Litter Box Mania

The title may make you want to skip this post. I don't blame you. It's a nasty one, but one many pet owners can relate to.

When Parker first arrived at our home he was introduced to the litter box. He did fine until we noticed urine under the box. Apparently, his sprayer sprays too high or he assumes an unnatural pose while doing so. Whatever the reason, it was getting tiring to use bleach on such a large area of floor. So, we resorted to purchasing two new litter boxes with covers for privacy. Mainly, though, a cover to catch ill-directed urine.

The new litter boxes did not work. Parker began soiling my carpet and furniture. His new toilet box coincided with our 10th anniversary trip so I wasn't sure what caused him to change his habits. Finally, I asked Robin to bring back the larger box to use as a tray and we set his new box in it and kept the lid off. Presto! Parker was immediately back to using the litter box. Oh, happy day!

Alas, it wasn't long before the smell of urine was present and the pool underneath the litter box when we changed it. He had completely missed the box and the tray it was in. By this time, Robin was telling me that I'd better find a solution or Parker was going. I decided to research dog houses, which Angela told me Parker had used for a litter box when he lived with them. I found one at Petsmart that looked like it would work. It was deep and had a removable top. Robin and I wrote down measurements and went shopping. We bought a dog house.

Before I could remove dog stickers and other traces that the little building was meant for a dog and not a finicky feline, we had to clean the utility room where our (by now) large assortment of litter boxes reside. Cleaning underneath the pan wasn't enough. The urine had gone under our spare refrigerator. Robin pulled it out and I scrubbed the floor. Once everything was done, we filled the dog house/litter box with fresh litter and moved it into place. So far, so good. We'll really see how effective it is when we lift the box to change the litter.

While at the pet store, I had to keep reminding myself why we were there. We had a litter box problem and I had to remember that as Zoe, a female American Shorthair, rubbed against the glass of her cage in an attempt to connect with my hand. She was beautiful! And affectionate! And litter box trained! But so was Parker and I still had a problem.

So, I turned my back on Zoe even though I now have more litter boxes than I have cats to use them. I'm seriously thinking of going back to rescue Zoe and place her in the loving arms of my sister, Donna, who lost her beloved Bucky last week. Would Sissy be mad if I did that?

I have decided that if the dog house doesn't work, I have a new solution (short of moving Robin out instead of Parker). There's a bathroom at the end of the utility room with a shower that is never used. I could put the box in there and have plenty of water available to wash out any overage. I should have thought of that before investing in three more litter boxes. Sometimes I'm slow. Sometimes I'm slow because my heart is involved. Parker is my tangible connection to Angela, the one I can hold when I feel like holding my daughter. Parker isn't going anywhere.

Besides, I think Parker was feeling some of my frustration and redeemed himself at the last minute. At the end of the scrubbing and bleaching and sanitizing, he appeared with his toy mouse in his mouth and promptly dropped it at my feet. He was ready to play fetch and he knows I love to see him fetch. Yep, Parker's staying.