kolling@magic.ARPA (01/23/85)
>I have a problem with one of my cats. She has the bad habit of, >whenever she's annoyed for some reason, relieving herself in the >bathtub..... She does it mainly when I don't get home to feed her soon >enough (order of 1 or 2 hours, not 5 or 6), or when.... > >Unfortunately, I've never caught her at it, so I can't discipline >her immediately. I've tried pushing her nose in it, then whacking >her with a very firm NO!, I've tried putting her in the bathtub and >turning the shower on her. Nothing works for more than a few days. Assuming a cat isn't doing it for some physical reason, two common reasons for litter box problems are unhappiness because of something like lack of attention or other upset in the household, and the litter box not being clean enough (cats are really incredibly fastideous). I'd try being really sure the litter box is clean, and also giving her some extra loving attention. I gather she's alone a lot, from your mention of weekends and so forth, and I suspect that's the problem -- she's lonely. I had a cat who developed a similar problem when I was working an hour of two extra every day for a couple of weeks; the problem went away when my working hours went back to normal.
wtm@bunker.UUCP (William T. McGarry) (01/23/85)
Re: the cat who insists on defecating in the bathtub... How about leaving an inch or so of water in the bathtub all of the time??? Bill (Also an owner of a brain-damaged cat) McGarry