Ragdoll Cat Forums

I have a new ragdoll kitten, Teddy.
It goes without saying he has so much character
he's the sweetest, loving little thing, but since his
introduction to his new home (8 weeks on) he has not been using the kitty litter all the time.
I've tried orange peel, orange essence, sandpaper on the floor in
the corners he chooses, keeping his litter tray as clean as possible.

The problem is still there, I'm so keen to find a solution.
At the moment I'm trying to keep him confined to a small room with a bed, and litter tray to re train him. This is really sad because I want to be with him as much as he wants to be with me, I'd love to try somethign else but I'm not sure what.

I'm a little worried because I fell in love with him so much I
ordered another one which will be due to arrive in the next few weeks.

Thanks for reading

A couple of things. First, have you had him to the vet to check for a urinary tract infection? That can cause litter tray avoidance and with can be brought on by stress (moved to his new home) and is usually the first thing to look for when a cat quits using his litterbox. Secondly, are you using the exact same litter the breeder was? Kittens need consistency and need the same litter the breeder was using so they can recognize it as litter. Have you purchased enzymatic cleaner and cleaned where he's gone to the bathroom at? Without enzymatic cleaner, you may think it's gone, but a cat can still smell the "underneath" odor and will remark (pee) in the same place over and over again. It is VERY important to use an enzymatic cleaner and follow the directions exactly, and get it ALL up -- that may mean purchasing a black light that can show the staining and cleaning until it is all gone.

After you have followed the above then you're doing the right thing, keeping him confined to relearn the litterbox unless you are there to supervise him when he's out and roaming the house.

Good luck and keep us informed on how he's doing. We'll all try and help you through this.

Oh -- and welcome to the forum!! There's a wealth of knowledge here and people who have been through exactly what you're going through and come out on the other side, so just hang in there.

As well as the tips teresa has given, you could try standing something in the corner( or corners) he is chosing so he can't get there. I have been doing this with frankie and so far it is working. Obviously you must clean the area thoroughly first. I also am using a strong lemon scented spray around the area, which acts as a deterrant. Hope this helps.

The only litter box accident that the Gs have had was the first night. I attributed that to the stress of the car ride and new surroundings. I would definitely consider following Teresa's advice and take him to the vet to have him checked out for a UTI.

Welcome to the forum! This place is an absolute goldmine!!

Teresa has great advice. Also, you may want to try Dr. Elsey's cat litter is supposed to be helpful in situations like this. I saw an interesting contraption at the pet store too. It is a plastic square shaped item with spikes on it. Sort of like the back side of a chair office mat. You place it with spikes up where they are going to the bathroom and they won't go there because it hurts their feet. I guess it's also used to keep them off the counter tops and places you don't want them. I don't remember what it was called though. I'm sorry you are going through this, it's the hardest part of owning a cat. Do you have two litter boxes as well? Some cats require two.

Thank you for your responses.
In the time since I wrote this, Teddy has been confined to a smaller room with his litter box.
I bring him out several times throughout the day when I can watch, yesterday I thought was
another clue, he was crying and looking around (in the wrong spot again) his litter was clean
so I knew it wasn't a clean litter problem, also it's the same litter as the breeder.

I had a feeling it may be one litter tray is white one is red, maybe he doesn't like red, he chooses the white one
so I removed the red one but he was still (seemingly?) not wanting to use his litter

I bought some bio zet enzyme cleaner, I found this advice very helpful, although it's not deterring him from
wanting to go in the wrong places, I feel good that I've removed all the trace, and thats another small step
toward a solution. I also go over my floors every morning with soapy water, vinegar and a few drops of eucalyptus.

I'm very interested in this black light, I have no idea what that is, can somone please explain or point me in a direction to look.

I'm going out this morning to buy some of those plastic runners to cut up.

I think I'll book another appointment with the vet, the problem is still here, if it's a bladder infection, maybe it was in it's v ery early undetectable stages
when I took him in.

I love him so much, it's really hard with him in the smaller room, I'm scared it will effect the bond we have, I don't want to lose the innocent playful trusting kitten, he's growing up so much each day.

