Cat People, I need your help

Do you own a hammer?

i adopted a feral cat. i taught it to shit in the litter box by pissing and shitting myself in a litter box next to its litterbox for a few days after i got it. it took this to heart and apparently decided that box is where it was supposed to piss and shit.

we have tried dry, wet and a mixture.

Get him a playmate.
Our cat puked all the time, then a young stray male
came to the door, and we let him in, and at first
we thought he'd kill it, hissing and attacking,
then a couple days later they were playing,
and now they are inseperable. They cuddle and play,
and if one can't find the other they howl and whine
until they do.

The first cat used to puke and cough up hairballs
all the time, and the smaller male would eat them up.

Now we NEVER see the older male puking.

He may still be puking and the younger male eats it,
but I don't think so.

he has one.

OP, how long has this been going on. Is it a recent thing? If so has anything changed recently?

A lot of times cats get disgruntled when their habits or surroundings are changed. They show this by no longer using the liter box and tearing things up.

If the cat is overweight, he/she maybe over eating. Like humans this can cause the cat to vomit.

this has been going on for about 3 years. the biggest change 3 years ago was when my fiance moved into the place we are in now.

This above has been my experience with the males also. They love their food but males tend to be more loving over all so I prefer them therefor I tolerate the binge/purge...uhgggg.

As to the litter box accidents...awaiting more info. They are very complicated and varied.

feel free to ask specific questions.

Sounds like the kitty has issues with the new place or you. Cats can become possessive of their owners.

Your problem now is likely he is in the habit of doing what he wants. After so long he is use to just going where he wants to go. You might want to look into retraining him as it is normal for him to not to use the litter box anymore.

Things that can help:

Clean litter box

If you have multiple cats get him own litter box (I have had to do this in the past and it does work)

Treats work wonders

Get him more exercise if he is over weight. Play with him more. Don't rely on another animal to keep him entertained. They like their owners to show them attention as well.

Hope this helps

Is he doing it directly outside of litter box area? Or his domain; like my husbands side of walk in closet turned out to be for my Dallas...if so it's a territory issue most likely.

Since someone mentioned neutering, I would suggest that if you haven't though if he is, hope you find your answers. Wonder if its an ingredient in cat food that's not agreeing with him though.

Or you think leash training him so he can go to the bathroom outside would work? For the sake of your house not smelling like urine. Don't know how easy it is to leash train a cat but I've heard of them being leash trained and my cousins cat was leash trained when we were kids.

Two of our cats began vomiting constantly, the vet said they had developed a food allery. We switched to a sensitive stomach food (IAMS sensitive stomach) and the vomiting got a bit better but didn't stop. One of the two cats even began vomiting up food and/or clear liquid tinged with blood. We took them back again, and the vet said it was still allergies, and the allergies were causing inflammation. The vet then suggested a cortisone injection, it was cheap and easy and it worked like a charm.

The cortisone shot lasts about 6 months to a year. I think it's about $20. Typically they'll start vomiting again and we know it's time to go in for a new cortisone shot.

It's very difficult these days to find quality catfood, even the expensive brands, and specialty foods sold at vet offices are high in glutens and other additives that some cats develop allergies to. We went through a half dozen brands of food without success until the combination of "Iams sensitive stomach", and more importantly the CORTISOL shot, made a big difference for us.


As for the box, our cats will sometimes pee outside the box if we wait too long to change it, even a half day. They don't like a dirty box. Doesn't happen often, but it has happened once or twice.

If your cat is a male, sometimes certain foods can cause crystals in their urine, which causes pain because males have a narrow urethra, which causes them to squat and pee outside their box. It's a disease called Feline Urilogical Syndrome or FUS.

Or, like others have said, it can be small things you might not have noticed, bothering the cat. A new smell, a new noise, etc. Its a tough one, trial and error.

I forgot to log in, I'm the AC who posted about the Cortisone shot above...I typed cortisol accidentally. It's CORTISONE.

I forgot to add, you might want to try a product called "Natures Miracle" to clean any pee spots. If there's still urine smell the cat might be more apt to pee there again. Natures Miracle uses enyzmes to eat the cat urine, it also works to clean the vomit. It eliminates the smell entirely.

Last Edited by JennOfArc on 02/05/2013 12:59 PM

I LOVE CATS.

One of the main reasons I love cats is that they are pretty much factory-trained to use the litter box. Show 'em once - scratch their mitts around in it a lil' bit - and, voila! Instantly litter trained.

If not - something is definitely up. Fear. Stress. Mental / Emotional problems (coo-coo kitty).

Every cat I ever had would have died before they would make a mess on the floor...but one day a new girlfriend of my roomate came to stay a while, and -

"AW HELL NO!" says kitty - and PROMPTLY PISSED ON THE BED!!!

She's Saying: "Git' this ho' outta my house!"

Sorry if this has been suggested. Does he drink tap water or purified water? He shouldn't be drinking tap water. Either buy purified water or purify some yourself. Do you use a water fountain? The charcoal filter in those helps clean water (though you should still only put purified water into the fountain in the first place). You'll have to clean the fountain weekly and change the filter every month or two.

Try to observe his as he uses the litter box. You might have to do this secretly, because cats act differently when under observtion - they're very sensitive to it. Does he show any obvious signs of discomfort or stress when using the box? Maybe its too small, or not clean enough.

Watch to see if the other cat bothers him at important times, like while using the litter box or eating. This can cause abnormal behavior.

He may have an allergy to something he's eating. This could explain the puking. And if an allergy is causing digestive discomfort, he might not want to use the litter box. My cat had digestive problems and kept jumping out the box to finish. So you may have to try an elimination diet. The best way to do that would be to just put him on an all natural cat diet right away (though you may have to adjust him). There's several ways to do this, but here's some ideas: [link to www.marksdailyapple.com]

My cat pees standing up,so instead of regular litter boxes, I bought one of those big containers that have covers. It's about 16 inches high., (I don't use the cover). Haven't had a problem since. This was recommended by our animal shelter.
You may want to contact your local shelter for advice. Sometimes they have better ideas than vets.
Good luck.

thank you everyone for your advice and suggestions.

Raw diet. It far more healthy and usually cost the same, and they poop less.

This isn't an answer for you OP, it's just a drive by FYI for kitty lovers--


You can tell if your kitty has a fever by feeling the temp of their ears. As long as they haven't been sleeping with their paw wrapped around their head like they do, and that's the reason for the ear warmth, a kitty's ears will be warm or hot when they're sick and have a fever, otherwise they are cool to the touch.


That is all...




Oh, and good luck with your kitty, Oyster...