It seems whenever someone else posts a question, I remember I had something to ask you as well!! LOL!

My cat, Callie, is about 4 years old, altered, and in good health. We bought her a new litter box over the Thanksgiving weekend, because the dog was getting into it, and Callie was kicking litter out of it. This one is covered, and we moved it because it no longer fit in the bathroom. She isn't using it... I transferred the other box into it, figuring it would smell like her, so she would use it. I have put her in it a few times. I removed the cover so she could get used to it. Still, not using the thing!! I don't know where she is going to the bathroom, and if we do find a stray mess, it's hard to tell if it's the dog or the cat now. How do I get her to use her new box?! She has NEVER had a problem, through a few moves, different boxes, at times having other cats sharing a box, she has always been box trained. The only difference is the height of the box edge, and the cover, which is off at the moment. Yet the litter sits there pristine, and I am left pulling my hair out looking for her hiding spots. Any advice is appreciated!!!

By Vicki on Friday, December 19, 2008 - 09:44 pm:

Ugh... you will find it soon enough, there is nothing as bad as the smell of cat urine! I hope you get it resolved quickly! I would be tempted to lock the cat in a room with a vinyl floor and the litter box until she started using it! But I am sure he will have a better suggestion! LOL

By Scott on Friday, December 19, 2008 - 10:09 pm:

It might be a height preference. Try the old box or a box of similar height and see if she uses it. If she does, then there ya go.

By Mrs_B on Friday, December 19, 2008 - 10:59 pm:

Cats are very picky about how they like things and don't adjust to change very well. When we bought Sammy (our Bull Mastiff) the cat freaked and would no longer comes downstairs where his litter and food was. Instead, he was plotting revenge and peeing in our closet. After a few months battle, I finally gave up and moved his litter box, food and water into my closet. He no longer pees. I HATE it being there but I much prefer that over the cat urine smell that never goes away! Cats always win the battle, it seems!

(I even went as far as to talk with a cat behavior specialist. He was recommended by my dog trainer and coincidentally is the cat trainer for the animal show at Sea World.)

By Crystal915 on Saturday, December 20, 2008 - 10:47 am:

Thanks for the replies, I will try the old box. If that's the issue, I'm in a spot, because I don't have any way of keeping the other animals out of it, or keeping the litter *in* the boX!

By Emily7 on Saturday, December 20, 2008 - 10:51 am:

What I have always done is I lock the cat and the litter in a room for a day or two to try to acclimate them to the new box.
I also used a baby gate to keep the dogs out of the room with the box when I had dogs that got into it.

By Crystal915 on Sunday, December 21, 2008 - 10:31 am:

Well, I can't even use the baby gate thing, because we don't have enough space, so the litter box is in an open room. I tried switching back to the old box, we'll see how that goes.