Old Cat Needs to Learn New Trick

[howandwhy99]

Okay, I need some help. This past October I bought a condominium from my brother and at the last minute ended up adopting his cat as well. She is female and turning 16 this coming April. She is great to play with and very loving. She has maintained regular good health and eats well. I take her to the vet and keep her shots up-to-date. She is pretty frisky too, but is alone most of the day while I am at work. I've considered getting a second cat close to her age to keep her company, but that is not the main problem.

The Real Problem is getting her to go in her litter. Way back when my brother and I were growing up and he received "Garfield" as a gift he never trained her very well and my parents ended up having to feed and change the litter. After he moved out about 7-8 years ago he simply let her go all over the floor in each of his apartments. (As I have recently learned)

After buying the condo from my brother (professionally cleaned) I noticed that Garfield refused to go in her litter. Instead she goes in the same spot (all over the living room) since she moved into the apartment with my brother. This would be about almost two full years now. I have tried different methods to make her stop, but nothing seems to work. I change her litter daily, but most days this isn't necessary. Instead, I clean up were she goes when I am away at work. I have tried barring her from the room and spraying the area with a couple of different pet products to keep her away.

What I don't want to do is give her back to my brother (he is refusing her for just this reason), find her another home (as I've known her most of her life), or keep her in a kennel while at work (not feasible). I am planning on spending several thousands of dollars to redecorate many of the rooms, but I fear that new flooring (possibly wood this time) will not stop her.

Do you guys have any suggestions? She seems pretty stuck in her ways. The solution I can see right now may be to move to a new place, which I can't quite do.

[jason]

im on my way out here, so i only skimmed your post...but....

cats do not need litter training, not using the box is a sign of a problem and its not typically behavioral.

when was the last vet visit?

[Auntie Debbie]

A vet visit may be in order to rule out anything physical such as UTI or kidney related diseases. I does sound though that it may be a very bad habit she developed which your brother didn't curb.

http://www.catsinternational.org/articl ... index.html

Go to the link above and read all the tips on the page. One good suggestiion to to try to retrain her to use the box. Keep her in that room, with her food and water, etc until you know she's used the box a few times. The site will also give you some tips on ridding the areas she's gone of the odors, so hopefully she will not return there again.
There are more links on "Litterbox Problems" under the Feline section of my website (Debbie's Feline Health) listed under Favorites on the menu on the left side of the board. You may also find more help uner "Behavior" even though it's not really a behavioral issue...just bad training.
I hope you will be able to resolve this without moving! Good luck!