TL;DR My ex dumped the cat on me, two years after kicking me out- I suspect because of the peeing outside the box. Now I need to find a way to get him to stop peeing outside the box, and not be a jerk to my other cat.
Two years of not living together we finally determined we were done for good; Two months after I moved out of state my ex tells me to take the cat on my next trip home.
Fast forward a month, Cat keeps peeing outside the box.
I understand the fluffball is stressed, and I cannot replace my ex in terms of being his 'hooman', so I tried a bunch of things to see what would work.
- Set up two litter-boxes; one upstairs, one downstairs.
- two different litter types
- two different box styles (covered/uncovered)
- positive reinforcement; treats and cuddles to enforce good behavior. (lasted four days then he peed outside the box)
- taking him outside for walks (serious on this one, cat-specific-leash and all, he seemed to really perk up after... and peed anyways)
- called my ex to ask if he had been to the vet with him in case it was a UTI (I've been trying to read up on causes much as I can)
When all this didn't work, I finally blocked access to the upstairs box by placing a gate on the stairs; I was literally running up the stairs every-time I heard the dreaded 'scratching sound' (Cat doesn't cover his poop/piddle, instead he scratches the air pretending he is? Then sniffs his mess, scratches the walls... the floor... and then runs off??? Anyways the sound is my tell to run up there). If I catch him in time, he looks at me, hops into the box and does business, if I miss it, I get a puddle beside the box.
I am at the point where now that the upstairs is blocked, I have been picking him up every few hours or so, taking him to the box, placing him inside the box, sometimes multiple tries, then he finally squats, does his business, scratches the air/walls/floor and scampers off. I still give him cuddles and pets that this is a good thing, but I am almost at my wits end on this one- I don't want to give up on this cat, he has been through hell and inconsistency. I am planning to take him to the vet anyways despite what my ex said for a second opinion, just in case as well.
Also the hairball is a massive bully to my other cat. Despite making sure there are multiple resources, (four food/water dishes, beds, cat tower on each floor, two scratching posts) The only thing that stopped them from fighting is after I blocked access to the second floor and we're all downstairs they don't try to pick fights around me.
-SIGH sorry for the wall of text, just, this has been tough and I am trying my best to do well by these cats. =\
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from Pets https://www.reddit.com/r/Pets/comments/fzmyn6/cat_peeing_outside_of_box_also_being_a_bully/
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