Litter box issues? Try these tips

10:27 PM, Apr. 9, 2012  |  Comments

Your veterinarian gave your cat a clean bill of health, and your detective work has pinpointed where your cat has accidents. What are your next steps to helping resolve your cat's inappropriate elimination?

It is important to understand what motivates your cat to not use its litter box. It also is important to know there isn't a short-term solution; your cat needs to change its behavior for four weeks to form a new habit.

Here are some tips to help your cat relearn to use the litter box:

1. There is a pheromone in urine that attracts cats back to a location once they have urinated there. Clean accident locations effectively with an enzymatic cleaner such as Petzyme so cats can no longer smell the pheromone and return to it. Soak the area and a wide area around it for 15 minutes before blotting up excess. This is very important to do before cleaning it with whatever other product might make it smell pleasing to you.

2. Change context. If your cat tends to urinate in a particular area, put something else there such as a scratching post, food dish or water bowl.

3. Try spraying the areas several times a day with the pheromone Feliway, which calms cats and reduces their urge to mark territory.

4. If your cat is afraid of children or other pets in the home, give it a safe room to escape and take a rest. Intervene in conflicts by redirecting your child to other activities or teach them how to play with your cat with toys. Respect your cat's need for rest and space from the family dog or other pets. Interrupt the dog's attempts to get your cat to play.

5. Work out tension between cats. When cats are aggressive toward each other, they can prevent each other from accessing food, water and the litter box. Bullied cats will avoid places where they have been surprised or attacked before. Often, a gaze from an aggressive cat may stop the victim cat from using the litter box. Pay attention to staring and redirect that behavior when you observe it.

6. Make sure you offer a litter box choice on every level of the house or in at least three separate locations. It is important not to have all the litter boxes in the same room when you are trying to solve a problem.

7. Give new litter box choices. Set up a choice at every location where your cat uses the litter box. Use open litter pans and try different kinds of litter next to itsr usual choice. An attractant litter contains pheromones that attract your cat to use it. Ask your veterinarian to recommend a good brand.

Inappropriate elimination can be a complicated issue. If these ideas don't seem to solve the problem, seek professional help. There can be a happy ending for cats and their people.

Animal Behavior
