Lisa Shea Forums Parakeets Non-Budgie Pets and Animals Trying not to cry

Well I made a very sad decision this afternoon. My cat Scamper has stopped using his litter box. I thought it was just a phase he was going through but it's gone on for years. I've tried everything imaginable to get him to stop, but it did no good. Now, instead of just going in one place, he's now going all over the house. He has all ready ruined the carpet in my room and is working on the rest of the house. I made the choice today to take him to the animal shelter. I've been crying ever since. Sure, he's can be mean and ornery, but I love him to death. I've tried to find another home for him, but understandably, no one wants him. When I first started getting pets I swore I would never do this to one of them but I don't know what else to do. I hope maybe a change of envirement will help him take care of the problem. He still uses his litter box occasionally, but more often than not, he doesn't. I can't take him myself so I'm going to ask one of my brothers to take him. I've been visiting an adorabale 1 year old kitten at the shelter so maybe I'll adopt her. I just don't know what to do.
...and I'm crying again.

you know what i worked at vets. these decisions are very hard to do. you need to think of what is best for scamper. you dont want him to be miserable it isnt fair to him to suffer. im sure the vets will tell you what is best to do and then you can decide from there if nothing has been done yet. if you do euthanize hiim i dont know if youll want to hear this but for cats they give them a sedative first so they are in a daze they dont know what happens it isnt painful they literally just fall asleep. i hope all goes well.

Yes it's always a very hard decision to make but it comes down to 'quality of life', and if he's sufferng, this will be the kindest option.

I presume that you've taken him to a vet to ensure there are no underlying problems or diseases? How old was he and was he an entire cat?

If you do replace him, be sure to sanitize everything very carefully just in case he was carrying diseases and never use any amonia based products.

I have taken him to a vet and they said he was perfectly healthy. He's six years old and was neutered when he was a kitten. I'm hoping that once he's in a different place maybe he'll start using it again. Maybe then someone will adopt him and he won't have to be put down.

Perhaps someone who wants an outdoors cat could take him, let's hope so. Is there anything that could be making him afraid of the litter box? Have you tried placing it in other parts of the house? Perhaps the litter itself might be upsetting him.

You've certainly done all the correct things.

I've changed litter types, experimented with how much to out in, moved the box etc. etc. He still urinates in it occasionally but that is getting less and less frequent. I've thought several times about changing him to an all outdoor cat, but with the cold winters up here that's not going to happen. My mom though, is this very moment emailing a friend she just thought of who has a barn...hoping, praying...

A cat would love a barn area, think of all those delicious mice he could eat. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.

Meant to say earlier too, about why not to use amonia, the reason behind this is that it actually encourages the cat to return to the 'scene of the crime' and urinate again.

Thanks I'll remember that.

Here's the cat I'm going to adopt.
Sabbath

I'll probably change her name...Sabbath is a weird name for a cat. She is a year old and very tiny. Not just skinny, though she is a little underweight, but tiny. Half the size of Scamper. I first met her Monday. I was at the DMV but the computers had gone down so things were moving a zillion times slower than the normal slow. The animal shelter is just down the street so I went to kill time. I fell in love with her immeadiatly. Knowing I couldn't have two cats, I told my friend who was looking for one about her. She hasn't been able to get down to meet Sabbath but when I told her about Scamper today she said I could have Sabbath. I've been to see her every other day since Monday, and today I was able to hold and play with her for a bit. I couldn't understand why she hadn't been adopted yet, as she is the sweetest cat there. Now I think maybe she was waiting for me.

ok off topic...i thought your loc was a joke that you were at the north pole...i can understand why you dont want him to be an out door cat. are there outdoor cats and dogs up there...im dumb sorry. and that new kitty is very cute i hope the barn works out for scamper i think he would be very happy and can pee where he wants. did you have them check to see if he has a urinary track infectin that can cause cats to be moody and pee where they want.

There are outdoor dogs...though most have a dog house or something to keep of the wind and cold. They're the big dogs too, the ones that grow lots of furr in the winter. I had some friends that had Great Danes and they had to keep them indoors in the winter since they have no furr. I don't know how they managed that!
I'm not sure about outdoor cats, I think that since they are smaller they wouldn't last that long. Especially if we have a winter like this last one. Tell me, where was the global warming? LOL. Instead of extreme cold for a week or so every now and then, we had over a month of extreme temperatures at the same time. -30 to -60+. Then when the wind started blowing, things got downright miserable. Anyway, back on topic.
I think he'll do okay in a barn, even if it's not heated there will be other animals in there to help heat it up.