Help with an elderly cat and the litter box

Saw something recently on MY CAT FROM HELL. A cat was going outside the box all the time. It was stepping into the box with his back legs because of arthritis and hip dysplasia. He took a normal box and cut down the sides where he enters leaving it ground level. He only has to walk in and go. He started using the box right away. A cat does not go outside the box if he can help it and a 20 year old cat could very well be in pain. It would probably be a good idea to have him checked out by a vet too to make sure there isn’t something else going on that he could be treated with medication for. Good luck with Twinkles!

Hi Paris – yes, Twinkles may very well not want to step up into the box anymore. There may be some psychological issues associated with old age as well. Either way, try to make the box easier for him to get in and out of. I switched to a lower box when my duo were old.
Just like with elderly people, you want to make Twinkles feel comfortable and not associate anything with pain or discomfort.
Please give Twinkles scritches from me, I love elderly kitties!

Agree with everyone’s comments above, and the Cosequin might help too.

AV, how much did you give to Cuddles? I think that Lil Girl has arthritis in her front shoulder.

Deb, I can’t remember how many mg the cosequin capsules were, I got them from the vet and I opened one each day and sprinkled in her wet food …. she never seemed to even notice it was there ….

I found this link for cat capsules ….. might be worth a try ….

WinterT, try a place like home depot or Lowes, they sometimes have containers, or even large tops to containers that have low sides that would be easy to step over …. I actually had a small dog house, where the entry hold was only 2″ and put a low plasic tray inside with the litter in it … the tray was only about 3′ ….. Cuddles could easily step in to both, and it really contained the mess quite well …. of all her ‘issues’ she faced at the end of her 19 years, not using the litterbox was not one of them (thankfully!) …. best of luck!

Hey WT 🙂 I know this might sound silly but have you ever considered steps ?? I had someone with a similar issue .. She was able to adjust tray so side was lower but her girl didn’t want to use the try after cause she liked urinating against the side of the tray when she was in it so I though why not make steps for her one or two shallow steps even to make them out of old heavy books that might be at hand or some scap timber about…That way she can walk up and into tray a little easier and getting out will always be easy anyway cause the litter acts as a step from the inside out 🙂 it’s worth a shot..

No bother WT 🙂 old phone bool would be perfect just make sure it’s all shallow steps 🙂 let me know if it works 🙂 and make sure to keep litter topped up to a high level