18 Feb 2008 04:53:04 | Nancy E. Wigal
Have you ever had this happen? You’re a happy cat owner, your
kitty is using the box just fine, but one day…you come home and
find a giant urine spot in the living room…the bathroom…heaven
forbid – on your bed!
What happened? What went wrong? It isn’t normal for a cat to use
her litter box faithfully, then one day decide it’s no longer
right for her. There’s always a reason why a cat stops using the
litter box.
Always.
If this happens to you, don’t panic! The earlier you realize
kitty isn’t using her box, the earlier you can stop this problem
cold. By careful investigation, you can figure out what’s going
on, and how to get kitty to use her litter box again.
Let’s examine 5 common causes that could affect kitty, and the
solutions for each.
Medical condition:
Your kitty suddenly stops using the litter box because she’s
developed a medical condition. It is most likely crystals in her
urine, which form in the bladder, and make urination extremely
painful. Kitty associates the urination pain with her litter
box, so she continually tries to find a spot in the house that
isn’t painful – to her!
The solution – get kitty to the vet as quickly as possible. A
course of medication can clear the crystal problem in the short
term. A permanent solution is to change your cat’s diet to
canned food. Be sure to consult with your vet on large-scale
diet changes for your cat.
New house or residence:
You moved to another location. It’s fine by you…but kitty is
stressed out by the move. A week or two after moving in and
unpacking boxes, you start finding “accidents” in the new digs.
To solve this problem, you will need to confine your cat to one
room, and retrain her to use the litter box. She’s most likely
stressed out by the new house or apartment. Set up a room with
her food, water, litter box, and toys. Shrink her new world down
to a manageable size, and start over with litter training. As
she demonstrates her willingness to use the litter box again,
bring her out, under supervision, and watch her. After a week or
so, your cat should be better acclimated to the new residence,
and use her litter box again.
Change to a different cat litter brand:
Cats can be fussy creatures. You change to a different brand of
litter because it’s cheaper, it hides the smell better, or it’s
simply more available. Kitty tells you she hates her new litter
by the most obvious method – she stops using it! Switch back to
the old brand you were using. Assuming kitty liked that, the
problem should be solved. If not, try Cat Attract brand litter.
It has a unique blend of herbs and clay, and it really does
solve the problem for about 98% of the feline population that
has a litter box complex.
You change the litter box location:
You decided it’s time to move kitty’s box down to the laundry
room from the dining room. Kitty is not pleased, so she
continues her habit of using the dining room – minus the litter
box!
One solution is to find a new location that’s acceptable to both
of you. Barring that, you may well have to give in to kitty’s
wishes, and put the darn box back where she likes it. It’s
certainly cheaper than fighting the battle of cleaning up the
urine stains and odor.
I feel your pain on this; my darn cat Scout loves the exercise
room as a prime litter box location. I really, really hate it
when I’m on the elliptical machine, and Scout has to answer a
call of nature that lingers long after she’s vacated the box.
Such is life!
A person comes to live with you and kitty:
If you subscribe to the saying, “Love me, love my cat,” it can
be challenging for a new partner if she/he wasn’t a cat person.
Discomfort, anger, and resentment can manifest in bad kitty
behavior outside the litter box. Your significant other moves in
(or you make the move), and the next thing you know, there are
presents around the residence you’d rather not have.
You can solve this problem by ensuring that your cat and the
other loved one give each a chance to get used to one another.
This may entail confining your cat for periods of time, or
getting your partner accustomed to cat behavior (climbing on the
lap, meowing, sharing the couch, chair, or bed) over a period of
time. The worst thing that can happen is for your partner to
tease or abuse kitty. This could trigger an inappropriate
elimination response.
Anytime your kitty stops using her box for no apparent reason is
cause for immediate investigation. If you stop and think about
any changes that have occurred in the immediate past, address
those first. If you haven’t made any changes, the culprit is
most likely a medical condition that can easily be diagnosed and
cured by your local kitty vet.
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