June 13, 2009

Dear Obie,
My friend has four cats. They are all indoor/outdoor cats, and all but one are very good about using the litter box. Jessie's mama was a feral cat, so she never learned to use the litter box from her mama, and Jessie does not want to use the litter box. She doesn't want to go outside, either. She wants to go on the floor in the house! Ick! My friend's autistic son is very attached to Jessie, so Jessie has to be allowed in the house. Jessie is an adult kitty, three to four years old. What can be done to retrain an older cat to use the litter box? My friend is at her wits end!
Signed, Frankie
Salem, OR


Dear Frankie
I can understand your friend's concerns. When a kitty that is obviously loved, like Jessie, won't use a litter box, it can be very frustrating. I applaud your friend for wanting to train Jessie; in too many cases, people will just dump a cat like Jessie at the pound! Boo on them!

So I have given your problem a lot of thought, and then I consulted with a veterinarian friend of mine, Dr. Kristen McDonally, DVM. And Dr. Kristen offered the following advice.

First, place a brand new, clean litter box in a small, confined area. A laundry room or an unused half-bath are perfect. Make sure the litter box is filled with new, clean litter, preferably a clumping litter. Cats are fastidiously clean animals, that is just our nature, and it is an ingrained trait with us to bury our urine and feces. So if Jessie is in a small area with that brand new box of litter and no other place to go, she just might take right to it. But she might also need some further training.

The trick is to place her in that small room as soon as she has finished eating or right after she has woken up from a nap. The room needs to provide a lot of privacy, as kitties are "private bathroom" creatures. We don't like an audience when we're doing our business! Take Jessie into the room, set her in the litter box, and scratch the litter with one of her paws. This helps to kick-start that instinctual "bury my waste" part of her mind.

Watch what she does. If you see her starting to sniff or dig in a corner, immediately pick her up and place her back into the litter box. Scratch the litter with her paw again. This may need to be repeated several times, so Jessie's human will need to be patient. Just remember that Jessie isn't trying to cause trouble; she wants to be a good kitty. She just needs your help!

When she does use the litter box, heap a lot of praise on her! Let her know that she is a great kitty and that you are so happy she went "in the big potty," as my wacky humans say!

A couple very important points to remember, according to Dr. Kristen, are to keep the litter box clean and to have enough litter boxes for the number of cats you have. Going back to that thing about cats being fastidious, we don't like dirty litter boxes. Yuck! And if you have several cats, don't try to get by with one litter box. The rule of thumb is to have one litter box for each cat, plus one. So if you have three cats, you should have four litter boxes. This is not always necessary, but it is a good guideline to follow. Also, if you can, place a couple litter boxes in separate areas of your house. When my brother Mackenzie first joined our family, Rocky would sometimes block the door to the laundry room, where the litter boxes were, forcing poor Mackenzie to find somewhere else to go. My humans solved that by placing another litter box at the far end of the house, thus eliminating the problem!

Finally, don't punish Jessie if she has an accident. Yelling at her, or worse, will not teach her a thing. We cats don't understand English, remember? All you will accomplish by punishing her is to make her afraid of you.

I hope everything works out for your friend and Jessie! Please email me again and let me know how it went!

Your friend,
Obie

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Happy 5th birthday to Salem Friends of Felines! Today is the 5th birthday of my all-time favorite kitty shelter! And in five years, those super folks have adopted over 2600 kitties into forever homes, as well as spear-heading spay and neuter awareness in Salem. There aren't enough great things to say about everyone at Friends of Felines! I love you all!

I am so proud of my human daddy! His historical book, "John Colter - the Legend of the First Mountain Man" has been published and is now available! He worked so hard on this book, and I should know; I spent a lot of time on his desk while he was working on it! You can find it through Amazon, Barnes & Nobles, etc., or ask for it in your bookstore. You can also visit his website at donamiet.com and learn more about it, including how to order signed copies! Way to go, daddy!

I am also very proud of my sister, Meeshka. Beginning on Friday, June 19, Meeshka's animal advice column, "Meeshka Tales," will appear every two weeks in the St. George, Utah, Spectrum newspaper! Meeshka will answer emails from Spectrum readers who have questions about any kind of animal, not just cats! Way to go, Meeshka!

And, finally, congratulations to my old friend, Nonnie, on receiving her new kitty wheelchair! Now you can run around and play like you've always wanted to do! I'm so happy for you, Nonnie! And thanks to everyone who donated money so she could have a wheelchair! You are angels!

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"We can not, without becoming a cat, perfectly understand the cat mind."
-St. George Mivart (1827-1900) British Biologist

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I hope you enjoy reading my column, but please remember that I am not a vet. I am a cat! Always consult with your vet before making any medical decisions concerning your cat! Thank you!