Case of the litter-box woes

Cats can be finicky about many things besides foods, including litter boxes. A cat who preferred to urinate on her owners' bed was checked out by a veterinarian, but had no obvious medical problem. She was gradually trained to use a box by giving her a choice of boxes and litters.

DEBORAH AND DAVID ARE A BOSTON couple with impeccable taste. When I first visited their apartment last year, I admired their lovely furniture and antiques. Two handsome cats completed the scene: Jasmine, a gray, medium-haired female, and Genghis, a deep-black male.

Only one interior-decorating detail stood out as odd. Their bed was covered with a thick plastic sheet that looked like an old shower curtain.

Why? Jasmine had decided the bed was her litter box. The plastic was the only way to protect the bed. It stayed on top all the time, even when Deborah and David were sleeping in the bed.

The couple had adopted the cats as kittens about a year earlier from a shelter. They all bonded beautifully, and soon the cats were sleeping on the bed. Then when Jasmine turned about four months old, she decided the bed was an ideal place to urinate, even better than the covered litter box in the bathroom. Her second choice was the small bathroom rug.

Of course, Jasmine was no barbarian. Like most civilized cats, she wouldn't relieve herself where she slept. Oh, no. The bed was so large that she could urinate far from her sleeping spot, but still on the bed.

Deborah didn't have the heart to bar the cats from the bedroom. So Deborah threw the plastic cover on the bed and brought Jasmine to her veterinarian, Doug Brum, D.V.M., an internist at Angell Memorial Animal Hospital in Boston.

LOOKING FOR CLUES

It was the right move. Medical illness is behind many litter-box cases. Dr. Brum performed a complete physical exam and a urinalysis. Everything turned out to be normal. He recommended neutering both cats in case the arrival of puberty could be causing Jasmine to urine-mark her territory.

And he raised another possibility: Maybe Jasmine didn't like her litter box. He told Deborah to put a second covered litter box next to the first one, but the second one was to contain clumpable litter instead of the plain clay that Deborah had been buying.

Deborah duly neutered the cats and installed the second litter box. Jasmine used the new clumpable litter, occasionally. She also used her first clay litter box--occasionally. But she still liked the bed and bath rug, too.

After a couple more months, Deborah was referred to me. She didn't know how much longer she and David could tolerate sleeping under their unconventional comforter. Not to mention the fact that Jasmine had begun to urinate on the bedroom carpet.

Although Jasmine's case seems extreme, litter-box problems are far from rare. When someone calls me about a cat, the problem is most often because the animal is urinating or defecating in the wrong place.

There are many possible reasons. Illness is just one, which is why it's so important for owners to consult a veterinarian first. Sometimes the cause is emotional upset (like the kind that often accompanies moving), a change in routine, a new pet or new baby.

Or the reason can be less dramatic. Cats' reputation for finicky behavior is well earned, and it extends beyond food. The place where they eliminate also has to be just right--the right surroundings and the right litter texture, smell and cleanliness.

EXPERIMENTAL SOLUTIONS

After studying Jasmine's case, I decided that, as the first veterinarian had suggested, the basic problem was that Jasmine didn't like her litter box. Deborah had installed covered litter boxes because the cover keeps litter off the floor and reduces odor. Genghis liked it fine. But in my experience, most cats prefer uncovered boxes. They probably have good reasons. It's smellier inside a covered box than an uncovered one.

And owners tend to be less diligent about cleaning covered litter boxes because they don't see the soiled litter.

Then there was the question of which litter to use. Some cats like clay. Others like the clumpable type, which is softer on their paws. Some prefer odor-free litter while others like "deodorized" litter (with fragrance).

Since we couldn't ask Jasmine straight out, we had to present her with choices. I suggested that Deborah replace the covered litter box with two uncovered boxes in the bathroom, one containing clay and one unscented clumpable. The plastic bedspread was to remain and the bath rug to be picked up. To make the bedroom carpet a less desirable toilet area, I advised liberal use of carpet deodorizing powder with a citrus fragrance, which cats usually dislike.

I asked Deborah to scoop the litter boxes two or three times daily. Cleanliness is important to many cats, and I suspected Jasmine was one of these "prissy" felines. Also, I told Deborah to praise Jasmine and give her a treat every time she saw her use the box.

Over the next month, Jasmine started using the clay litter. There was only one mistake on the bed and then no accidents for a month. I recommended slowly folding back the plastic from the bed, about six inches every three days, to see if Jasmine would resist temptation.

All went well for about two months, until Deborah stayed home sick for a week. Jasmine responded to the change in routine by urinating on the bed and bedroom carpet again.

So I suggested another experiment: Deborah was to install two additional litter boxes, but these would be in the bedroom. She was to fill one with shredded newspaper, another with clay. Jasmine refused to use the newspaper and happily went for the clay-filled boxes, both in the bedroom and the bathroom. Over the next three months, the plastic was folded away and finally removed from the bed. The final step was for Deborah to gradually slide the bedroom litter box into the bathroom, by about six inches every few days.

Our long campaign was won. Jasmine finally decided that the two open, clean, clay-filled litter boxes in the bathroom were far superior to any other location. Deborah and David slept comfortably that summer, with their two cats curled happily beside them.