What to do when Kitty Stops using the Litter Box

 Do not kick a cat out because it is not using the litter box, find the cause, and work towards a solution!

1. Human Error.

Too much too soon. A new cat or kitten might have a difficult time adjusting to a new house, reinforce where the litter box is by confining the kitty to a smaller area where their box will be kept, if you cannot confine your new kitty to a small area, shut other doors in the house so there are not so many other places to go. If you did not establish this and you are having problems with a new pet, or an old pet after a move, this is the reason.

Dirty Box. If you leave a litter box too long before you clean it, a cat may decide it would rather go someplace else.

Not enough boxes per cat. The rule is one litter box per cat, and ideally one more box in another place of the house.

Wrong choice of litter. Cats seem to prefer non-scented clumping litter. Although some cats will use any litter, many refuse to use scented litter, or litter with large pieces, this is especially true of declawed cats.

Bad placement of the litter box. If the box is placed next to the laundry machine or furnace, the cat might have had a scare when the cycle changed or the furnace kicked in.

Wrong choice of litter box. Some people find the self cleaning ones are easy, but these could scare a cat, some cats prefer covered boxes, and others like open boxes.

Declawing – declawed cats often refuse to use their boxes at some stage of their life because of the pain in their paws, while this may be considered medical, it is really human error since it is well known and preventable by human choice.

Low Quality food. Pet food with a lot of filler (corn, and by-products) will result in more trips to the litter box, thus more accidents because it puts a strain on their system to try to digest things cats were not made to be eating.

Photo from Wikimedia

2. Medical Reasons

Cats are prone to urinary tract infections and bladder problems. Many times these can be avoided by feeding a good quality pet food, one with low Magnesium. Calcium has also been linked to causing problems as such, cats should not get canned fish, or any dairy products. A veterinarian can diagnose and treat such a problem.

Holding it too long. If a cat is forced to hold their bladder too long, too many times, this can contribute to a problem.

If the cat is not spayed or neutered it may be marking its territory. Having the pet fixed should solve the problem, although if left too long it may take a while for results to show.

Worms. Although most problems involve a cat urinating out of the box, if the cat has bloody diarrhea or loose stool it may be a sign of worms which will irritate the cat to go inappropriately.

Diabetes. This often results in more frequent drinking, and more frequent urination, which might cause more accidents.

Breed. Some breeds of cats, such as Manx, Persian, and Himalayan, are noted for having litter box problems, especially the Manx breed.

3. Behavioral Reasons

Some cats are more high strung and can be territorial. Even a spayed or neutered cat with behavioral issues may spray inappropriately. A veterinarian can prescribe behavioral adjusting medications. You can try doing some fixes yourself. If there is a stray cat in the area and it is upsetting your cat you need to remove it, catch it and take it to your local pound or animal shelter. Make your place smell more like your cat, do not mask smells with the use of chemical sprays. Simply wipe a towel on your cat, picking up his or her scent, then rub the towel on the area your cat is messing. This will take repetition over several days.

Try putting tin foil down where your cat messes, they don't like stepping on it, or put food in that spot. Cats generally will not mess near their food.

There are products you can buy to help correct behavioral problems. But first get one to remove current urine odors.

Most problems are with urinating, if a cat is defecating outside of the box this is often harder to fix if it is behavioral.

Finally...

If you cannot find or fix your cats litter box problems, it is cruel, and illegal, to abandon your pet. A cat who is not treatable should be euthanized rather than abandoned, or it could be rehomed to somebody who knows and understands the cats problem. Giving it to some unsuspecting new owner will only cause them grief and possibly add to the cats suffering. A farm home may take a spayed, or neutered pet, but ONLY if it is not declawed, and remember farm homes generally are not lacking in cats, if a farm needs cats there is usually a reason, like coyotes are killing theirs or disease. Not all farmers treat their cats the way your house pet is used to being treated. Sending a house cat to live on a farm may not be a good answer.