Is it possible that like dogs, I've been giving way too much affection? (grasping at straws here) but I cuddle and play with him all day long.

thank you for your responses, it's been very helpful.

thanks for the welcome

Somehow I ended up banned trying to post URLs to you, so this time I'm just going to direct you in the right direction. This is TeresaK again.....

PetSmart has some of the blacklights for around $20 if you live in the US. If not, then check your local pet store. I also read an article about using the blacklight and they said that you're looking for faint yellow stains - not the bright white ones that show up. Even using the cleaner can cause the bright white ones with the blacklight so look for the faint yellow stains to treat instead.

Yes, please do take your kitty to the vet for a check. Even if they don't find anything, JanH (and I trust his opinion), says to ask your vet for antibiotics anyway for a "just in case" scenario where it is just one that is too slight to be detected.

Otherwise, sounds like you're doing all the right things. Good luck and let us know how it's going.

(11-27-2009 08:44 PM)Kiser Wrote: [ -> ]Somehow I ended up banned trying to post URLs to you, so this time I'm just going to direct you in the right direction. This is TeresaK again.....

PetSmart has some of the blacklights for around $20 if you live in the US. If not, then check your local pet store. I also read an article about using the blacklight and they said that you're looking for faint yellow stains - not the bright white ones that show up. Even using the cleaner can cause the bright white ones with the blacklight so look for the faint yellow stains to treat instead.

Yes, please do take your kitty to the vet for a check. Even if they don't find anything, JanH (and I trust his opinion), says to ask your vet for antibiotics anyway for a "just in case" scenario where it is just one that is too slight to be detected.

Otherwise, sounds like you're doing all the right things. Good luck and let us know how it's going.

Just as a follow up to that, Amazon were doing a special offer a few weeks back when i was dealing with frankie, they were offering the professional strength 'Urine Off 'and the torch for £20 (about $30). They may still be doing it if you check them out.

Thanks for your replies.

I took Teddy to the vet, he checked out healthy, the vet told me the problem was not physical it was something psychological
They must think I'm nuerotic, everyone working there wanted to cuddle him and he really put on a performance, he was laying
on his back looking all dreamy trying to latch onto the receptionists finger (another one of his little things) I'd be curious to know
if anyone else has experienced this, his cuddle time isn't complete without him latching onto my finger, or wrists. Seems to be a huge comfort
for him, it's going to be amusing to see a fully grown Teddybear sucking on my hands later.

I left the vet armed with another $300 worth of products to try. 4 Feliway Diffusers (Pheromone)I was shocked how expensive these plugins were!
Hopefully they really do help if he's not calm, I also bought some Urine Off spray to use.

The vet suggested putting kitty litters all over the house but I have a toddler and it's just not sanitary but if I'm still needing a solution later
I might try a litter in a piece of furniture in one of the places he mostly goes.

I can't help wonder if my anxiety is causing his.

Thank you( Kiser) TeresaK for trying to link me, sorry you were banned doing that, I shouldn't of asked someone to link me.
In my haste to find a solution to Teddy's problem I didn't read the rules yet

---

If the problem persists for another week I will go back to the vet and ask for antibiotics (just in case)
By then they would of understood I'm quite determined to get to the bottom of the problem.

Think I need a less assertive Vet for this :/

Hey - don't worry about it - I didn't know we couldn't link -- we have in the past, so I don't know what all that is about. I'm sure admin will get it straightened out. I really wish the vet had given you antibiotics as a "just in case". Is there one place in particular he's going? If so, maybe try a covered litterbox in that one place and if he starts to use it, slowly move it away to where you want it to be (I'm suggesting covered since you have a toddler, and maybe it would be less attractive to the toddler. I'm sure this can be overcome, it's just a matter of finding out the trigger. I keep hoping that JanH will pop in here and give you the link to something called Talleyville (at least I think that's what it is). It has a list of things you can do (one at a time) to determine what the problem might be....

Come on Jan - where are you??