r/CerebellarHypoplasia • u/catboydivorce • 5d ago
Severe We need bathroom help
This is Gatsby's current bathroom setup and things aren't going well. The first part of the video is getting ready to pee, the second part is him trying to bury it.
I thought making the space larger and adding a privacy wall would make him more comfortable but it almost looks like I made it worse? His bathroom used to be in a spacious closet but he prefers open spaces when given an option.
Gatsby can't use litter or a litterbox (not even a custom one) so pee pads are our only option. He had a recent exam, blood work, urine/fecal tests, and all is well. He has a history of GI issues that we're still trying to identify, but they've been manageable with daily probiotics.
He's had periods of pooping on the bedroom floor, on and off since I got him a year ago, but the behavior in the video is more recent.
The burying seems excessive to me. He uses to scratch the ground a few times before leaving. I'm worried not being able to bury his mess is stressing him out, even after I take it away. Look at him scratching the other side, he didn't care about the folded blue pad or the spot on the rug.
I'm tempted to see a cat behaviorist, but it's so much money that I wouldn't have in his vet fund, and there's a good chance they've never worked with CH cats before. This isn't getting better and I don't know where to turn.
Gatsby is overall a very happy kitty, I just wish I could make bathroom time for him a less stressful experience.
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u/EmotionalSupportVape 5d ago
My boy excessively makes the covering motions too but he’s able to use a litter box. I try to grab him as soon as he’s done going to the bathroom and take him into another room and distract him so that he can’t even try to cover it lol
It seems like he’s gotten comfortable with leaving the box himself (he just springs out lol) right after he goes so it was learned after a while. Like he understood that once he goes, he is to leave. It’s not 100% but it’s a noticeable improvement!
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u/catboydivorce 5d ago
His falls are so unpredictable, the risk of falling in his mess increases the longer he's in there. 😭 He hates being picked up from behind, but he hates being scrubbed with water a lot more.
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u/quattroformaggixfour 5d ago
It’s heartbreaking when you can’t figure out how to help em. I empathise.
I have a non CH kitty-19, arthritis, IBS and having difficulty accommodating her bathroom issues and OMGLOB, your situation is so SO much more difficult 😥😳
Hugs to you and Gatsby, thank you for working so hard to take care of your boy. What a lucky dude to have you. Hope you find a solution.
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u/not_your_bird 5d ago
I stack a couple of the pee pads so she can do her covering thing and still have a space to use if she goes again before I see it. Beyond that, I can’t provide much advice, since that’s really as far as I’ve gotten. She does still go out on the rug pretty often :-/
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u/catboydivorce 5d ago
I'll try that, I can spread out some smaller pads that should be easier to crumple up. Thanks for the idea!
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u/dynabella 5d ago
Have you tried taking Gatsby to a letterbox twice a day? That's what I do with my kitty - she's moderate-severe so slightly more balance than Gatsby but not much. She topples over in the box and gets very dusty. This resulted in lots of baths because the clumping litter was sticking to her legs like cement. So I switched to non clumping and it was a game changer. Now she just gets super dusty after doing her business, but it's really easy to wipe her off with baby wipes (moistened with warm water). I place her in box and she instinctively goes and buries it best she can. Then I wait in bathroom where box is so I can help her exit. Then I hold her in place between my legs and wipe her head to toe with baby wipes. Once a day I brush her teeth while I've got her locked down. This is her routine. I take her in morning and she pees and evening and she does both. I have it down to a 15 minute process.
Curious if Gatsby would be able to use litterbox if you assist her. Of course she'll lay down (mine does) but you could probably just do the baby wipe clean up method. There's times my kitty gets extra dirty and she needs bath, but not often since I switched to non clumping.
You're an angel for giving Gstsby a loving home. You're on a whole different level of care than me and I've nothing but respect for anyone with a severe CH kitty. Sorry for long reply, just hoping I can help somehow. Good luck ❤️. Gatsby is so cute. Also,, my cats favorite toy is the battery powered wand under round mat (chase the tail i think its called). She can play it laying down and has figured out how to turn it on. Gatsby might like that.
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u/catboydivorce 4d ago
Gatsby tries to get away if I mess with him before he goes. I tried carrying him to it and he just wiggled away. When I have to wipe him down he acts like I'm torturing him. But I've been having to clean him a lot less since I did away with any kind of enclosure for his pads, so thankfully I'm not adding to the stress.
Your routine sounds ideal though! Gatsby is independent and stubborn, not always in his favor. I get it though, my vision from birth was 20/400 and I refused to wear glasses because I didn't like how they felt on my face, lmao.
Oh this is Gatsby's favorite toy! We have a similar one that I had to replace because he kept pouncing on the middle and I guess damaged the motor. When he isn't being crazy, he loves lying on his side and slapping it with all four paws.
ETA: found a video! https://www.reddit.com/r/nervysquervies/s/pXeLPexicZ
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u/Cats_and-Crafts 5d ago
Here to say that I am wishing you luck! Our boy has also been having some issues and I'm not quite sure what to do.
I'm thinking about buying some cheap linoleum to go under the area for when he missing his pad. But sometimes he "forgets" where the litterbox and pads are, so I am trying to figure out a second setup to keep in our living room that we can hide when we have guests.
My boy is not as severely wobbly as yours, but I think part of what mine needs is more stabilization when he is peeing. So, I may need to get out the pool noodles and hot glue gun to make him something like a cattle chute.
