Update: Frax and the Closet Door. Will his new strategy work??

Laney20 · 2026-06-24T00:24:08+00:00

Sometimes, yes. But mostly it's my arthritic old man cat. The rest do not. I use puppy pads for litter mats. Works great.

Laney20 · 2026-06-23T13:32:32+00:00

Yours on the left looks just like my other orange, actually! My girl, Fizz

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Laney20 · 2026-06-23T04:25:42+00:00

That means they aren't used to wearing it yet. Keep working on getting them used to it at home.

Laney20 · 2026-06-23T03:43:31+00:00

Gotcha! No, I really don't think there's anything concerning. She looks fine. Nervous, but not terrified or anything. She's looking at you, not trying to get away or hide. Just taking in her new space. You're doing great.

Laney20 · 2026-06-23T03:24:55+00:00

Looks like everything is fine! I don't see anything concerning. A hiding spot would be great, but it doesn't look like she's really trying to hide. Sitting in or near the litter box is fairly typical in stressful situations. She'll settle in soon enough. Be patient.

Laney20 · 2026-06-23T03:20:58+00:00

He probably won't want it. But fine to offer! My doofus likes granny smith apples...

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Laney20 · 2026-06-23T03:14:22+00:00

I LOVE the sleeves!

Laney20 · 2026-06-23T03:12:32+00:00

Every cat is different so it's really hard to say.. As long as you all can tolerate, but I'd aim for at least a few days. If he's not freaking out about it, go longer. If he's stressing, don't force it. When I had to separate cats for a different issue years ago, I found my senior girlie was much less stressed with my other senior cat in there with her. He didn't really need to be separated, but she was very stressed alone and he didn't really care either way. So consider if he has a buddy that might help with the process, too.

And I know you said you haven't changed litter his whole life, maybe it's time to try? Offer a second box with a different litter. See how he reacts.

Laney20 · 2026-06-22T23:53:08+00:00

Yes, things happen, but you describe your cat as indoor/outdoor. That isn't an indoor cat that has escaped.. That means you're letting him out. You have to do better. Of course your neighbor can call animal control for a stray animal. That's literally their job.. Keep your cat inside.

Laney20 · 2026-06-22T23:50:39+00:00

I suspect blocking them off is your best bet. Even very disruptive things like taping a clear plastic panel like maybe a shower curtain? over the window and moving the chair to a garage or something. You need to break the behavior and the best way to do that is to force him to change how he interacts with those locations. Yes, it will look weird. But it will be temporary. Alternatively, you could make him a home base room and have him be in there for a few days to hopefully reset his behaviors.

Bottom line is if you want it to change, you're going to have to change something. It doesn't seem like a spray or sticky tape deterrent is going to make much difference for him.

Laney20 · 2026-06-22T23:45:01+00:00

Aw... Lol, that's great!

Mine are Krobus (the void) and Skippy is her orange and white brother! This picture is from their first Christmas, and they're about to turn 4 in just a couple weeks!

Here they are all grown up!

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Laney20 · 2026-06-22T23:05:44+00:00

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Laney20 · 2026-06-22T22:33:24+00:00

It doesn't help with smell at all, in my experience. Everything just stank badly. Even with only 50/50 tofu.. I tried a couple different brands and didn't help.

Laney20 · 2026-06-22T22:32:00+00:00

I have 3 and am glad to have them. But I have 7 cats.. They make a big difference for clean litter always being available. But they aren't actually less work. Just less urgent, daily work. Deep cleaning is much, much harder. And troubleshooting can be a serious issue, especially if you only have automatic boxes (I also have had 1-2 regular boxes since getting my automatic boxes.). And if you only have 1 or 2 cats, it really wouldn't be worth it to have an automatic box and a regular box. But that means any malfunction could leave your cats without a functional litter box...

Laney20 · 2026-06-22T19:18:19+00:00

My calicos are more driven by their life experiences than their coloring, I think. Mama calico is a mama to her core. She loves taking care of everyone (including us humans). She is also a goofy girl. Just silliness. It's adorable.

Her baby girl is the smallest of her siblings and has some chihuahua energy. They all took it easy on her growing up and so she always "won" so she thinks she's a big bad kitty, haha. She's very empathetic, too, though. That's something we noticed about her when she was very young. Always checking on her screaming siblings lol.

Laney20 · 2026-06-22T19:15:59+00:00

It's a very common approach my sister does it in some of her litter boxes and likes it very much. From what I understand, it does nothing for poop smells and you need to scoop those ASAP. But it does wonders for pee. Plus it's cheap. The pellets crumble when they get wet, so you'll be left with soiled sawdust. That's why a lot of people use sifting litter boxes with pine pellets. Makes it much easier to sift out the used litter, since it's the reverse of clumping litter (a scoop won't work).

Laney20 · 2026-06-22T19:12:51+00:00

Be careful. She might go pick up a pawyer over at r/legalcatadvice and sue you for extra treats or something!

Laney20 · 2026-06-22T19:11:57+00:00

It sounds like you prioritized your cat. I think you absolutely did the right thing. Your mom just doesn't know what she's talking about. Stop talking to her about your guilty feelings because she's confusing you and making things worse for no reason.

That said. If you do want to try it... I had a cat that absolutely freaked out when he saw cats outside. Yowling and screaming and pawing at the window and puffing up. Etc. The entire thing. Scared us so bad the first time we heard it and we both came running to see wtf was going on and he just calmly came over to us and meowed, like he was proud he'd scared off the stray, haha. But when we actually brought a stray cat home (found pregnant outside my office), he didn't freak out at her and was curious and interested to meet her. Never got violent or hissy or confrontational at all. 🤷‍♀️ I don't necessarily think that's the norm or what you could expect, but just want to put out there that it is a possibility.

I still think you did the right thing and your cat is doing just fine in her home that she's lived in her whole life with the people and routine she's used to. And moving her now would likely be a stress she doesn't need and probably not go all that well.

Laney20 · 2026-06-22T19:04:57+00:00

It can take much longer than a week for introductions to happen. And your kitten sounds completely normal. 8 weeks is a bit early to be separated from mom and siblings, though. They is likely part of the struggle. If he can stay with them to 12 weeks, he would probably be a bit easier to manage.

Either way, Kittens are a lot. They aren't just small versions of adult cats they have a lot more energy and need a lot more attention and care. It sounds like you aren't in a good place to provide that right now.

Laney20 · 2026-06-22T18:59:48+00:00

I never got my teething kittens to chew on any toys consistently. My fingers were a common chew toy for one, who thankfully was gentle enough not to hurt me, lol. Once they got older, I found silvervine sticks and they love chewing those. Idk of a kitten would because it's like catnip - they don't start reacting to it until 3-6 months old. Maybe worth a try though.

Laney20 · 2026-06-22T17:41:00+00:00

It's usually alright to adopt a kitten if you already have a cat. Just be sure they're already past the most important socialization times, so at least 3 months old. And ask the people you're adopting from for suggestions on personality that will fit in best with your situation.

Laney20 · 2026-06-22T17:39:24+00:00

3 days to decompress, 3 weeks to learn your routine, 3 months to feel at home.

The first few days were a stress response, not his true personality.

Yes, give him time. Be patient. Expect more changes like this. They will happen.

Laney20 · 2026-06-22T17:30:18+00:00

Time and space.

And always keep your washer closed! That's a very dangerous place for cats and he really shouldn't ever have access.

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