Cat Litter Box
Strategies for Special Needs Kitties
by: Nancy E. Wigal
You don't often
hear about or see information for special
needs kitties. These may be blind, very old
(with limited mobility), or disabled in some
way. Disabled cats may be amputees, or even
paralyzed. There are special mobile devices
you can purchase for your paralyzed cat.
But this
article will talk a little bit about the cat
litter box concerns for special needs
kitties. Due to their limited mobility or
lack of site, litter box type and location
are absolutely critical.
If you have a
blind cat, your best bet is maintain
location consistency as much as possible.
When your blind kitty has become accustomed
to finding his cat litter box in one
location, the most successful strategy is to
leave the box there. However, if you have to
move the box, you'll need to help retrain
your blind cat to find his way to it again.
A lot of patience will be necessary. You
could even confine the blind cat to that
particular location for awhile, so he'll
re-learn how to find the litter box easily.
You'll also
want to think about the type of cat litter
box. If it's too high to climb up in, he's
going to get discouraged, and he'll find
another, easily accessible location to void
his urine. You may even need to buy a large
storage container, cut out a "U"-shaped
entrance (the bottom of the "U" should be up
about 3 - 4" to hold the cat litter in the
box), and train kitty to find it.
Obviously,
this depends upon the type of dwelling you
live in, how many other cats and litter
boxes are in your home, and if you own a
multi-story house. Consult with your vet for
other strategies.
Very old cats
often develop mobility issues. If this true
for your kitty, you may need to
strategically place cat litter boxes in
places you didn't previously consider, just
to make it easy for your senior cat to make
it to the box in time. Again, if you live in
a multi-story house, you'll probably have to
place cat litter boxes on different levels.
However, if
your senior cat voluntarily confines herself
to one area, then you may only need to
consider litter box placement in that part
of your home. And just like blind kitties,
consider the type of cat litter box that's
best for your senior cat. If she has stiff
joints, be sure she can easily climb in and
out of the box. If she's unable to squat to
urinate, you'll need a high-sided box. The
solution given above may be just the ticket
to avoid cat urine odor problems for your
senior kitty.
Talk to your
vet to see if there are any medications that
may ease your cat's joint pain. This removes
most of the challenge of getting to the cat
litter box in time.
Paralyzed cats
face daunting challenges. They can't feel
anything back in that region, so very often
their voiding functions simply happen. I
have had cat owners tell me that the best
solution is to diaper the cat. The downside
is you have to constantly check the diaper,
but if it stops a cat urine odor problem in
your home, and you can keep your wonderful,
special kitty, that's a small price to pay.
You will
probably want to make certain that your home
has as much tile floor exposed as possible.
Carpet cleaning can be costly, and
eventually the material will not clean up as
well as it used to, making replacement
necessary and costly.
Some cat
owners confine their paralyzed kitty to one
area of their home that's easy to clean up.
Consult with your vet on the best strategy
for your paralyzed kitty.
If your
special needs kitty is an amputee, you may
either have a few cat litter box problems,
or absolutely none. I have met cat owners
who tell their three-legged cat has no
trouble balancing in the litter box. Others
report that the only thing they need to do
to accomodate their amputee cat is to make
sure they buy cat litter boxes that are low
enough for kitty to hop in and out of.
Cats that lose
a limb later in life may have some initial
balancing issues. I recommend confining
kitty to one area with a floor that's easy
to clean up, while the amputee practices new
cat litter box skills. Consult with your vet
for more ideas.
With a little
bit of thought and preparation, special
needs kitties can as trouble-free as any cat
when using the cat litter box.
