Feline Inappropriate Elimination

There are a number of medical conditions that can cause cats to urinate or defecate outside of the litter box (see Dr Hershey’s article entitled “Help! My cat is urinating outside the box” on our website). It’s important to work with your veterinarian to first determine and address the underlying cause for inappropriate elimination, but we also want to make the litter box the “Taj Mahal” of bathroom spaces to help attract your kitty back to good elimination behaviors.

Here are some tips to help make the litter box more attractive to your cat:

1. Make sure you have 1 more box than the number of cats in your house – if you have 2 cats, you should have 3 boxes, and so on.

2. Remove all hoods. Many cats dislike hooded boxes and will choose to eliminate elsewhere.

3. Scoop each box at least once daily, since many cats are EXTREMELY fastidious.

4. Make sure boxes are located in quiet areas where there are no startling noises (e.g., a buzzer from a dryer) that could cause an aversion to using the box.

5. Don’t overfill – Most cats don’t like more than 1-2 inches of litter and some even prefer just a tiny amount scattered across the bottom of the box. This is especially true for cats with arthritis pain (think about trying to walk in deep sand at the beach!). You can offer a couple options at first to see what your cat prefers.

6. Ensure all boxes are easy to reach and use, especially if your cat is elderly. Arthritis is under-recognized in older cats and can sometimes cause them to change their habits – if the box is too far away, difficult to reach (e.g., too high off the floor or on the other side of a baby gate they have to jump over) or has sides that are too high, your cat may find it easier to eliminate outside the box.

7. Larger boxes are generally better as well. A rule of thumb is that the box should be at least 1.5 times the length of the largest cat in the house. Underbed sweater storage containers that are large with low sides are great litter box alternatives.

8. Use litter that is attractive to your cat – stay away from perfumed litter, crystals (the chemical reaction can create an unpleasant hot sensation to the paw pads) and pelleted litter. Dr. Elsey’s Precious Cat Litter is an inexpensive scoopable clay litter that does not have perfumes, has an attractive texture for most cats and has great odor control. Occasionally, cats will prefer nonclay-based litter such as corn or wheat litter. Be sure your cat doesn’t try to eat veggie-based litter (yes, some cats will!).

9. If you offer multiple types of litter and boxes initially to see which your cats prefer to use, please make sure that every cat’s “vote” is taken into account – you don’t want to fix one cat’s issues while causing new problems for another!

10. Wash the box only with mild soapy water as needed – no strong smelling or ammonia-based disinfectants.

11. Feliway is a synthetic feline pheromone spray or diffuser based upon the natural pheromone that cats release when they are happily “cheekmarking.” It has been shown to have a calming effect for cats and improve litter box usage. Spray Feliway once daily at cat level on the entrances to the rooms where your cat spends the most time or plug in a diffuser in these rooms. You can also spray Feliway directly on areas that were previously inappropriately urinated upon – Do this 2-3 times daily until you see your cat “cheek-marking” the area, then gradually decrease use.