litter-box. It is occurring rarely. This second bout of her problem began when she went to the veterinary regarding her abscess. I believe that the litter-box problem was due to the stress of the hospital visit. I therefore bought amounts of Cat-attract cat-litter, which solved the issue the first time, when she initially came to live with me. I think it worked again, but created a secondary cause for the same problem.

The Cat-attract works well. It appeals to cats who have a wetting problem, and those who don’t. I have three who don’t. They use the boxes in the library that have been liberally dosed with Cat-attract. This leads to large amounts of waste in the litter. The most recent instances of Minuet wetting outside the box have occurred when the boxes were what could be called ‘loaded’. Certainly they may have seemed so to a hygienically-minded feline such as Madame.

I therefore decided to lure the boys away from the boxes in the library by using Cat-attract in the boxes in the store-room, which originally had been the only litter-boxes in the apartment. This has not worked. They continue to use the library boxes. This is not troubling when I am home to scoop the litter relatively often. While I am at work, they load the boxes in the library and only now and then use the store-room.

I tried closing the door to the library while I was at work, but in that case, Minuet wet outside the box, near the threshold, which is a difficult spot to cover with protective plastic. I think in this case, she was a bit anxious at the door being shut.

While I think the Cat-attract worked again, I also think it is no longer necessary. I believe Min will use the boxes stocked with regular litter as long as she feels it is clean enough to do so. But with access to the library open, the boys will also use the boxes there, which may cause Minuet to wet outside. If I close the door, Min may wet outside, on a part of the floor the carpet of which is imperfectly protected. This is my dilemma.

My solution is to leave the door to the library open and allow the boys to use the boxes there as they wish. If Minuet feels she cannot use them at any time, what part of the floor isn’t covered with vinyl will be covered with soaker-pads. As the regular litter succeeds exclusive use of Cat-attract, I hope the boys will revert to utilizing all of the boxes. I think this solution will cause the least anxiety for Minuet, and the least damage to the environment.

As with Renn’s situation, as detailed in a previous blog-entry, there is likely no ideal answer to the riddle. I aim for that which is most convenient and comfortable for the cats. Washing soaker pads or cleaning vinyl flooring is a bit of a bother, but there are greater tribulations. And, like the Meezer’s Mews’ Pipo, who put his front paws in the box and thought that was enough, there is little one can do when the cat believes it is getting it right. Madame still gets it right ninety per cent of the time; when I am a hundred years old, I will consider that an exceptionally good record.

13 comments:

  1. Bless you for your patience. It is not easy, and most of us have dealt with this at one level or another.

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  2. Cat-attract really is a good product for those kitties that need it. Minuet really is trying her best but I think the stress gets to her sometimes.

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    1. Cat Attract is an excellent product...cats like it and will use it as you can see. That you have a dilemma is very true About the filling up of the box... hers or theirs... there is a solution but not for many of us. Especially those of us who have established cat family...and that would be the self cleaning boxes. It becomes expensive to purchase and worse still, will the family use it?

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    2. We had one of those, and our Suki was fascinate by it...LOL! She would come running whenever anyone used it, to watch the rake do its work...and if she used the box, then she would sit there to watch her doings go bye bye. It got so that she decided to sit on the rake mechanism and go for rides...LOL,LOL! But, well, lets just say se broke the litter box! A good idea gone wrong at the Meezer's household!

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    3. Blogger isn't letting me reply to replies... Anyway, I'd be tempted to buy a self-cleaning litter-box but, as Katie asked, Would anyone use it? For some reason, I don't think so. And I don't think Suki's behaviour would've been covered by the warranty...

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  3. Litter box issues are hard to remedy. But you're doing a great job of working with each cat in order to reach a solution.

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  4. Is this just a case of boys will be boys? That they all three are just trying to use what they think of as the new litter box in the library. Great pictures and they all look very well taken care of.

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  5. THis is a hard hard problem to solve completely. I like the wording your chose saying there seems at first glance there is little that one can do when the cat thinks they are indeed getting it right.

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  6. You are correct: 90% is pretty darn good for Madame.
    You've been inventive and considerate.
    She cannot have a better advocate than you!

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  7. You're a darn good cat dad! Minuet is so fortunate to have found her way to you.

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  8. Sometimes the best laid plans go awry, but like you said 90% of the time is pretty good, considering!
    Believe it or not, cat attract did not work so well here, not sure why.

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  9. Getting ANYTHING right 90% of the time is a darn good record for this world. And I too thank you for having the patience (and ingenuity) to deal with issues like these.

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  10. You are very patient and the cats are very fortunate to have your excellent care. I agree, 90% is very good for Minuet.

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