Litter Box Care- to prevent or treat Elimination Problems

Most cats prefer a fine-grained, unscented litter substrate (e.g., clumping litter).

Boxes should be scooped 1 or 2 times daily.

Clumping litter should be completely changed at least weekly and more often if more than one cat uses it. Clay litter should be changed a minimum of every other day (more frequently if multiple cats are using it).Wash litter box with warm, soapy water and dry well before adding new litter.

The ideal number of litter boxes is one per cat, plus one. Litter boxes should be placed in at least 2 different locations, and preferably more if a multiple cat household. Locations should be private and have easy access. Boxes should not be placed next to noisy appliances.

Prevent blocking litter box exit or entry of one cat by another. Have at least two ways for cats to enter and exit the box.

Never trap or corner a cat in its litter box to give it medication or perform other procedures that the cat may dislike.

Many cats prefer a litter depth of approximately 1.5 inches; however, preferences vary.

Cats prefer litter boxes that are at least 1.5 times the length of their bodies. Many commercial litter boxes are too small for larger cats. Sweater storage boxes, cement mixing tubs, and small dog litter pans (for dogs up to 35 pounds) all make excellent cat litter boxes.

HELPFUL FACTS REGARDING URINATION AND DEFECATION:

The average cat urinates twice daily (+/- 2), and defecates once (and up to 3-4 times in outdoor cats) daily.

Some cats sniff and cover their eliminations; others don’t. Both are considered normal behavior.

Eliminating outside the box often signals an underlying medical condition.

The earlier the problem is corrected, the better the chance for the cat to return to the litter box.

Call your veterinarian to schedule an appointment.

Websites of interest about inappropriate elimination:

Indoor Cat Initiative

Planet Urine

Are you curious about what your vet looks for when evaluating urine samples? Why is the time of urine collection and how it is collected important? The following Urinalysis link helps answer these questions. 

Urinalysis

Has your pet left your house a mess with inappropriate urination or defecation?  Anti-Icky-Poo® is a urine clean-up product recommended by Feline Behaviorists.  

Feliway- to reduce stress related behavior problems (after verifying an underlying infection or metabolic disease is not the cause of inappropriate eliminations).  

What is Normal Feline Elimination?

Cats voluntarily eliminate in 3 ways:

squat urination, defecation and urine spraying.

The typical housecat squat urinates 2X and defecates 1X daily. The cat shows a specific sequence of actions for squat eliminations: dig, squat, and deposit then maybe turn, sniff and cover.  Squatted urine forms a circle on the underlying surface. Cats choose squat elimination sites based on social interactions, previous site use and surface preferences or aversions. High-ranking, free-ranging cats may control preferred elimination sites. This may influence multiple cat household inappropriate eliminations, especially if a cat is stressed during the process of elimination.  Subtle interactions and interference between the cats may not be easily detected without close scrutiny by the pet owner.  Strategic placement of boxes in low-traffic locations that are easily accessible may help prevent inappropriate elimination, especially in multi-cat households. For indoor cats, the cleanliness of the litter box and/or removal of old boxes and purchase of newer and bigger litterboxes often correlates with a return to litter box usage.

Litterbox Trivia

Cats that dig for 4 seconds or less before eliminating may be candidates for inappropriate elimination behavior. Cats spend more time in boxes that are at least 1.5X the length of their bodies.  In other words, the bigger the box, the less problems occur.

Is your cat spraying?

The normal spraying sequence for a cat includes standing upright and holding it's tail vertically, possibly quivering the tail or stepping back and forth on the hind feet. Spraying produces a fan pattern with vertical streaks when it hits vertical surfaces and a long thin area on horizontal surfaces.  A cat may also posture to spray without releasing urine. Spraying is a normal cat behavior.  Intact males and estrous females spray more often than castrates or spayed females. Cats in multi-cat households are more likely to spray  than cats from single cat homes.

A detailed history of location of urine usually differentiates spraying from squatting.

Sprayed urine often is near doors, at floor to wall or floor to furniture leg junctions.

Spraying is one form of urine marking.  It may represent passive aggression. 

By following the recommendations above (veterinary exam, clean prior elimination sites, choose the appropriate size and number of litterboxes, place boxes in several locations in the house, clean them regularly, make them easily accessible and in quiet, low-traffic, low stress locations), your cat(s) should learn to eliminate in the litterbox.