Are you wondering why your cat is not using the litter box? Now let’s analyze what is happening around the litter box and overall your view on the litter box.  It is a fact that most cat owners get frustrated when they realize that their cat is not using litter box and the cat starts going elsewhere. However, you don’t just give away your cat or put them outside because of this! If your cat has been refusing to use litter box, take the time and patience to find out the reasons behind it.

Below are some reasons why a cat might not us the litter box:

1. Dirty litter box

This can be the biggest reason why they refuse to use litter! If you know cats you will know that they are extremely clean animals. Think about it from their perspective, they are approaching a dirty area with a foul smell. Very much like human beings, even cats like to stay clean and appreciate a clean litter box.

The litter box should be cleaned a minimum of once a day! You might have to clean the litter box after every use. You may find it time consuming; however, you must do it if you want your cat to use it quite often. Also, the litter in that box needs to be thrown out at least once a week, the litter box wiped out and fresh litter put in. Too many owners just scoop out the litter and leave behind a very foul smelling litter for the cat. No clumping litter is 100% so you will have to get rid of the litter that’s still in the box at the end of the week. You can try this and see if that helps your cat. Also, put enough litter in the box! At least a minimum of 1-2 inches. Cats like to scratch around in there.

2. Not Enough Litter Boxes When You Have More Than One Cat

You might not know this but you never get one litter box for each cat. If you have two cats then you need at least 3 litter boxes if not 4. This general rule is known by a lot of owners that have more than one cat. Why? Cats don’t really like to share and are very territorial. A cat will almost always pick a litter box that has nothing dirty in it or the same one that they used last time. It is highly recommended to get more than enough litter boxes if you have multiple pets at your place. Now of course you can’t control which cat uses a certain litter box, but the more selection the better!

3. The Type of “Litter Box”

The size and shape of the litter box also makes a lot of difference. Some cats might not like to have a closed litter box while others prefer different kinds of litter boxes. Some people might even use an automatic litter box that makes a loud noise. You have to give them time to see what they like. Depending upon which one they like, don’t keep changing the type of box on them. For example, going from a closed box to an automatic cleaner box and etc… Cats are creatures of habit and do not like change at all! If you need to change their box try to look for the identical shape and colour at your local store.

I knew of someone that was still using a kitten litter box for their adult cat. Now come on! Find a nice large litter box and give it to your adult cat! When you introduce a new litter box you must observe them when they are using the litter box. You have to see if they are facing difficulty or caution in using it. This is because of the reason that if you recognize their problems at an early stage, you can find out the solution before it gets worse and then they start not using it.

4. The Type of “Litter” That You Are Using

There are many different types of cat litter out there. Personally, I like the “clumping” kind that you can just take a cat scooper and scoop out the dirty areas in the litter box. Clumping litter tends to make the urine clump inside the litter and it becomes easy to just scoop out.

I don’t like the non-clumping litter just for the fact that everything just stays on top of the litter and it is very hard to truly get out of the litter box when it is dirty. I can’t see how you could keep a litter box clean when you are using non-clumping litter.

I always get a nice scented litter for my cats. They just love it. I have one cat that whenever I spray air freshener in the air after I cleaned her litter box she just starts to roll around on the floor and get very happy! However, to play it safe it’s best to get unscented if your cat isn’t using the litter box. I can get scented now because they are using the litter box, but I would definitely not get it if I was having problems. It could create a problem and you don’t want that.

For one cat that I have I actually had to change the litter to a specialized litter for cats that won’t use the litter box. I bet you didn’t know that type of litter existed! It sure does! Now I don’t know what makes that litter so special why the cats seem to like it but it does work! Maybe it has catnip in it! Who knows? However, all I know is that specialized litter worked for my cat. It is definitely more expensive than regular litter but, after around a month of using that specialized litter I changed it back to regular litter and she kept going in the litter box! Great! This specialized litter can only be found at your local pet store, not in a grocery store.

