|
Solving Litter Box Problems
click
here for a printable version
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
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. 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.
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.
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
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.
She associates the
box with punishment (someone punished her for eliminating outside the
box, then placed her in the box).
What You Can Do
Keep the
litter box extremely clean. Scoop at least once a day and change the
litter completely every four to five days. If you use scoopable litter,
you may not need to change the litter as frequently. 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. A
good guideline is that if you can smell the box, then you can be sure
it’s offensive to your cat as well.
Add a new
box in a different location than the old one and use a different type of
litter in the new box. Because your cat has decided that her old litter
box is unpleasant, you’ll want to make the new one different enough that
she doesn’t simply apply the old, negative associations to the new box.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Other Types Of House Soiling
Problems
Marking/Spraying: To
determine if your cat is marking or spraying, please see our handout:
"Territorial Marking In Dogs And Cats."
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 (see our handout: "The Fearful
Cat".
|
Lewis Clark Animal Shelter
