My cat has issues with litter box

by Kristy
(Huber Heights, Oh, usa)

I had a cat that was 22 years old. 2 years before her passing we brought in a kitten to kinda help guide her. When Sugar was older she helped Tessie (22) sort of pass on. She laid with her until she passed. My question is since Tessie's passing, Sugar will potty in the litter box, but will not do step 2 we have changed litter boxes but she still won't use it.. could she still be associating the litter box with Tessie's passing? And if so, what can we do to help her?

Answer by Kate
Hi what a touching story.

your cats issue with the litter box could be caused by several things. Like you say she may be associating the litter box with the other cat or it could simply be the change in the home after the passing of the other cat. This may still be upsetting her.

If the litter tray is new the other thing you could try is a period of litter tray training. this is essentially a period of confinement with the litter ray. this helps give the cat some confidence in a smaller place.

Please see my web page about this here
https://www.our-happy-cat.com/cat-poo.html

It is also important that during this period of change for your cat that you keep her occupied to distract her from any fears etc she may have. I also have a web page about how to make the indoor environment interesting for cats
https://www.our-happy-cat.com/indoor-cats.html

I hope Sugar finds her confidence again soon. love the picture by the way, she is a stunner.

best wishes Kate

---