Ask The Cat Lady!

Sally Bahner is a member of the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants and has a private feline consulting practice. She is the "Dear Sally" on Tracie Hotchner’s Cat Chat Radio (www.catchatradio.com), found on Sirius, the Martha Stewart Living channel. She is a longtime editor and writer on everything feline.

Q: Dear Sally,
I am at wit's end trying to figure out why one of my cats started to use the kitchen floor for a place to poop (no urine, thank goodness). This started about a year ago. I have three cats that all get along well. I have three litter boxes in the basement. Could this be simply a matter of having all three boxes immaculate all of the time? Ditto is very ladylike. When she was the only kid in the house, she would always use the litter box. If I could break her of this habit by keeping the boxes sparkling ... would she change her ways? My house is a restored Victorian – the floors are the original 1895 floors! I just have to solve this issue. Please help me.
Doug
A: Dear Doug,
A simple answer to your question is "yes." A litter box can never be scooped too often, especially since you say Ditto is a Diva. Cats often like one box for peeing and one for pooping, so if you have three boxes with even a little bit of waste from the other cats, she may be put off. I’m also concerned when I hear about litter boxes in the basement, where it may be a matter of "out of sight, out of mind," for both the scooper (you) and the poopers (the cats).
It’s also hard to tell if Ditto may be ambushed down there even though she gets along with the other cats. An easy solution would be to have a litter box upstairs, especially since the rule of the thumb for litter boxes is one per cat, plus one. I’d suggest putting her poop in the box and showing it to her, but with the distance, she probably wouldn’t get it – unless it was nearish to a box by the kitchen.
Has she been checked for possible constipation? Sometimes that reflects where they go.
Sally

The Bunny Expert!

Susan adopted her first house rabbit 5 years ago and soon after got highly involved in rabbit rescue. She has volunteered at a local rabbit rescue group and a local animal shelter working with rabbits. She has since co-founded 3 Bunnies Rabbit Rescue Inc. Susan can surely answer all of your rabbit questions!

Q: Susan,
My rabbit is occasionally eating my cat's food. What should I do? Is it harmful to her?
 Rebecca
A: Hi Rebecca,
One of my rabbit's decided to try my dog’s food and I asked the same question to my rabbit vet. She said it probably won't hurt the rabbit but you should not let her eat it. Too much could make her sick or worse depending on what is in it. I like to be safe and would suggest bunny proofing. Move the bowl someplace higher that the cat can get to and not the rabbit or use an x-pen to separate the food area so bunny can't get into cat's food. Remember bunnies have delicate digestive systems and I would not chance possible problems. Hope this helps.
Susan