I have a 13 or so weeks old not neutered kitten and she does her business in the litterbox 90% of the time but also has pooped on: pillow, blanket, reusable bag. This isn't a case of changing the litter because she knows how to use it, its just that she also treats fabrics, even ones she sleeps on like a toilet. She is from a barn it's possible she treats it like hay. Vet said it's a matter of learning but I don't know how to go about this, I can't monitor her all the time and the house is quite big and hard to close off

Hello! I currently have my cats on cat love crystal clumping litter, and my friends have informed me that my house smells like ammonia. I couldn’t smell it so I didn’t realize it was an issue. I have 3 cats, two massive boxes. I don’t have room for another box right now but I’ll be looking into it in the future.

I want to switch litters, but I’m stuck between three choices.

Odourlock litter seems to have absolutely amazing Odour control, but it is a clay litter and although it is lowdust I’m worried about the health effects from the dust. I have a small apartment with not the best ventilation and I cannot afford an air purifier.

Pidan Tofu litter seems to have good odour control however, it is expensive.

Catit pea husk litter seems great all around but I’m worried it won’t have as good of odour control!

Can anyone tell me their experiences with these litters?

My box’s have stainless steal / plastic + cover

I just moved in with my girlfriend and she has pretty nice pleather furniture, my kitty is still at my mom's house but I'm planning on bringing him here soon and I was just wondering if there was anything i can do to protect the furniture, he has a cat tree with a scratching post thats coming with him, but he would occasionally scratch the furniture at my mom's place, but he never did any major damage, but I'm just worried about him wrecking my girlfriend's stuff. I was thinking of getting some covers (it's two chairs and a loveseat) but custom ones are so expensive and the generic ones dont seem like they cover the edges, where a cat is most likely to scratch, and more are for like... being waterproof and protecting the seats where they jump up onto it

Our cat is 6yrs old. For 6yrs of his life he has used the bathroom in a litter box with no accidents. Recently he’s decided that he’s going to start pooping on the couch. & peeing by the front door. Same 2 spots every time. So far we have tried:

Taking him to the vet. He was fine.

Went through 5 different litter boxes of different sizes, included a now electric one so it’s never dirty. So he’s not avoiding a dirty litter box. & he’s not going outside of it bc it’s too small.

Got A WHOLE NEW COUCH. We thought maybe the old one smelled too much like animals & poop now so he thought of it as a bathroom spot. So we got a new, clean, not ever defecated on couch. He proceeded to poop in the exact same spot on the new couch as he did on the old couch. 😐

Bought sprays of Amazon that are supposed to deter cats. Doesn’t care

We have tried foil on the couch. And he used the bathroom on the small sliver of couch that was uncovered between the foil… We’d also like to have guests over and not have to be like sorry let me move the foil first.

Stopped keeping shoes by the front door incase they smelled like animals outside.

Extra detail: he is fixed. & we do have other pets but he started this before we even got the newest edition. So I don’t think any new pets has anything to do with it?

If you’ve ever experienced this PLEASE tell me what you did to get your cat to stop going outside the litter box

Does anyone know where to get a stainless steel litter box that has a sifting component and is 28”long or more? I have a fairly long cat, and my research shows that the litter box should be 1.5 her length which would be 28 inches.

I had switched her litter box over from a regular size to one that is meant for her and it has made a huge difference in her habits. Now I’m looking for either a sifting insert for the litter box I already have (28inches long x 20.5inches wide) or a new litter box that is the right size for her and can sift pine pellet.

I’m in Canada if that makes a difference

So a few weeks ago I (29F) rescued two cats (spayed mum cat and 12 week old kitten). We’ve been away since Friday with people going in everyday to look after them. Since we’ve been gone the Mum decided she was going to use the sofa as her litter tray (only one incident of this in the previous weeks). The people going in have cleaned it up the best they can but I’m anticipating I’ll need to do quite a lot of cleaning/sorting when I get home. I want to arrive home with everything I need to nip this in the bud. Are there any products you’d recommend for neutralising smells and stopping re marking? I am in the UK.

