Conversations with Animals: Precious Messages and Memories Told by an Animal Communicator by Lydia Hiby with Bonnie S. Weintraub.
I liked this book. It was easy to read and there was a lot of useful information in the book for those owners who know that pets have feelings just like us. They also know a LOT more than you give them credit for. Lydia tells about a cat, Boo, who had stopped using his litter box (as none of us with cats have ever had that problem, huh?)
Boo was using the bath mat in front of the litter box to pee. The owner, of course, was frustrated and sought out Lydia to find out why this was happening. Boo said, “The bath mat is new and I don’t like the smell of the rubber base.”
Now cats mark unpleasant odors with their urine. They will mark other ammonia odors, such as marking windows after they have been washed with Windex. Fabric softener sheets are also an unpleasant odor to cats, so clothes and bedding dried with these sheets are favorites to urinate on.
Boo continued, “I like my new uncovered litter box. I liked my old litter better though. The new scented litter gives me a headache.”
Helpful tips. Believe them. After 30 years of being around veterinary medicine, inappropriate urination is one of the most interesting and time-consuming problems I see.
Another tip is to advise new pet owners to immediately take a picture of their pets and make a “Missing Pet” poster to keep in their pet’s health file JUST IN CASE. What a good idea. Who has time to search through hundreds of images trying to find a good picture of their pet when they are in a panic? I also think microchipping is an excellent option. It’s usually available through your local animal shelter for a very reasonable price, but many vets are also chipped.