High Peaks Cat Shelter: Litter Box Woes

Feline Behavior: Litter Box Woes

A trip to your veterinarian for an examination is recommended to rule out the possibility of infection or some other inflammatory condition involving your cat's urinary tract.

When the problems are behavioral as opposed to medical, there are several steps you can take to try to eliminate this frustrating problem. Here are a few suggestions that have helped many cat owners:

1. Make sure the litter box is cleaned frequently...once or twice a week will not do for many cats; the build-up of ammonia in the urine will often make a cat look elsewhere to relieve itself. Scoop frequently, making sure the sides and the lid of the litter box are clean as well (a mild mixture of bleach and water on a wash rag does the trick!)

2. Many cats are finicky about the litter that is used in their boxes; stay away from heavily scented litters!!! Their noses are very sensitive to strong, perfumy smells, and they usually don’t like them!! A good, clumping, non-scented litter is usually all they need.

3. Cats need to be relaxed when they use their litter boxes; make sure to place them in a quiet, out of the way area in your home. Next to the washing machine, for example, or near where the kids are playing, may not be conducive to a feline wanting to use a litter box.

4. More than one cat? If one is refusing to use it’s litter box, it may be time to add a second box in a different area of the house where he may feel more comfortable, away from, possibly, a dominant cat that the second cat may be tense around.