Litter Box Issues
One of the main reasons cats get surrendered to shelters is house soiling due to failure to use the litter box. First let’s discuss some preventative steps, and secondly remedies.
Prevention
To minimize the chance of litter box problems developing consider these simple rules:
Keep the box clean. Scoop regularly, change litter often and clean the box itself with mild detergent do not use bleach solution, do not use strong smelling or potentially toxic cleaners without rinsing thoroughly. A good rule of thumb is scoop daily, change litter every 1 – 2 weeks, or as needed, and clean the box at the same time you change the litter. This will vary according to how many cats are in the household, how many litter boxes you have, and how large the cats are that are using the box or boxes. Covered boxes require even more vigilance because the fumes can stagnate under the hood, and your cat may find another place to relieve herself, more pleasant for her, less pleasant for you. A good guideline is that if you can smell the box, then you can be sure it’s offensive to your cat as well. Provide multiple boxes in multiple locations in multi-cat households. One box per cat is best, but usually you can get by two for one. However, as mentioned above you may need more than one, even for one cat.
Do not change litter abruptly. If you want to change brands. Put down two boxes, new and old. Gradually decrease the amount of old litter in the box. Remove completely when you are sure your cat has accepted the new litter, if he ever does!
Make sure the box is easily accessible. Take your cat’s age and condition into consideration. An older can may need boxes on each level because he just can’t make it from the second floor to the basement as fast as he used to. An ill cat also may need boxes on all levels. An arthritic cat may need a more shallow pan if she has difficulty getting in and out of a high sided or covered box. Small kittens need a smaller, shallower box to be able to climb in and out.
If your cat has surgery on her paws, and you know what we are taking about, she may avoid the box because scratching in the litter hurts her. We do not advocate declawing, but if you do so, then take steps to make sure your cat is as comfortable as possible and use shredded newspaper or soft flushable litters until her paws heal.
Make sure that the litter box isn’t near an appliance that makes noise or in an area of the house that your cat doesn’t frequent.
If ambushing is a problem, try to create more than one exit from the litter box, so that if the “ambusher” is waiting by one area, your cat always has an escape route.
Spay and neuter early. Spaying and neutering before the age of 6 months decreases the likelihood that a cat will engage in marking behavior, which you may view as a failure to use the litter box.
Solving Litter box Problems
If you can discover the cause, than the remedy can be fairly simple. However, most of the time the cause remains a mystery, known only to the feline mind. First, consider everything mentioned above under prevention. Secondly, consider one, all or some of the following options:
Urinating outside the box may also occur in the same spot again and again, but it occurs because the cat is drawn back to that spot by the odor. Cats tend to have surface and location preferences for where, and on what, they like to eliminate. Most cats prefer a loose, sandy substance, which is why they will use a litter box. It’s only when their preferences include the laundry basket, the bed or the Persian rug, that normal elimination behavior becomes a problem. With careful analysis of your cat’s environment, specific factors that have contributed to the litter box problem can usually be identified and changed, so that your cat will again use the litter box for elimination. Some common reasons why cats don’t use the litter box are: an aversion to the box, a preference for a particular surface not provided by the box, a preference for a particular location where there is no litter box, or a combination of all three. You’ll need to do some detective work to determine the reason your cat is house soiling. Sometimes, the reason the litter box problem initially started may not be the same reason it’s continuing. Pain is a big reason. The first thing to do when a cat begins to go outside the box is take it to the vet for a check up. A urinary tract infection or a kidney stone may be the cause. In a multi-cat household, one cat may be harassed at the box and therefore choose to go elsewhere. If the cat associates the box with something unpleasant, he will start to avoid it. For example, your cat may have stopped using the litter box because of a urinary tract infection, and has now developed a surface preference for carpet and a location preference for the bedroom closet. You would need to address all three of these factors in order to resolve the problem. Most of the time if it is due to illness after the cat is treated and cured they go back to using the litter box. Cats don’t stop using their litter boxes because they’re mad or upset and are trying to get revenge for something that “offended” or “angered” them. Because humans act for these reasons, it’s easy for us to assume that our pets do as well. Animals don’t act out of spite or revenge, so it won’t help to give your cat special privileges in the hope that she’ll start using the litter box again.
