Ahhhh, the joys of re-litterbox training.
 
In their cage my three gals used the litterboxes perfectly (ok, so I had
a litterbox on every floor and bedding in all other non-litterbox corners
- minor details!).  When out they used newspaper in the corner.  Well,
they've been free roam for a few months now, so I guess my gals forgot
their litterbox etiquette.  I set up litterboxes in their chosen corners
of my apartment to remind them of proper poop protocol.  We're moving in
a couple of weeks and I needed to get their little bums in shape before
they're in their carpeted bedroom.
 
The retraining has not been going well.  Mikette was the biggest
offender, repeatedly going next to the litterbox.  I thought perhaps she
was having difficulty with the 1 inch front wall of the litterbox.  So I
found some with no front wall at all and happily set them up.  Mikette
continued to go next to them, and Jillie (suddenly having back up issues)
began to walk frontwards up to them, stop when her paws were in the
litter and go right on the edge, half poop in, half poop out.  She's
getting better.  But for Mikette I put a second box right next to the
first, so there would be no area "next to it" to go.  It would be
litterbox or bust.
 
Well, Mikette has been going in front of the litterboxes now (argh, the
poor carpets have no idea what they're in for!) But the real problem is
that when she needs to go again, she goes next to her first poop.  Which
means when I'm not home to clean them up promptly she creates a little
line of poop in front of the litterbox.  A line that Jillie and Baby
won't cross to use the litterbox, in other words a poop picket line.  So,
by the time I get home I have a nice little pattern of poops in front of
the litterbox.  So close and yet so far!
 
Risa
[Posted in FML issue 4654]