I need help with an older cat

Hi Everyone,

I have a cat from a deceased neighbor. His "family" kicked him out after his owner died. He is a full blooded Balineese and is beautiful, however , he is 16 years old. He has been declawed and nuetered. I have brought him into my home with my other 3 cats. He is getting along with them greatly, but he refuses to use the litter box, eve when freshly cleaned and filled. Can anyone help me figure a way to let this cat live out the rest of his life in peace and comfort. I just need him to use the box. I don't mind the Vet bills and all the other costs. I have had him to the Vet 2 times already.

Please, Your suggestions really needed.

Mike aka Kenimet

 

I guess it could be a territorial thing or maybe there are not enough litter boxes for all your kitties. Maybe get an extra one or put one in a different place in the house to make it more convenient for him. That's all I can think of to suggest.

My daughter had litter box problems. She put one in the bathroom upstaris and that seemed to take care of the problem.

That was so good of you to take the kitty in. You are very kind and I'm sure your new kitty appreciates it. Good luck with everything.

 

Tnx for your reply.

The "Old Man" cat is at the Vet this very minute getting his teeth cleaned and his shots updated, since we didn't know what shots had been kept up and what had lapsed.

He has a choice of 3 litter boxes here. Two downstairs and one upstairs. He doesn't seem attracted to any of them. He will go sit in a window and if I see him and put him put he will go use the flower gardens and come back to the window.

I will be patient with him and maybe someone has an approach that will work with him.

Many Thanks, Kenimet

 

Mike, you are a very kind person to take in the Balinese.

I was wondering if you have access to Dr. Elsey's Cat Attract Cat Litter. It just might do the trick. Have you tried putting him in an enclosed room to see if he uses a litter box? A shallow litter pan may be easier for him to use. How many litter boxes do you have in the house?

http://www.litter-box.org/litter_box_locations.htm

 

I know that litter box rule. I have a space problem which limits the space I can allow for boxes. With 3 boxes in the house my other cats use only two of them, the two downstairs. The third one is used maybe once every 3 or 4 months.

 

I was posting immediately after your reply and missed the litter box comment. Sorry about that. You have plenty of litter boxes.

When my Monty got sick, Milo decided he wouldn't use the litter box until I thoroughly sanitized the litter box. I know that's not an issue with you since you have cleaned all the litter boxes.

Since he uses the flower gardens, maybe you can mix some store bought garden soil with the cat litter and see if he'll use that.

Just curious, have you ever tried Dr. Elsey's Cat Attract Cat Litter? I'm not endorsing the product, just suggesting it again. Some people stated that their cats who don't use the litter box will start using it.

Hope he did well at the vet and good luck with him!

 

I have never seen the product, but will look for it. What stores do you normally find it in. We use the corn husk crushed corn litter. I have a bag of potting soil and will make a mixture and try that today. Thanks, I love the suggestion. Kenimet

 

Most specialty pet stores like Petsmart and Petco should carry the product. If you don't have one near you, Ebay, Amazon, or Ebay International is another option. I heard that the product is on the expensive side.

Have you experimented on cat litters other than the corn husk crushed corn litter/soil mix? He may simply be anti-crushed corn litter.

 

Hi. That's so nice you took him in! I'm sure it was hard for him to lose his owner and his home all at once. So glad he's not at the pound, but with a caring person like you. If that other cat attract litter doesn't work, just try the regular Jonny Cat Litter that you can buy at the grocery store. Maybe due to his age he was just used to what his owner used. Not sure if anyone of the family members would know what that was. Keep us posted. You're a good person. Thanks for helping this old kitty. :y_the_best:

 

Hey, The mixture of corn litter and dirt did the trick. The big boy went to it with no problems at all. Thanks for such a smart answer to my problem.

BTW, We were happy to take in the cat. He is 16 yrs old and in pretty good health. Took him to the Vet for a physical, shots and tooth cleaning. He seems happy just to be arounf people and is a really sweet cat. He slept in the bend of my knee last night. So I guess he has a home to live out the rest of his life in comfort.

 

I'm so glad it worked and you are quite welcome! Perhaps you can gradually decrease the amount of soil until he is completely used to the crushed corn litter.

Awesome news that he did well at the vet and that he is healthy and happy in his new environment. You are a really good person for taking him in.

What is his name and do you have any pics of him to share?

 

Like any proud "parent" I have photos, I just do not know how to post them here. I will gradually decrease the dirt to zero over the next few months and I think he will do very well with that. Not posting photos: He is a BIG cat 17.8 lbs, tan fur with gray trimmings and ears, Blue eyes like saphires, an absolute beauty. I have an 8 foot board fence around my back yard 96 x 75 for he and my other 3 cats to play in away from dogs. Of course they all rule the house. I feel lucky to own him now.

 

I'm so glad you found a solution to the litter problem. Great advice vene.

And Kenimet, your new kitty sounds beautiful. If you wanted to post a picture of him, you could join photobucket.com for free and download your picture from your computer to there and then copy and paste the image code from photobucket to here in your response.

Have fun with all your kitties.

 

I will set that up and send the photos over to it so you can see. I love my cats, but miss my Sassy cat the most, she died a few months ago. She was my constant companion and "helped" me with everything I did. She never had a cat attitude and would play hide and seek, fetch, do tricks and was just a very special one in a million.

 

Here is the link to all my cats photos and a few more. Tell me what you think of my heard.

http://s1184.photobucket.com/albums/z33 ... =slideshow

 

Beautiful pictures, beautiful fur babies!!!! LOVED them!!!!

 

Loved looking at your pics, Kenimet. Your cats are all so pretty and Old Man kitty is gorgeous. Thank you so much for sharing them.

 

Thanks, I'm glad everyone liked the photos. I'm not much of a photographer, but I do take a lot of pictures of them, especially when they get into things. I hope everyone is having a great weekend.

Keninet

 

Great pics! Love the cat proof fence. :y_the_best: I like Old Man. :mrgreen: Thans for sharing.