Question:
I have some additional input regarding your recent column in which a woman had a problem with her 8-year-old cat not using his litter box.Recently, a friend told me that she was going to "get rid of" her cat because she started having accidents outside her litter box. A key statement she made to me was, "I keep the boxes immaculate. Every week I empty them out and thoroughly clean them with detergent, and then I spray them with Lysol." On my advice, she no longer uses strong-smelling chemicals to clean the litter box, and her cat is fine.As for my family, we clean our boxes with lots of water with a very small amount (1/8 cup per 2 gallons water) of chlorine bleach. We rinse them at least three times and then air-dry them. We scoop our boxes once or twice daily, and, when a cat is off the mark and hits the sides of the box, we clean it with full-strength alcohol on a paper towel. We have placed the litter boxes in quiet, low-traffic areas of the house and have had no problems.
F.B., Albany, NY Oct 01, 2006
Answer:
Your letter is an important read for all people with cats. Cats often develop an aversion to their litter boxes, and you have identified an important factor. Baking soda sprinkled under the cat litter is a good deodorant with no bad smell.All cats that relieve themselves outside of the litter box regularly should have a veterinary checkup to rule out a physical cause, particularly cystitis and inflammatory bowel disease, both of which are common health problems in cats.GOLD HEALSVeterinarians at Oslo's Norwegian School of Veterinary Science recently reported significant improvement in dogs suffering from chronic hip dysplasia after implanting five 35-milligram to 45-milligram, 24-karat-gold beads at five defined acupuncture or trigger points. Effective analgesia can also be facilitated by appropriate massage as per my book "The Healing Touch for Dogs" (New Market Press, 2004).
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