Fastidious Himalayan Content with 2 Litter Pans
Giacomo was a 2 year-old Seal Point Himalayan cat with a penchant for (this cannot be put delicately) moving his bowels on the front hall throw rug. After laboratory tests, parasite screening tests, and a detailed conversation about his stresses (none) and his lifestyle (couch potato), his mom and I decided there was nothing wrong with Giacomo. He just liked going on that rug.
Giacomo’s mom wanted to get rid of the rug, as she was tired of washing it everyday. But she was rightly afraid Giacomo would start using her expensive Oriental dining room carpet if he couldn’t find his favorite. Giacomo was in serious threat of loosing his house privileges.
We devised a scheme whereby Giacomo was given two side-by-side litter pans. Of course, they were cleaned at least once or twice a day. Because Giacomo always went on the throw rug, almost no matter where he found it lying in the house, including in the laundry room, I diagnosed him with inappropriate elimination due to substrate preference. This means Giacomo liked to feel something soft under his paws when he relieved himself.
Giacomo enjoyed the choice of regular, soft, scoopable clay litter, which most cats appreciate very much, and even softer pelleted newspaper litter. The pelleted newspaper litter is often preferred by carpet cats. I would have bet he preferred pellets, if I were a betting person.
Giacomo used both litter pans! He urinated in the scoopable litter, and then moved his kitty bowels in the pelleted litter. We experimented to find out if he just liked having two pans. When only clay litter was put in both pans, he went back to the rug. So his mom and I decided, it was much easier to just buy two litter types and have two pans than deal with the nasty hall rug mess. And the dining room carpet lived happily ever after!
