Your Cat's Litter Box - 7 Keys to Fixing a Pee Problem Pronto
By Susan Livingstone Your cat's litter box is in perfect condition. Why? Because your cat is determined to pee outside of it. There's you, mopping up the mess once more, wishing you had a clue how to get her to cut this out!
Why is this happening? There are a number of reasons; we examine the main ones here.
Your cat could be exhibiting unusual urinating behavior because of:
1. A potential medical problem.
2. Failure to properly house train the cat.
3. Concerns with the cat's litter box itself.
4. An association created between something unpleasant and the litter box.
5. Emotional or physical stress, or a change in household routine.
6. Advancing age, rendering it more difficult for the cat to reach the litter box.
Seven Tips to Addressing Your Cat's Litter Box Misbehavior:
1. If your cat's litter box habits suddenly change, and there's no immediately obvious cause for it, it may be attributable to an ailment or illness such as blocked anal glands, a urinary tract infection, diabetes, tumors, or worms/parasites. These conditions may exhibit no other symptoms, apart from the unusual urinating behavior. You need to contemplate a vet visit, if this is the situation. If you detect such symptoms as lethargy, bloody urine, diarrhea, or a constant licking in the anal area, don't waste any time getting your cat to the vet!
2. It may be simply and issue with the cat's litter box itself. Don't fail to remove the waste material once or twice per day, and change the litter completely every 3-4 days (if you're using non-clumping litter), or every 2-3 weeks (if you use the clumping kind). Thoroughly clean the litter tray with hot water and mild soap, preferably one with no overpowering smell of citrus or ammonia, which cats dislike and will make them avoid the litter box. If you have more than one cat, be sure to have one litter box for each cat, with one or two extra. If you've recently purchased a new brand of litter, this may be contributing to the problem as many cats are not fond of change, and they are especially reluctant to deal with scented litter. Revert back the original litter, if this is the problem. If you want - or need - to make a change to another brand for some reason, buy only unscented litter, and mix new litter with the old, familiar litter gradually over a period of a couple of weeks. Make certain that the location of the cat's litter box is to her satisfaction - meaning no loud noises, plenty of privacy, and a spot well out of the sight of other cats.
3. Another good tip is to add one more litter box to another, equally private, location in your home. Sometimes it's not the cat's litter box that's the problem, but a negative experience the cat may have had there. Perhaps she was teased or otherwise interfered with while she was trying to use the litter box, or if she experienced some pain during urination, due perhaps to a urinary tract infection, after having given birth to a litter, or after having had a medical procedure on her bladder or urethra. The cat may have learned to associate that pain with that particular litter box. Even if the pain is long gone, the association in her mind may still remain. Offering an alternate box may solve the problem.
4. Completely clean the spot where the cat urinated. This is necessary because no matter what made her pee there in the first place, any remaining urine on the surfaces of the bed, rugs, or couches will send out an odor that serves as a reminder for the cat to return and use it as a potty spot once more. The cat's ability to detect smells is far superior to our own, so to ensure that you've really gotten rid of any lingering odor, you can clean with a solution such as Urine Off Odor and Stain Remover.
5. Whenever possible, block the cat's access to the area that has been peed on. If you neglect this step, the problem will just keep recurring. By blocking access, the cycle of repeated urination can be broken. Will kitty urinate somewhere else? Maybe, though that's less likely if you make available a second litter box, show her several times where it is, and also follow the suggestions in step 7.
6. If you cannot block the cat from accessing the area, at least make it unattractive as a place to urinate. You can do this by either adding a scent or a putting a bowl of dry cat food there. Scents such as citrus or eucalyptus work well, as most cats are repelled by them. If you choose to use the dry food method, which works even better, be sure to keep the bowl topped up as the day goes on. Either method you choose, once you are successful, continue doing it for another one or two weeks to ensure it becomes habit.
7. Finally there's the "startle method." Try this technique only when you actually catch the cat just as she's about to pee; if you do it any other time, the cat won't make the association between urinating in that spot with your attempt to startle her. Surprise the cat with a shout of "No!" or clap your hands together sharply. Wait a few minutes, then take her to the litter box, and if she does her business as she should, reward her with praise and a tasty treat. As long as the quality and quantity of the reward exceeds the unpleasant effects of the "startle," this method will be unlikely to cause any real stress - but be cautious, as some timid cats may get more stressed out by it than you might think. Check to be sure that kitty remains relaxed after receiving the reward, and monitor whether it's actually improving the situation.
We feel certain that using these tips to address the issue of peeing outside the cat's litter tray will result in success within a day or two, or a gradual improvement over a couple of weeks.
Won't it be great to eliminate this problem once and for all, leaving more time to play and bond with your cat?
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Susan Livingstone built The Cat Bladder Blog because she loves cats, which is just as well since she is basically a slave to their whims. After years of spending money on them, she is now reversing that trend by offering products, information, advice and help to cat owners everywhere -- specifically those who need resources for dealing with cat urinary tract infections. You can visit her site to find many more articles on feline urinary tract health, natural, herbal, organic and homeopathic remedies for the prevention of cat UTI, the best cat urinary tract food, and links to other information on cat medicine and common feline disease prevention.
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