5. Location Of The Litter Box

Wow, this one is often overlooked by owners and can cause either two problems. One the cat won’t use the litter box or two the cat won’t eat or drink that much. Cats despise their litter box being too close to their food or water supply! Now some might tolerate it, but it doesn’t mean that they like the idea of the litter box being so close to their food.

Just think about it. They have a great sense of smell and they are going to be really turned off their food/water or their litter box, because they can smell the litter box. It is way too close to their food/water!

6. Health problems

You may discover that because of some health related issues, they are not using litter box. If you have tried every possible way of changing their habits, you must visit your local veterinarian (pet doctor). They should check your cat and point out if your pet has any health problems.

It is a well known fact that some cats that have kidney problems, bladder issues and urinary tract infections might not use the litter box. Sometimes you will notice that they will go into the litter box and start crying out loud or howling (from the pain). Then they might stop using the litter box because they associate the litter box with pain.

You have to make sure that your cat is a healthy and free from all diseases. Sometimes, the cat has become ill and stops using litter box. In that case, you have to make sure that after the illness, you gently retrain it again.

7. Something Has Changed In The Cat’s Environment or A Traumatic Event Occurred

Cats know every little inch of their environment! So if something changes in their environment they might not feel secure anymore and might just go elsewhere instead of their litter box. Cats love a hidden quite place to do their business. That’s why sometimes you might find that they have done their business in a corner or behind the sofa. Or sometimes if they are really frightened or disoriented they will go anywhere.

I am lucky enough to have a bathroom attached to my bedroom so if I got a second cat I would first keep it with me in my bedroom for a day or two before I introduced it to the other cat. Inside my bathroom I would put the litter and some food and water. It’s very important not to throw a new cat or kitten into an environment that already has existing animals there. It’s a fact that they will be so frightened that they won’t use the litter box. They are just thinking about surviving at that point! So you need to isolate them from other pets so that they slowly start to feel comfortable and come to recognize their litter box.

The following items below could definitely have caused your cat to start going elsewhere instead of the litter box. Some changes to their environment could be:

• You moved to a new house and now they have a new environment.
• Someone else moved into your house.
• You already have pets in your house and you are introducing a new kitten or cat.
• Do you have a kid or toddler that’s scaring the cat or annoying it? You should discipline your kids enough not to allow that to happen. That is just common sense! The cat is not a toy! It can only take so much before it bites your kid and that would be your fault as a parent not the cat!
• A traumatic event occurred to the cat.
• You went away on vacation too long and was away from the cat.
• You put the cat into a kennel when you were on vacation.
• You let the cat outside. Never ever let your cat outside! You can’t control what others do to it. You would never let your dog wander the streets right? So why let your cat do that? It’s at the mercy of others and of other animals as well. Not everyone is going to find your cat cute, especially dogs or even some adults/kids. So if you truly love your cat you will keep it inside and not give into its curiosity. Because we all know that curiosity can kill the cat! Plus even if your cat does survive going outside and coming back in, it’s only a matter of time before an incident happens to it outside. Then you are going to have a cat that’s suffering and in pain plus a huge vet bill to pay to sow the cat back up! That’s not good at all and it leads me to wonder if you ever really valued your cat at all.
• You changed something in the cat’s litter area like; the litter or the litter box, you moved the litter box to a place that the cat doesn’t like anymore or its too hard to get too or noisy, you moved the food too close to the litter box etc …

Well I know this was a long article but I hoped it helped you. You must be aware of the fact that it requires some patience, time and effort to recognize the litter problems and their solutions. A funny thing is that some cats can learn where to go to the washroom faster than even kids! It can take some kids really long before they are potty trained. So take it easy on the cat. So if some kids can take really long to figure out where to use the washroom be patient with your cat who shouldn’t be as smart as a kid.

P.S. If you want to discipline your cat never physically slap it. That’s cruel. Use a spray bottle and fill it with water and just spray that cat whenever it behaves badly and it will know that you don’t like what it just did. But do it when the situation happens never after you have found the accident somewhere, because it won’t know why you are spraying it. Good luck!

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