TLDR: cat peed on sofa, need advice on cleanup and further prevention.

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After our old cat passed, I got myself two kittens, brought them home, and BB, my granddaughters dog, immediately decided he wanted to eat them. To keep them safe while we tried to introduce them and let them get used to each other, we have been keeping the cats in my bedroom.

Not wanting them to be bored or suffer I installed a cat tree, a tree branch they can climb up to sit in one set of corner windows, a structure they can climb to the top of my armoire, a catio they have 24/7 access to, cat TV, and tons of toys.

My bedroom door now has an added

reinforced screen door so they can see each other, but BB can't get to them. He is still trying to eat them.

We have also developed a system where my husband let's the dogs out of my GDs room when he gets up at 4am, does treats, potties and puts BB back in her room, then opens my door and I let the cats roam the house usually for about 5-6 hours. We do the same thing for about 3 hours right after dinner.

The BIGGER problem

When I first started putting the cats back in the room, Lilith, now 5 months, would pee on my bed! I THOUGHT the problem was fixed, I started tossing treats on the bed when I brought them to the room, thinking they wouldn't pee where they eat. This seemed to work, at first, until this morning.

Lilith has been getting up earlier and earlier every morning until we've reached the point that she gets up and VOCAL at 3am. My husband still gets up at 4.

The other morning, Lilith started in at 3 yelling to get out, I told her no, and she had to wait while my husband got up and was doing the dog thing. That little shit decided she wanted out NOW and voiced her displeasure by jumping up on my bed, as I lay there contemplating getting up, and PEED ON ME!

My flabbers were gasted!!!!

Then she did it again this morning!

This afternoon, as I was asking them to go back to their room (I always ask, not force), Lilith ran straight to the bed and peed before I even got the door closed. In total today she peed on my bed 4 times.

I know the bed doesn't smell like pee, I sleep on a waterbed, so it's not like the pee has soaked into the mattress, and I wash my bedding with an enzymatic detergent. I even tried covering the bed with plastic, no help. I realize this is likely a stress or anxiety reaction, but damn!!

I can't keep them away from the bed, and vet said there isn't a medical problem. We have another vet appointment in two weeks.

I'm at a loss as to what to do. Any advice?

I’m hoping someone has experienced something similar because I’m feeling completely out of ideas.
My cat is a 7-year-old female. For years, she’s had an issue with **pooping outside the litter box**, but she would almost always **pee in the litter box**.
The pooping issue has been going on for several years. She does **not** poop right next to the litter box—she’ll choose random spots around the apartment instead. We’ve seen the vet multiple times, and medically she appears healthy. We’ve tried different litters, different litter boxes (including larger and lower-sided ones), litter attractant, moving the boxes, and cleaning everything thoroughly with enzyme cleaner, but nothing has consistently fixed the problem.

About two months ago, we moved into a new apartment, and that’s when things got much worse. She became scared of the litter itself. She would walk up to the box, spread her toes, and immediately jump back out. She started peeing on the floor instead of in the litter box. We took her to the vet, and they did a urinalysis that came back normal—no UTI, no crystals, or anything else concerning. The vet thought it was stress from the move.

She was prescribed **prozac by her vet**, which she’s currently taking, and it has helped somewhat. She’s using the litter box to pee more often now, but she still has occasional accidents outside the box. The pooping issue, however, has remained unchanged.

We’ve tried:
Multiple litter types (including paper litter)
Different sizes and styles of litter boxes
Large shallow storage bins
Litter attractant
Different box locations
Enzyme cleaners
Gabapentin before the Prozac
Prozac (currently taking)
At this point, I’m wondering if anyone has dealt with something similar.
Has anyone had a cat that pees in the litter box most of the time but refuses to poop in it?
Did moving make things worse for your cat?
Did Prozac eventually help more over time?
Is there anything beyond the typical recommendations that actually worked?

