Female cat quit going in her kitty box

by Cherrie
(Texas)

I have a monster of a cat when she goes in heat. She is the best cat you could ever have. But now we have a fight over the litter box.

She will go on the floor in front of the bathroom. I put her in the cat box, but the fight is on trying to get her to go in there.

What should I do? Do you think she might have a urinary tract infection?

I have 2 other cats but they both have their own cat box. This has been happening about a week now, so could you please tell me something I should try? Maybe changing her box?

Update:

Cherrie had moved the box. She was able to resolve her problem with Boo by moving the box back to its original location.

So the lesson here is... always make changes slowly!

My thoughts:

I'm sorry to hear that she's having issues, Cherrie.

You used the word "fight" which implies that you and she are at odds. The first thing to remember is that cats want to use the box, so something is wrong in her world.

I'd recommend that you think of this as working together, you and your cat, to solve a problem, rather than a fight between the two of you.

Medical problems can cause litter box issues, and if she's ill in some way, you can't fix the problem until the veterinarian does his/her magic.

Since you mentioned a possible urinary tract infection, I'm assuming that she's urinating outside the box, but defecating inside the box?

Or is she doing both outside the box?

Possible medical issues or illness aside, if she's urinating and defecating outside of the box, then perhaps the box is not to her liking.

Old plastic can absorb odors, so you could try a totally new box with new litter (but use the kind she likes). Place it right on the spot (after cleaning up all traces of urine -- use a black light to find it) where she's been going.

She if she uses it.

If she's only urinating outside the box...

Does she seem to be in pain (winces, makes crying noises, failed attempts to urinate)? Then she may very well have a urinary tract infection.

Lack of signs of pain do not mean she doesn't have an infection, it's just harder to tell.

Have there been any changes in her life lately that might cause her stress? See what you can do to ease her stress, increase her exercise level, and give her more attention.

In addition, I would certainly look into getting her fixed.

If it turns out that she's 100 percent healthy, then isolation/confinement retraining may be the way to go.

I hope that helps. Please let us know how she makes out.
-Kurt