stitchwhich | Appeal to the LJ Brain Trust (Reply)

I have a cat who is beginning to cause me enough dismay that today I actually found myself wondering if I was going to have to find a new home for her - and yet, I think the problem may have an easy solution, one that I haven't thought of.

The thing is, she's a bit overweight (although with a Manx, that's hard to tell from body shape) and I know for sure that she has difficulty jumping/lifting herself up. As a kitten, no surface was safe from her - as an adult, if there aren't handy chairs or footstools to use, she stays at ground level. I think the two may have something to do with her problem. She doesn't always get everything inside the litter box. Solid stuff, yes. But liquid stuff - no. I've bought the largest box I can find and while that helped for a long while, last year we began noticing a puddle of stinky stuff under the box. So I bought the large 'puppy training pads' and set the box on it. Just lately, she's taken to (I think, we haven't caught her) putting her front feet in the box and using the pad rather than climbing all the way in. Not ALL the time, but often enough to cause a mismia of kitty-stink nearly every day until I dread going near the hallway, expecting that I'll smell it and have to go clean it again.

I am allergic to cats & dogs dander and sinsitive to the smells they produce. The smell of kitty box will induce a severe sinus reaction (itching, clogging, massive headache) and cause swelling in my throat - not 'life threatening', just two days of severe headaches and a week of sore throat each time it catches me. So you see my problem.

I thought perhaps I'd try an enclosed box, since she obviously understands what they are for and is trying to use it... maybe if she didn't have an edge to hang over, it would re-train her? Do you have any other ideas or suggestions?

This is 'training', not 'biological' - she is physically fine. But I don't know how long I can live with the repeating headaches and sore throat.