We have acquired another cat. He's still pretty young, but not quite a kitten. He was neglected and never litterbox trained. We've tried to train him in our litterbox. Completely cleaned the box (washed, etc.) and added new litter, but he refuses to use it. Used some of my plants, the kids rooms and who knows where else to go to the bathroom. The house is starting to smell bad. I hate to make him a completely outside cat as he is adorable and good for our other 4 cats, also don't know how long he'd last with the traffic here. Does anyone have any suggestions? Maybe we should close him in the bathroom with the litterbox during the day while we're all gone? Thanks for any help

-- Amber in WA (mikeandamberq@hotmail.com), November 27, 2000

Answers

Confine him 24/7 in a very small space like a bathroom. Take out anything else he could use, even towels and floor mats. Leave him there until he uses it several times. He may not like the feel of the litter on his paws. It is very sharp and he may object to it. Once he gets used to using the litter box, try him for small periods of time in the house. IF he goofs, back into the bathroom. Cats are smart, he'll get the idea.

-- melina b. (goatgalmjb1@hotmail.com), November 27, 2000.

When trying the above hint, put dirt only in the litter box, and then, as he acclimates to using it, start slowly adding more and more litter. Eventually, they all get the hang of it, and bad habits are hard to break once they're settled in. I know, this last set of kittens got used to using unused flowerpots because I just didn't get around to saying no soon enough and now, of course, flower pots all look alike to them. Perhaps the cat could be an indoor/outdoor cat (put him out for potty breaks after meals, then let him in after he has done his job - he'll soon get the picture and begin to time it for the breaks, especially if you make a big positive show of it when he does good and a big negative show when he does bad)

-- Soni (thomkilroy@hotmail.com), November 27, 2000.

You also might try putting him in the litterbox and "digging" with his front feet to give him an idea of what he is supposed to do. I once had a cat a tried to get to quit using the inside litterbox and to go outside. He would stand at the door with his legs crossed and run to the litterbox when I let him in! I finally moved the litterbox outside and quit cleaning it to break him. Good luck.

-- connie in NM (karrelandconnie@juno.com), November 27, 2000.

You can try the above suggestions, but be prepared to bite the bullet and either accept the messes all over the place for the rest of his life, or get rid of him. Cats need to be litter-box-trained very young, if they get into bad habits it is almost impossible to break them later. My oldest daughter has a cat (the one I wrote about on an earlier thread asking for some medical advice) that was raised in a very dirty house, allowed to go to the bathroom on piles of clothes or wherever else she wanted to. She never has become completely reliable in the house, will still use a pile of laundry in preference to her litter box, which is why I wouldn't have her around for anything. My daughter has a softer heart than is good for her, and won't get rid of the cat and find a nicer one! (And there are plenty of nicer ones around!!)

-- Kathleen Sanderson (stonycft@worldpath.net), November 27, 2000.

The dirt idea is a good one, also put some of his cat s**t in the litter box so he gets the idea thats where it goes. Then do the confinment thing. Good luck!

-- Tina (clia88@newmexico.com), November 28, 2000.

I have always had tons of cats and never before met one who would not use the box until Homer found us a little over a year ago. Homer is a stray purebred Silver Persian (translate lazy)....I thought that he was hopeless until I found a website talking about cats refusing ti use the litter box...(Homer would go right next to the box)..it appears that there are some cats who will NOT use a box which is shared.There are also cats who prefer soft litter like fresh dirt or sawdust, and some who love the feel of gravel under their paws...there are cats who have colitis (like Homer) who associate the box with discomfort and therefore look for other spots to do their business. there are cats who like a smooth surface like linoleum (YUCK)....at any rate, Homer is such a really cool cat that we decided to work with him..we got him his own box with the smoothest litter around (Arm & Hammer)...Virgil prefers gritty stuff..so now Homer uses his box and Virgil keeps to himself..weird, but it worked for us!!!!!!!God bless

-- Lesley (martchas@gateway.net), November 28, 2000.

Cats will quit using the litter box when things in its life change, (usually this happens with older cats) and you don't know what your cat's been thru. Don't be surprised when you close it up in the bathroom if it uses the sink or bathtub! If the tub, you might try putting the litter box in there.

I know of an older cat who quit using the box; pottied right next to it. The owner got one of those large plastic under-the-bed storage thingys, put in some litter, and the cat used it. Maybe it liked the higher sides, who knows!

Sometimes you just have to stop and think about what's happened to cause the problem....someone new living in the house; changing furniture around; another critter in the house; moving to another house, etc.

Sometimes our critter's aim in life is to see just how smart we are! -LOL-

-- ~Rogo (rogo2020@yahoo.com), November 28, 2000.

Thanks everyone for all the help. I think I will try the dirt in a box next to the litterbox first. I hate to close the cat in the bathroom for the day, but will if it comes to that. All our cats are indoor/outdoor, and he doesn't seem to have a problem going outside. Hope he's still young enough to change his habits. Thanks again.

-- Amber in WA (mikeandamberq@hotmail.com), November 28, 2000.