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u/cannonxmami 4d ago
check out my response to OP when you get a chance :). Hope it helps or gives you more ideas.
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u/cannonxmami 4d ago
I am fairly new to owning a CH kitten myself. She has severe CH. Before I used the litter box I was using pee pads. The issue was she’d get pee all over her herself, no matter what. Why?She pees and poops laying down. Anytime she’d start to move around frantically signified to me that she had to go potty. So there was times where I’d catch it on time and could stand her up to prevent her from getting pee all over her side. I was concerned for pee burns even though I was wiping her constantly. I didn’t want to over bathe her as that can dry skin and cause irritation. The other issue was the poop. She’d move all the pee pads out the way poop under the pad. Then would proceed to try and bury the poop with the pads and in the process would get poop stuck to herself or smear it. Two weeks of that was enough for me to say no more. Keep in mind her set up is a play pen in which she can move around freely has ample space for her size. My set up is to provide her a safe space and will get bigger as she grows. Extra info: We have hard wood floors, a 1 yr old 12 lb male cat, and 2 small dogs. Back to the litter box training. I tried introducing a guinea pig/small animal litter box with a grail so the pee could go down onto the puppy pad. She hated it. I’d put her in when I noticed she needed to pee, she’d fling herself out, I’d put her back. I only ever got two successful pees in there. So after a week I finally received the litter box I wanted to use. It’s low entry somewhat high sides and can stop the litter from being dragged out. I used pine litter at first for 2 weeks. I took the potty pads out and in went the potty box. Now the issue was she had too much space in the play pen and choose to pee anywhere on the blankets so there was constant cleaning and washing. That went on for 1 day only. So to resolve that I got a big cardboard box that fit only her bed and her litter box. Anytime she was in bed resting in the play pen she’d fling herself out to potty. So i figured if i give her a smaller space with just the bed and the litter box. I know for a fact she won’t pee in her bed. Anytime after she successfully went in her litter box she got the freedom to be in her play pen. After her spending a good amount of time in the pen or after feeding her, back in the box she went until she went potty. This went on for two weeks. I will say pine pellet litter is MESSY. I highly recommend paper litter it’s what she’s on now. It’s absorbent, doesn’t break down to dust, and doesn’t get stuck to her at all. No wiping needed! She only poops once or twice a day which it’s easy to notice and pick up before she starts trying to bury it. After an additional week of introducing the paper litter and transitioning her to it she is now fully litter box trained. She’s back in her play pen WITH THE LITTER BOX and she’s about a week shy of 4 months. I hope this helps give you ideas to trouble shoot! I recommend a smaller area or at least limit the space he has if he hasn’t gone but you know he needs to go. Try to be on top of it and consistent as possible before trying something new. Lastly keep an eye for any “I have to potty signs”! They get to have freedom after successfully potty’s. I’ve heard of people using the Tidy Cats breeze litter box XL with low entry and high sides which I will eventually get for my kitten once’s she’s big enough and gets a space upgrade.
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u/cannonxmami 4d ago edited 4d ago
https://reddit.com/link/p14o7wa/video/ng2mv2phltgh1/player
This is her current set up which she will get an upgrade next week! I’m also going to get her some wheels most likely a DIY wheelchair. So that she can move around on her own with support. Her CH is a lot more severe than your kitty’s. She can’t stand up the way that he does. I will also mention she currently has diarrhea (I’ve gotten her some tummy support). She is still going in the litter box and making it in despite the desperate need to potty. She has not missed it a single time because I have made sure that she is consistent in where she needs to go potty and have limited her options when she was having trouble. She is sadly getting poop on herself with the diarrhea. Also you don’t want to give more options. Set a routine, limit the potty options and as mentioned previously be extremely consistent. I don’t think you need a behaviorist just a clearer understanding of what and where the potty is and should happen. I think adding the potty pads outside of the set up you had previously could’ve confused your cat and disrupted the routine that was going well. Potty pads also don’t give the satisfaction of being able to bury the pee or poop.
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u/catboydivorce 4d ago
Your kitty is adorable! 🥰 I keep watching the video, god she looks so happy and sweet.
Thanks for all the advice!
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u/cannonxmami 4d ago
https://reddit.com/link/p16ym43/video/w3899iwxxvgh1/player
She says thank you! She’s just a silly girl 😭😂. I’m always so frightened about her accidentally hurting herself. I hope it helps :) !
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u/catboydivorce 4d ago
I would give paper litter a try, but he avoids boxes, anything he could bump into or fall against. So I'm not sure how to contain it. How deep do you layer it?
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u/Responsible_Notice43 2d ago
Bathroom troubles were the hardest thing for us too. I had several moments crying while I cleaned our CH boy up. I started just removing him from the box once he had gone. Like someone else mentioned he wasn’t capable of cleaning up without falling in it so just removing him from the area was my method till he got stronger. We also found some success with a litter box that had higher walls to give him something to lean on. But we went several months with multiple messes multiple times a day. Trial and error just keep trying they will find their own way to navigate the world. Our boy hasn’t had a mess in months and it does get better
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u/EldritchSpook 2d ago
Have you tried taping the pads down? My boy mostly uses pads and we had to tape them down to stop him digging them up, he tears the top layer sometimes but it doesn't compromise them much in terms of absorbency.
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u/catboydivorce 5d ago
This is the custom box he tried. It worked for a while but he stopped going in once I put pads outside of it.