2 New Cats and 1 New LitterKwitter

[Aurora]

Friday August 20
Fry urinated sometime after the 10am feeding. I didn't catch him doing it but I called him back into the bathroom to get a treat and praise, something I wouldn't have done before we started the "more praise, more punishment" program.

Majel urinated around 6:30pm and a few minutes later she defecated. The cats were fed late (at 1am) and Fry urinated shortly thereafter.


Saturday August 21
Accident-free day.

Sunday August 22
Fry urinated around 6am this morning, and half an hour later he went straight back to the LK. He dug around a lot, but eventually jumped down to dig on the floor, for which he got spritzed with water. He left the bathroom and then wanted to be chased around the house (his favourite game). I obliged him even though I wanted to go back to bed because I figured it would stimulate his need to go; maybe Fry wanted to play for just that reason. Sure enough, after running around he went straight back to the LK on his own and defecated, good boy! He had difficulty expelling the final piece of feces because it was caught in my hair, which he apparently eats. I am going to try to anticipate his defecating needs better and feed him pumpkin at the right times so that he can defecate more easily - I think that it might help his training.

Majel urinated after the 10am feeding.


Monday August 23
Fry again urinated around 6am this morning. I hope he gets back to a more reasonable hour soon. Majel urinated in the early afternoon.

Tuesday August 24
Majel urinated around 8am and Fry urinated around 9:30am.

After the 10am feeding, Fry went straight to the LK and began digging around. He eventually got down and went into the bedroom to dig. I hadn't closed anything off because I wasn't expecting him to defecate for 1-2 more days. He got spritzed for digging on the bed, and then he went back to the LK himself. He got down again and gave up, so I decided to give him a big spoonful of pumpkin which he gobbled up. After eating the pumpkin he headed straight back to the LK and defecated, good boy! I want to anticipate his schedule and give him pumpkin with his meals before he is due to defecate in hopes that he will have an easier time passing it and more success with the LK. His schedule was off this time - perhaps due to the bag of treats he got into late Sunday night - but I will keep trying.

Fry urinated around 11pm.


Wednesday August 25
Majel may have urinated this morning around 8am but my fiance couldn't tell. I saw her urinate for real around noon, although two minutes later she's back in the LK, so maybe she's been doing little pees in her run-up to defecating. And after several fakeouts, she finally did just that.

Fry urinated around 5pm.


Thursday August 26
Majel urinated around 8am this morning. Fry urinated around 1pm.

[Sintija]

It's amazing to hear that pumpkin really works so quickly! I haven't tried with my kitties, I guess I never had a real reason, but this method has always amazed me

Fry seems to listen to 'All-Powerful Spritz Bottle', haha. Good on you. I'll keep it in mind should one of my cats go terribly stubborn. I am somewhat advocating this method on the forum to others as well as I think it's a great method and does no harm.

[Aurora]

The spray bottle has been great! After months of being stalled with Fry never ever choosing the LK to poop, it is such a breakthrough to see him really learning now. I swear I can actually see his little gears turning as he thinks about what he's supposed to be doing now - he actually seems to be *trying* now (before the only thing he was trying was my patience, har har).

Now that the spray bottle method has gotten Fry to choose the LK first all the time, I just need to get him to stay up there without giving up. That's where the pumpkin is coming in; I figure the easier I can make it for him to poop, the less chance there is he will give up after a minute. I should clarify that he has never had to strain to poop or seemed to be in distress, but if it doesn't happen within the first few seconds he tends to give up and try the floor.

My next strategy will be to mix some pumpkin directly into all of their food the next time I make a homemade batch.

[Aurora]

Friday August 27
Fry urinated at 9am. He got pumpkin in his breakfast today in the hopes that he defecates today or tomorrow. Majel urinated right after the 10am feeding.

We were out all evening until midnight, and when we came home I discovered that there was some urine in the green disk and feces on the floor in front of the toilet. Fry must have dirtied the LK and then later defecated. Since I don't expect either cat to go again until tomorrow morning, I'm leaving Fry's mess there all night. He has already tried to bury it multiple times.


Saturday August 28
Fry spent all night trying to bury his feces on the floor so hopefully he got the message that it's better done in the toilet. My fiance cleaned it up this morning before either of the cats had to go. Fry urinated after the 10am feeding. He got urine on the green disk again, which has happened a few times this week. It never used to happen at all, I wonder what's up with that.

Majel got onto the LK around 11am, but I disturbed her trying to take photos and she gave up. She returned an hour later and urinated.


Sunday August 29
Fry urinated at 10am and got a treat, plus breakfast, as his reward. Majel got in the LK a few times around noon but didn't urinate until 7pm. She defecated shortly after the 10pm feeding.


Monday August 30
Fry urinated at 9am. He got pumpkin in his food at the 10am feeding and after he finished he headed straight for the LK, but after digging around for a minute he gave up and wanted to be chased around the house. After running around, he went straight back to the LK. After a minute of digging, he jumped down and started digging on the floor. When I poked my head into the bathroom he went back to the LK and defecated.

Majel urinated around 6pm.


Tuesday August 31
Fry urinated at 9am. Majel urinated around 6pm and Fry urinated again after the 10pm feeding.


Wednesday September 1
Fry urinated sometime after the 10am feeding. I didn't catch him doing it but I called him back into the bathroom to get a treat and praise. Fry got pumpkin with his dinner and Majel urinated after the 10pm feeding. Fry urinated at 11pm.


Thursday September 2
Both cats got some pumpkin in their breakfast in the expectation that they will defecate today or tomorrow. Fry urinated right after breakfast. He went straight to the LK at 11am to defecate. He dug around for awhile and then got down, but he didn't scratch on the floor! He just sat there for a moment before getting back up onto the LK and trying again. He did this a couple times before finally defecating, what a good boy!

Majel urinated around 7pm and Fry urinated again after the 10pm feeding. Majel got pumpkin with her dinner. The next time I make a batch of homemade food I am going to mix the pumpkin directly into all of it.