There is proper litter box etiquette and a correct way to set-up your cat’s litter box. This affects the mannerism in which your cat relates to this territory. If your cat isn’t going in the litter box, It’s time to take a closer look at their current litter box situation. Here are some basic rules.
One litter box plus one extra box for each cat
Your cat should have more than one place to do his/her business. Make sure the litter boxes are placed in different areas of your home.
Place litter boxes in separate, socially important areas
Litter boxes should not be in a dark corner in the basement, garage, or hidden. If your cat is marking outside the litter box, it’s important to put the boxes places where they’re marking. Litter boxes should be placed in areas where your cat spends the majority of their time (If your cat loves to hang-out in the living room, then that’s where one of the litter boxes should be). Keeping litter boxes out in the open might not be your ideal scenario, but it’s ideal for your cat, and it can solve litter box issues. If you have multiple cats, do not place the boxes side-by-side, right next to each other.
Your litter box should have multiple exits
Cats need an escape route, they don’t like to feel cornered-in. If you have multiple animals in your home, and they’re approached while in the litter box, they don’t have a way out. One bad litter box experience can cause a cat to abandon it. If your only litter box is a deep box with one entrance, at least add a shallower one with multiple exits and/or an open pan (no lid) to your cat’s repertoire, and eventually try to replace them.
Lots of cat owners get rid of their cats due to problems related to urinating in the house. The truth is that the majority of them could have been retrained with a little effort on the owner’s side. Your cat is not spiteful; they simply don’t know what spite is so they aren’t doing it because you changed their brand of cat food! Cats that stop using a litter box are doing it for a reason. So to stop a cat from urinating in the house you first need to discover the underlying cause of why they stopped using their litter box in the first place.
To start with, is your cat actually urinating in the house or is your cat spraying? To tell the difference, if you find the urine low down on walls or furniture rather than on the floor then your cat is spraying, if there is a puddle of urine on the floor then your cat is urinating outside of its litter box. Which one your cat is doing is important as spraying is a different problem to urinating on the floor. Bestcatlittertrays.com blog is very helpful in selecting the best cat litter boxes for your cats.
Spraying problems
If your cat suddenly started spraying in the house then usually it will be caused by an environmental change. These are things such as moving house, bringing a new baby home, bringing a new pet home or even a new cat in the neighborhood. The spraying is your cat marking his territory and to stop it you will need to retrain him.
Urinating problems
There are various causes that can potentially stop your cat from using their litter box. I have listed some of the more common ones here however it is impossible to list every possible cause so you may have to do a little investigative work yourself to discover your cat’s actual cause. Hopefully this will give you some ideas of where to start so that you can stop your cat urinating in the house.
1. Medical Reason
Although you may think that your cat is well, cats can often be sick but appear perfectly well so if you cat suddenly stopped using his litter box then you should get him checked out by a veterinarian. Sick cats can associate pain with their litter box which causes them to avoid it.
2. The Litter Box Itself
Cats are very clean animals and will therefore not use a dirty toilet. Make sure that the litter is cleaned out regularly and fresh litter is put into the box on a regular basis too. Ensure that the box itself is large enough for your cat to maneuver around in and that the litter itself is deep enough for your cat to dig into and then bury its business. Cats don’t like to be disturbed when using their litter box so make sure that your cat’s litter box is in a quiet area of your home. You can consider an automatic litter box, box such as Petree, Litter Robot, Catlink, Petsafe, Chillx etc.