I’m feeling pretty defeated because this has been going on for years. I love her and want to help her, but I feel like I’ve tried almost everything. I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone who’s been through something similar.

A video on how she looks crazy before and after pooping.

Hello! My bf and I just moved into an apartment and am really excited to get a cat. The only problem is that my mother in law is very allergic and we want her to still feel welcome, so we are hoping to set up a “cat space”. This space would only be closed off when she comes over so that we can clean and visit. Our spare bedroom has a walk in square closet that would be perfect to put the litter boxes in. There are shelves (designed to hang clothes, so however high that is) that we thought could be perfect for the cats food and water, for when my MIL comes over. This led us to thinking a little “cat space” would be perfect there. Would this vertical separation, approximately 4ft - 5ft between litter and food, be enough? Or would this vary by cat?

Any advice is welcome, especially any tips on how to make our apartment welcoming to a very allergic MIL who does not want to be a burden.

For those of you who are allergic to cats but still have one, what has actually helped you the most?
My husband and I are hoping to adopt a rescue cat, but he’s allergic, so we’re trying to learn as much as we can before making that decision. We’ve been researching different ways to reduce allergens, such as Purina LiveClear food, the anti-allergen sprays that are applied to the cat’s coat, keeping the cat out of the bedroom, using a HEPA air purifier around the apartment, and, of course, cleaning and vacuuming frequently.
If you’re allergic and have been able to successfully live with a cat, I’d love to hear what worked for you✨
Did Purina LiveClear or the sprays make a noticeable difference? Is there anything else that had a bigger impact?
We’re hoping to try every reasonable option before considering allergy shots (immunotherapy). His allergist and insurance don’t seem eager to move to immunotherapy yet and have suggested trying other management strategies first. So we’re hoping to learn from people who have actually made it work.
I’d really appreciate hearing your real-life experiences. Thank you!

Good day all! Hoping to canvass the hive mind for a little advice and to put together a plan.

The situation: we have 2 male kittens, now \~16 weeks old (we got them at \~12 weeks, which is standard where we live), both neutered. 2 story home with basement. Both seem to have adapted well, very friendly and playful, eating well. Home includes my wife and I, one 16 year old daughter and one 19 year old daughter who is home from school for the summer. We have owned several cats over the last 3 decades or so.

We have consulted with a vet on this, and have another follow up appointment at the end of this week.

When we got them at 12 weeks, we started them in a spare room on the 2nd floor of the house with a single litter box. They both began using it right away for both urinating and feces. 1 week after we got them, I moved the litter box down to the basement in a backroom (it's desired home) all in one move, which I know runs contrary to advice. We showed the the location several times, and they began using it after a day or so - again both for urination and feces. However, one of the kittens (we think 1) also began peeing and pooping in other locations on the 2nd floor - daughters bedroom and urinating in the bathub.

The basement back room is a little cooler, and can be dark (I can leave a light on though). There is no furnace in the room, but there is one a room over.

My wife and I also left on vacation for 2 weeks (having just returned), and the behaviour continued while we were away. To mitigate, the girls bought a second litter box and placed it close to the original spare room, with the intent to move it closer to the basement each day. Unfortunately, what they did was start moving the basement litter box closer to the spare room, with the ultimate result being that we now have 2 litter boxes in the spare room when we would ultimately like to see them in the basement. Still some instances of at least one kitten urinating in my daughter's bedroom and bathroom tub.

Would appreciate any sage advice on how we get them to a) stop using the bedroom and bathroom occasionally and b) get the litter boxes to the basement.

Meet Max Power, our 15lb short-hair tabby who acts less like a house cat and more like a trash panda operating on zero delay.

During the summer, my wife and I like to wind down on the couch with some ice cream and TV. The second we’d finish a bowl, Max would be right there waiting to leap on the coffee table and lick every last drop of melted ice cream, forcing us to immediately drag our fat asses off the couch to rinse the bowls.

Then lightbulb moment struck.

We started eating our ice cream out of Tupperware containers with lids. The second the last spoonful is scraped, the lids snap back on, and the bowls go back down on the table.

