Litter box retraining after urine crystals

[LunaLG]

Hi fellow cat lovers.

Our cat was weeing all over the house so we took him to the vet and he was diagnosed with crystals in his urine. He's now on a urinary food diet and taking Metacam but still won't wee in his litterbox (he used to).

My question is - do we need to get him to trust it again? How can we get him to wee back in the box once his crystal pain has subsided.

Thanks!

Oh the poor boy, where is he weeing now?.

@fluffycloudland77 I know poor angel. He's on been 3 days on the food and meds so still weeing in all his usual spots. It's a nightmare to keep on top of and clean. I'm still convinced it's not all crystals but also a bit of anxiety. But I'm wondering if we should replace his litter tray to start anew. He used to be in there all the time but now does all his wees in the house 😭

It’s a very difficult one OP as part of me would say yes get a completely new litter tray and put it in a new spot to try and break the association it has with pain.
But then urine issues in male cats are linked to stress and a complete new litter tray and a new place for it may stress him out and make the problem worse.

Have you tried putting the tray in one of the spots he is weeing in?

for you OP it’s horrible when they are poorly

Thanks @ongranaryplease - it is sad when they are poorly. He has seemed a bit brighter since being on the new food for a week which is good.

I was thinking about replacing the tray - he is a curious little guy so maybe he would see it more as a new opportunity to explore. I quite like the idea of putting the litter tray in one of his hot spots too.