The most common reason that people abandon or put down their pet cats is problems that develop around litter box use (or more accurately, nonuse).

If you've ever had a cat with litter box issues, you know how frustrating it can be. You've probably already read all kinds of articles that talk about the psychology of cats and how they react under stress and so on and so forth, and if your litter box issue has been going on for awhile you're probably sick to death of those articles. You probably don't want to hear another single word about how upset Fifi probably is.

I understand. I really do.

My cat is a great little cat, and for years he had no litter box issues whatsoever. He used the box, I cleaned the box, and that was the extent of the drama.

Then, one day, for no apparent reason, he decided that he would poop in the box, but pee in front of the box. Not long after that decision, he also began to spray under certain windows.

I took him to the vet, who gave me some suggestions and some advice.

I'll share it here with you. These things might work, they might not, but they're all worth trying.

Here's what the vet said:

• First, make sure your cat is healthy. Your vet will check to make sure your cat is well and does not have a urinary problem or parasites. Sometimes male cats get urinary tract infections, and the best way to know if yours has one is to have a vet test for it.
• If you cat turns out to be healthy, next ask yourself a series of questions. Is the box cleaned regularly? Lots of cats are finicky (just like people) and won't use a dirty box.
  
• Is a neighborhood cat spraying your doors and/or windows? This will often cause an indoor cat to mark his territory inside by spraying on the same spot.
  
• Is something stressing your cat? This is explanation shows up a lot in pet books and online, but our vet said in his experience it's overused and that usually, the cat is not having a nervous breakdown or anything, he just doesn't feel like using the box. From a cat's perspective, a litterbox is not ideal. Male cats especially often come into the idea that they should be able to pee where they like. It's not necessarily your fault, even though you hate it and its a problem. It's a problem for you. Your cat may be just fine with it, and it may be no more complicated than that.
  
• Are you using a litter with a strong scent to mask the smell of cat pee? Probably your cat doesn't like that; cats don't have the same taste in odors that humans do and what smells good to us often stinks to them. Try a more neutral litter.
  
• Is the litter box in a good place? Too public and the cat might not like it, too private and that can be a turn off too.
  
• After you'ver run through these questions, try mixing some dirt in with the cat litter. Sometimes the smell of dirt will attract the cat to the box and solve the problem just that simply. Another thing worth trying is litter with cat attractant already in it. 'Dr. Elsey's Cat Attract Litter' is a bit more expensive than other litters, but it will often solve the problem all by itself.
  
• If the cat is responding to an outdoor cat prowling around your house, try taking him outside on a leash (yes they do make cat leashes) and let him go around and spray each of the spots the other cat has marked. I actually did this with my cat, and although it looked and felt pretty silly, it also worked like a charm the very first time.
• Another helpful product is Feli-way by Comfort Zone, which comes in a spray bottle and contains a phermone that only your cat can detect. The phermone (which has no odor for people and does not stain) signals to the cat that wherever you spray it is a friendly place. It makes the cat relax. This stuff costs a fortune, I won't lie to you, but it's pretty effective, especially if you have a male cat that has been spraying the walls or furniture. Wash down where the cat has already sprayed, then use some of the Feli-way spray on the same spots every day for a week or so. It's truly amazing how well this works.
  

If you've tried already everything you can think of, including the things listed above, and lots of things you never imagined before, and your little darling is still leaving turds on your pillow and peeing on the couch, consider keeping him outside. Many people think that if a cat has been declawed, it can't survive out of doors, but in fact, cats are quite resilient and even declawed cats usually retain their back claws, which can inflict a decent amount of hurt on just about anything with designs on your pet.

If you put your cat out and let him in only at night, you'll have to keep up on vaccines and on flea and tick medications, and even with that. your cat may not live as long as he would as an indoor cat (let's face it, it's more dangerous out there, that's why you've been letting the fluffy angel live inside), but it's still far preferable to abadonning the cat on the side of a road, putting the cat down, or giving it to the humane society.

What happened with my cat?

He did go back to using his box once I took him on his spray walk and switched to the Cat Attract litter, and after I'd sprayed the whole house down with Feli-way for a few weeks. He often still prefers to poop inside the box and pee in front of it, no matter how clean it is or what kind of litter I use, so I placed the box on a tray and I just wipe it his pee up with a paper towel when he goes on the tray.

Not everyone would do that, I know.

It took him a long time to train me, but eventually, it did all work out.

Good luck.