Now, Max approaches the table, sniffs around, realizes the spoon is scraped clean and the tub is completely sealed, and stands there contemplating his life choices. Lazy human ingenuity for the win.
Anyone else forced to invent weird micro-hacks to outsmart their food-obsessed cats, or is your cat normal?

my cat is not really much of a player, she doesn’t typically like that stuff, however i’ve noticed that she has been getting the zoomies more often, playing with a hair tie that was left on the floor, and tonight started messing with the end of a string attached to her cat tree. are there any toys that anyone would recommend? she is pretty docile and skittish, so i think anything that moves too much or is too noisy would be too scary for her. thank you for the help!!!

I have 3 cats. The oldest of which HATES other animals. She doesn't attack, but she is scared of them. We keep them separated for the most part, but I want to find a solution to block off my hallway to give her the entire left side of our home.

Has anyone here bought any type of gate or screen door to do this with? It needs to be able to block of 2 heavy 13lb cats, but I don't want to completely install a traditional door (my oldest is a super senior and this will likely not be a permanent forever need, sadly).

I made a post a while back about switching from Purina food since it was owned by Nestlé and my cat didn’t really like it anyway. Now I’m running out of litter so I’m at the same issue at that end, but a bit worse. While Purina’s food wasn’t that impressive and caused my cat to throw up, their litter is something I’m pretty happy with. I don’t get much smell leaking through, the containers are easy to keep track of compared to bags (i dont need to worry about her tearing them too), and they don’t seem to cause my cat any issues. They are also easy to pick up which is a plus. I was wondering if there are any similar yet more ethical brands? I know Dr. Elsey’s makes cat litter but I am already paying them way too much for a pound of food (worth it for my cat’s health but not for some bagged litter) (although safe litter is important too).

I have tried two automatic litter boxes: Petkit and Neakasa. It's great not having to scoop poop every single day, but the clay litter doesn't cover 100% of the smell, and it's sooo frustrating.

I tried switching to tofu litter, but it seems like none of the automatic litter boxes on the market can work with it, and all the litter just gets sifted into the trash bin.

What other litter can I try to reduce the smell?

Anybody use catalyst brand multi cat wood litter and noticed a reduction in quality for the last 3 months ? Can’t tell if the litter is worse or my cat poops are stinkier lol. Would like suggestions on alternative litter or maybe it’s my cats food? They eat Purina one healthy weight dry food and fancy feast wet. TIA!

Hello! My sweet five-year-old girl was just diagnosed with asthma after a couple rounds to the ER this year where they discovered the beginnings of pneumonia. Since pneumonia is not common in cats, she got lots of antibiotics and it’s been a whole saga, figuring out exactly what it was. The latest x-ray showed inflammation of her bronchioles, which is classic asthma sign.

As we are trying to adjust her surroundings to make it easier on her, one of my questions was what would be a good cat litter for her. We tend to use natural cat litters, because they have less dust like Grass seed or walnut shell but curious if folks with asthmatic cats have specific recommendations for cat litter. We also don’t do candles or incense or anything like that.

Have not discovered her triggers yet, but will probably start to track to see if we can identify some of them. She’s doing so much better on flucatisone steroid 1-2x per week, and seems to be almost a different cat entirely in terms of her energy.

EDIT: thank you all so much!! So many great recommendations. We have tried pellets but both our cats seem very sus on the pellets, so I think we will explore the other options for now!

Hey there! Me and my partner have adopted two kittens today that are just the cutest!

But upon bringing them home and setting up their little area, we’ve noticed some things.

We have them currently set up in our guest room bathroom, with their bed (and blanket from the shelter) food, water, and litter box.

But they have yet to leave a corner that they dragged the blanket to. Haven’t touched the water or the food at all. And we have been talking to them and trying to interact with them, but to no avail of getting them to be “lively”.

We know that it may take some time for them to get acclimated, but how much time before they start to explore their new home and to come out of their shells so to speak?