Medical Problems
It’s common for cats to begin eliminating outside of their litter box when they have a medical problem. For example, a urinary tract infection or crystals in the urine can make urination very painful. Cats often associate this pain with the litter box and begin to avoid it. If your cat has a house-soiling problem, check with your veterinarian first to rule out any medical problems for the behavior. Cats don’t always act sick, even when they are, and only a trip to the veterinarian for a thorough physical examination can rule out a medical problem. Discuss anti-anxiety medication options with your vet. Any behavior altering medication must be combined with a behavior modification program.
Cleaning Soiled Areas
Because animals are highly motivated to continue soiling an area that smells like urine or feces, it’s imperative that you thoroughly clean the soiled areas. Thoroughly clean the spots that have been soiled with an enzyme cleaner.
Aversion To The Litter box
Your cat may have decided that the litter box is an unpleasant place to eliminate if:
The box is not clean enough for her.
She has experienced painful urination or defecation in the box due to a medical problem.
She has been startled by a noise while using the box.
She has been “ambushed” while in the box either by another cat, a child, a dog, or by you, if you were attempting to catch her for some reason.
If you think your cat is marking or spraying because he sees another cat outside. Try to block his view with blinds or drapes.
She associates the box with punishment (someone punished her for eliminating outside the box, then placed her in the box).
Surface Preferences
All animals develop preferences for a particular surface on which they like to eliminate. These preferences may be established early in life, but they may also change overnight for reasons that we don’t always understand. Your cat may have a surface preference if:
She consistently eliminates on a particular texture. For example, soft-textured surfaces, such as carpet, bedding or clothing, or slick-textured surfaces, such as tile, cement, bathtubs or sinks. She frequently scratches on this same texture after elimination, even if she eliminates in the litter box. She is or was previously an outdoor cat and prefers to eliminate on grass or soil.
Some cats will urinate or defecate on tile or in the bathtub. These cats may prefer no litter in the box. Try using newspaper on the bottom of the box, or tilt the box using a pad or thin piece of wood. Put some litter in the low end. Your cat will use the end without litter and the urine will run down into the litter to be absorbed.
What You Can Do
If your cat is eliminating on soft surfaces, try using a high quality, scoopable litter, and put a soft rug under the litter box. If your cat is eliminating on slick, smooth surfaces, try putting just a very thin layer of litter at one end of the box, leaving the other end bare, and put the box on a hard floor. If your cat has a history of being outdoors, add some soil or sod to the litter box. Make the area where she has been eliminating aversive to her by covering it with an upside down carpet runner or aluminum foil, or by placing citrus-scented cotton balls over the area.
Location Preferences
Your cat may have a location preference if:
She always eliminates in quiet, protected places, such as under a desk downstairs or in a closet. She eliminates in an area where the litter box was previously kept or where there are urine odors. She eliminates on a different level of the house from where the litter box is located.
What You Can Do
Put at least one litter box on every level of your house.
Make the area where she has been eliminating aversive to her by covering it with upside down carpet runner or aluminum foil, or by placing citrus-scented cotton balls over the area.
Put a litter box in the location where your cat has been eliminating. When she has consistently used this box for at least one month, you may gradually move it to a more convenient location at a rate of an inch per day. There are detailed instructions for this in feline behavior books.
Place food and or water bowls at the spot previously soiled unless it is right next to the litter box. Cats like humans don’t like to mix the two going to the bathroom and eating in the same place.
Oops!
If you catch your cat in the act of eliminating in the house, do something to interrupt her like making a startling noise, but be careful not to scare her. Immediately take her to where the litter box is located and set her on the floor. If she wanders over to the litter box, wait and praise her after she eliminates in the box. If she takes off in another direction, she may want privacy, so watch from afar until she goes back to the litter box and eliminates, then praise her when she does. Don’t ever punish your cat for eliminating outside of the litter box. If you find a soiled area, it’s too late to administer a correction. Do nothing but clean it up. Rubbing your cat’s nose in it, taking her to the spot and scolding her, or any other type of punishment, will only make her afraid of you or afraid to eliminate in your presence. Animals don’t understand punishment after the fact, even if it’s only seconds later. Punishment will do more harm than good.
Marking/Spraying:
There is a difference between urinating or defecating outside the box and marking. Marking tends to be small amounts of urine on a wall or on the floor near a wall, and generally in the same one of two places over and over again. This is sometimes used as a defense mechanism by the cat when he or she feels insecure in the environment. It is more common in males but definitely occurs in females as well. Fears or Phobias: When animals become frightened, they may lose control of their bladder and/or bowels. If your cat is afraid of loud noises, strangers or other animals, she may house soil when she is exposed to these stimuli.