"A friend told me to call you – she thought you may have some suggestions. I have a 12-year old cat named Agatha that I just want to get rid of. Yet I feel bad euthanizing her.”
“She’s an only cat– but I do have one dog and two teenaged children. Agatha has full run of the house and the dog does too -- but not the basement where her litter boxes are. Everyone gets along fine."
"She had a urinalysis and everything’s okay. I’ve done everything my vet told me to do. I purchased a second litter box and put it next to her other one. Both are kept very clean. She wets laundry baskets with clothes in them – so I stack them up so she can’t get in them. She wets clothes lying on the floor so I pick everything up. She wets plastic so I make sure there isn’t any lying around. Today she wet two invoices sitting on my kitchen counter! Now all I want is her out of here. She’s wetting everything and I can’t keep her”.
Although litter box problems can crop up with any cat at any time, it’s especially sad when the cat is older and you’ve spent many loving years together. No one likes to inspect their home each day when they get up or return from work – just to make sure the cat hasn’t soiled again. Cleaning up is difficult too– and cats seem to pick the worst spots to wet.
Litter box issues challenge the love and commitment of even the most caring cat guardians and are often a deal-breaker for the relationship. Yet, when we adopt a kitten or cat, we are (or should) be making a lifelong commitment to their care – just as we make to our human family members. So how do you balance the welfare of the soiling cat against the cleanliness standards of your home? Never believe that you have to choose one over the other – you can maintain both.
The actions the caller above took are a good starting point in resolving litter box problems with older cats. Put everything in its place – don’t leave clothes or laundry baskets on the floor as they’re an invitation to a cat to soil. Add another litter box to your home – and make sure all the boxes are kept as clean as possible. Take the cat to the vet for a thorough exam to rule out health issues. If you do all of this and your cat is still wetting, it’s time to make long-term modifications to your cat’s space to get things under control.
A good way to do this is to confine your cat in a large dog crate or cat condo with food, water, litter and a nice bed for sleeping. This immediately de-fuses the situation and stops the property damage. And it’s easier to do than you may think. Place the cage in the room the cat normally spends her time – as this is your cat’s comfort zone. If she’s initially stressed out by the cage, simply throw a sheet over it to calm her down. Once she’s used to it, she’ll be fine. You’re basically giving her a private territory – a place where only she can go – and it has all of her amenities at hand. Since cats (like people) lose muscle strength and get arthritis as they age she’ll appreciate having everything close to her.
Let her out of the cage only when you’re there to supervise – and use that time to give her love, attention and exercise. Once she settles in, you might just open the cage door when you’re home and let her come and go as she pleases – locking her in when you leave the home or go to sleep. You’ll find that even though she can come out, she’ll return to the cage for her naps. And, while she’s in her condo she’ll routinely use her litter box.
To make the cage easy for you to clean, here are a few suggestions:
• If you can afford a good cat cage, they’re worth the extra money. The brand we particularly like is CD&E Enterprises. They have a variety of sizes and you can get single cages with recessed litter box areas, or double-cages for more active cats that allow you to place the litter box on the lower level and the food and cat bed on the upper level for easier cleaning.
• Make sure your cat bed is machine-washable – we like the ones that are cup-shaped to create a “wall” between the bed and the litter box.
• Use alternative litters. The Breeze Litter Box by Tidy Cat is ideal because it uses ceramic pellets with an internal “piddle pad” that’s easy to replace. We’ve tried them with several different cats and they have adjusted to them easily. Other litters that work well in cages are Feline Pine or Dr. Elsey’s Senior Cat Crystal Litter.
• Hang the food and water dishes on the cage wall – pet stores sell special bowls (coop cups) for this purpose. It’ll help prevent the water dish from being knocked over and spilling on the cage floor.
• Put a small cat “blanket” or towel in the bed so you can wash it without having to take the bed itself out for washing.
How long will your cat have to live in the cage? That depends on the cat. Once you get the routine established, though, you may find keeping the cage a good idea even if you’re leaving the door open so the cat can come and go on her own schedule. Caging involves some front-end expense and a little extra daily cleaning, but it beats the alternative of euthanizing your close friend just because she forgets to use a litter box.
You simply don’t have any other good alternatives. Finding a new home for a teenaged cat is never easy and when you add “litter box misbehavior” to her resume it’s highly unlikely. Animal control shelters may take her in but only to euthanize her on arrival for failing two admission litmus tests: age and behavior.
Adapting your home to an older cat’s needs is a worthwhile investment – one that can keep your old friend with you in spite of her frailties. Think of it as running your own personal “no kill” shelter -- one where she still has you looking after her and giving her the loving care she’s enjoyed for so many years.
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