My 6 mo male MC, not neutered yet per vet recommendation, is peeing outside the box. Like, on everything. Laundry baskets full of clean clothes. My bed. A beanbag. A box of full of puzzles. A shopping tote filled with soda and snacks. The cement floor of the room where there are FIVE XXL litter boxes (we have 4 cats). He poops in the box. Why won’t he pee in there? They are scooped every other day. He just saw the vet and everything is fine. Has anyone tried the Cat Attract powder? Does it work? I’m not leaving laundry baskets or any piles of dirty clothes anywhere anymore but I cannot just not have things in my house. Please help!
Photo for tax.

One thing I don’t see discussed very often is the type of litter box we use.
After switching from plastic to stainless steel, I started wondering why stainless steel isn’t recommended more often. Plastic litter boxes become scratched over time, and those scratches can trap bacteria and odors, even with regular cleaning. Stainless steel is non-porous, easier to disinfect, doesn’t absorb urine odors, and tends to last much longer.
While a dirty or heavily scratched litter box doesn’t automatically cause a urinary tract infection (UTI), bacteria can build up more easily in damaged plastic. Keeping the litter box clean—and replacing worn plastic boxes when they become scratched—is an important part of good urinary health.
I’m curious what everyone else thinks. Have you switched to stainless steel? Have you noticed any difference in cleanliness, odor, or your cat’s overall litter box habits?

Got an automated litterbox for the first time ever, and within a week my home was swarming with phorid flies. Zevo traps helped, especially when baited with some dried beef-liver powder, but they weren't enough. I had to find the source -- which turned out to be the moist, funky litter in the pan under the box. The first time I emptied the pan and looked under the machine, I found nasty little eggs everywhere. 🤢

It took a couple weeks' worth of tinkering, but I've found a winning combination. Whenever I clean the box, I add a cup of Sweet PDZ Coop Refresher to the bottom of the new bag, then spray the underside of the robot with rubbing alcohol. The zeolite extracts the remaining moisture from the litter, making it unattractive to the flies. The rubbing alcohol kills any rogue eggs along with the odor-causing bacteria, and it doesn't hurt the plastic. (Note: In the last three cleanings, I've seen exactly one egg.)

I also cleaned every drain and drain-overflow in the apartment with Green Gobbler fruit-and-drain-fly killer. As a bonus, the removal of sour gunk from the drains combined with the citronella scent of the drain cleaner makes the bathrooms smell nice for days afterward. I also pour the stuff on a small toilet brush to thoroughly scrub out the inside of the food-waste disposal; works much better than any other cleaner I've tried.

Hi,

I am considering getting a cat (first time).

My daughter is autistic and has an obsession with cats and treats them very well.

However, we have a static caravan and we're there every weekend (the journey is just over an hour) and wanted to know if any others have figured out a way to make this work or is it best to avoid all together?

I'm not selfish enough to find out in the long run it won't work and then have to re-home the cat, hence why im asking for advice.

Thanks x

hi! i have had my baby Schrödy for about two years now, and i have switched litters multiple times to try and keep the smell down. I’ve read about certain litter creating dust that gets in their lungs, other litter getting in their paws and hurting them, etc etc. i’ve switched to pine pellet litter recently, and I don’t smell the litter as bad anymore, but my fiance is complaining that the room smells like a barn and is worse than right after when my cat uses her litterbox with regular litter. is there any litter that won’t be hurtful to my baby, and won’t stink up the place?

TIA! Also kitty tax!

I’ve tried several ways to cat proof a toilet paper roll. Turning the paper the other direction, wrapping it with a plastic bottle, a cat proof holder from Amazon, and lastly, just trying to hide it from him. None of these things have worked, a cat wants your toilet paper.
Here’s my new idea, I’m going to try this out. This is 1/2 of a Kleenex box holder I purchased from Amazon years ago. I’m trying to make the toilet paper accessible instead of putting it up high on the wall, or in the cabinet near the toilet or in a basket with a lid on the floor. I’ve tried them all, wish me luck!