Cats are strange creatures. Maybe not strange, but they are different than dogs. When something is bothering a dog, it is fairly easy to figure out what is going on. However with a cat, it can take some time and digging to figure out what is bothering them.
Which brings me to our cat Nestle. Last February, I wrote about how Nestle stopped using her litter box regularly.
Read When Good Kitties Go Bad
The vet thought that maybe Nestle was stressed since physically she seemed fine and her blood work was normal. At that time we made a few changes to try to relieve Nestle’s stress and encourage her to use her litter box more regularly. We changed the location of her boxes, changed the type of litter in her boxes, and bought some cat pheromones that were supposed to help any anxiety.
It worked for a bit but then stopped again a few months later. It was frustrating. I was wracking my brain trying to figure out what was going on with Nestle.
She was now having some physical symptoms including loose stools and losing weight. Her appetite was good but maybe her food was not agreeing with her?
We went back to the vet for another physical exam. I made sure to take a stool sample with me this time thinking that maybe she had a parasite. The blood work was again normal, but Nestle had lost about a pound from the last time she was at the vet and she is not a large cat so a pound is a lot for her. After evaluating the stool sample, Nestle was diagnosed with Giardia which is an intestinal parasite and very uncommon in an indoor cat.
Read How Does An Indoor Cat Contract Giardia?
Nestle was given medication to treat the Giardia. I gave Nestle the medication for three days then had to wait three weeks and repeat for three days. In addition to the medication, I changed Nestle’s food.
Read Nestle Gives Nulo Freestyle A Try
It was very gradual, but eventually Nestle’s little box habits improved. I also changed her boxes to ones that had high sides. I guess that did the trick because Nestle is now using her boxes regularly.
I think that because she had the parasite, she was going more frequently and filling up her boxes faster than I could clean them each morning. Once they were full, she found a new spot which was the floor.
I had cats growing up so I know they are strange creatures. Not really strange, but definitely different than dogs. When a cat stops using its litter box, it means something is wrong. The hard part is figuring what it is because it is not always apparent. Is it a physical problem? Is it a behavioral problem? For now I think I have Nestle’s issue figured out. For now.
I’m glad you got this figured out! Soth has started avoiding his box if I don’t get it cleaned quickly enough, too! His prescription food makes him pee a lot, so I have to scoop several times a day to keep him using it. Otherwise, he goes on the floor right next to his box or in the bathtub behind it. Cats are definitely strange creatures!
I’m so glad you’ve had success too! I really want to change Sam’s kitty litter, but I’m so afraid to rock the boat now that we’ve got her back to using it all the time as well. Cats are definitely very hard to figure out…. I’m not even sure what exactly we did right with Sam!
I love that photo of Nestle….she looks very mysterious! 🙂
Glad you figured that one out. Nothing worse than a cat not using the cat box. Everyone says having a cat is easy, but my mom says they are so much more difficult than dogs. They are wonderful, but very tricky to live with and understand.
Yeah, I’m glad her poops are better and she’s using the box!