The Litter Box

The vast majority of cats will go to the litter box to relieve themselves at an early age, and will continue to use the litter properly throughout their adult lives. To encourage good habits, here are our basic tips:

• There should be enough litter boxes available. Ideally, there should be one more litter box than the total number of cats in the household. (So 2 cats should share 3 litter boxes).
• Non-scented, dust-free clumping litter is suitable for most cats. This type of litter simulates earth and sand, a natural environment for your cat's needs. Sometimes, better-quality products or other types of litter (non-clumping, recycled paper litter, corn litter, etc.) may be worth trying, until you find the right one for your cat. Be aware, however, that cats are creatures of habit; a change of litter may cause them to urinate elsewhere, in reaction.
• A dirty litter box is definitely one of the most frequent causes of urinating outside the box. We suggest emptying it every day, and even several times a day if there are several cats. Complete cleaning (washing the litter tray with Oxyfresh) should be carried out on a weekly basis.
• The location of the litter box is also important. Ideally, you should avoid placing litter boxes in passageways or busy areas, as cats need their privacy too.
• Some litterboxes include double bottoms, which can be psychologically irritating for some cats.
• The height of the rim of the litter box should also be considered for very young kittens and older cats. For example, when arthritic cats have to climb more than 10cm to reach the litter box, this may be enough to discourage them from urinating outside the box.
• Unfortunately, the lids on the trays keep the odor and dust inside, and cats can obviously find this unpleasant. We recommend removing them if your cat seems reluctant to use the litter box.
• The smell of urine attracts cats, so you need to stop any urine or urine smell coming from carpets, furniture or the like. If the item in question can be washed, it would be a good idea to do so and spray it with an anti-odour product such as Kennel Odor Elimination KOE, which neutralizes the smell of ammonia. This product can also be used in and around the litter box to remove any remaining odors.
• Feliway spray (soothing feline pheromones) can be used for problem areas where your cat frequently soils. The Feliway diffuser is useful if there are several critical areas in the same room. Both formats are available in our hospitals.

If your cat has suddenly developed a bad habit of urinating in different places around the house, here's what our veterinary teams suggest:

1. First, try to find the physical cause(s) that could be leading to this behaviour. For example, it could be cystitis (inflammation or infection of the bladder), polyuria (very high quantity of urine produced) or pain that is causing your cat to act in this way.
2. To detect a physical problem, a physical examination must be performed by one of our veterinarians, then various tests will be suggested depending on the case: urine analysis, urine culture, blood test, x-ray, ultrasound, etc.

The behavioural aspect:

If the physical causes have been eliminated, the next step is to explore behavioural problems, which can sometimes be simple to resolve, but can also take a little time and patience. Our team will be delighted to help you. We offer behavioral consultations at our hospitals.

Situations that cause stress or insecurity need to be explored.

For example:

• A new animal, or a newcomer to the house; or, conversely, an animal or someone leaving the house.
• A new carpet, piece of furniture or drapery.
• Rearranging a room.
• A new house, a move.
• Aggression from children, other cats or dogs.
• A place with too many cats. Each additional cat adds a 10% chance of a problem of this kind occurring.

The various possible solutions are:

1. Correct anything that may be related to litter problems.
2. Identify any situation causing stress or insecurity. Eliminating these situations is very beneficial.
3. Investigate, diagnose and treat any physical illness.
4. Create “soothing zones” with Feliway to discourage the cat from returning to soiled areas, and use an ultraviolet light (black light) to find all areas where there are traces of urine. Then remove the odour.
5. If necessary, use anxiolytic medication (to reduce anxiety). Talk to an AnimaPlus veterinarian.

The total duration of the problem has a major influence on the final prognosis (the chances of it being resolved). The sooner the problem is treated, the greater the chances of stopping it. To increase your chances of success, we recommend that you come and see us as soon as possible!