Expert: Jessica - 1/11/2010

Question
Jessica,
    We have an 10 month old neutered male himalayan (according to the vet %26 humane society). When we adopted him, he did have a history of illness as a kitten of vague %26 maybe undisclosed nature. He is very small (vet always guesses about 3-4mos old till they check his teeth- the humane society had his accurate birthdate)and lethargic but friendly. He eats constantly but is not over weight. He often follows us around meowing (always has a very weak, quiet meow) as if he needs food/ water but his bowl is not empty when we check. Also, he doesn't move when something is coming toward him (like setting down a backpack... without seeing him there or opening a door into him). A few weeks after we got him he stopped defecating in the litter box,unless we keep him in the room the box is in.  (urine seems to be getting there fine.) We also have a 2 yr old cat that he loves.  The vet has ruled out problems but I am wondering if he could have brain damage from being sick as a kitten?
  I will try the 2nd litter box & orange oil you suggested in your answer to another pet owner but wondered if I can put the 2nd box next to the 1st or do I have to put it in the spots he keeps going?  

Answer
Hi Linda.  Brain damage is certainly a possibility, and in fact, a cat that I had who suffered significant brain damage also had very poor reflexes, and it took her almost 2 years to litter train.  Sadly, there is little that can be done for these kitties except to treat them with patience.  Limiting them to one room with their litter box can be helpful in training them, but it may need to be a long-term situation for these guys.

You can try putting another litter box right beside the other - this often works out fine.  But if he's persistent about defecating in another spot, it’s probably best to place a box in the area that he finds appropriate to see if this helps.

I’m not sure if I mentioned Cat Attract in the other answer that you read.  This is a training litter formulated with an herbal attractant by a vet, to address just this kind of problem.  You can find a retailer at www.preciouscat.com.  If there is no retailer near you, there is also a Cat Attract additive, which you add to your own litter (unscented clumping litter only).  Though it says on their website it’s only available through vets, you can order it through various websites (entirelypets.com for one).  It’s much less expensive to have shipped to you than the litter itself.

Many of the symptoms you mention – clinginess, stunted growth, lethargy – can be indicative of an illness called FIP (feline infectious peritonitis).  This causes widespread tissue inflammation due to a virus and most often affects cats under 2 years of age.  It can cause neurological symptoms, anemia, organ failure and fluid build up in the abdomen and chest.  Sadly, the mortality rate is very high.  Your vet may have ruled this out as a reason for his symptoms, but if not, it could be worth it to have some blood tests run on him.  There is no perfect test for FIP.  The PCR test is the most accurate, but there may be false positives OR false negatives.  However, this test combined with a regular blood panel can be helpful when trying to diagnose a case when FIP is already suspected.  Fortunately, the disease is pretty rare, infecting only about 5% of cats.

Best of luck!

Jessica