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Thinking Inside the Box: Litter Box Use
All the cats in our adoption program have been using the litter box during their stay here. It’s also been really easy for them to find their litter boxes while they’ve been here, considering how small their cages and habitats are!
Confining your new cat to one room when you first bring her home (as previously recommended) and setting her up there with food, water and a litter box should teach her right away where the box is and help you avoid any issues about "thinking outside the box." If you do encounter any problems regarding litter box use, though, here are some tips and suggestions.
If your cat is missing the litter box, it may indicate a health problem. Consult your veterinarian for a thorough exam.
After ruling out health issues, other factors that affect litter box use are cleanliness of the box, the type of litter used and whether or not other cats use the same litter box.
How often should I clean the litter box?
Cats are finicky and for them, cleanliness is truly close to godliness. Change the litter at least weekly but remove droppings daily. If you allow the box to become too dirty, the cat will want to avoid that space entirely and may find somewhere else to go. (Think how gross it is for you if you go to a restroom where the toilet hasn’t been flushed!) If you notice an odor coming from your cat’s litter box, it has probably been noticeable to your cat for much longer. Cats have 200 million odor-sensitive cells in their noses compared to humans’ meager 5 million.
Who should clean the litter box?
Keeping the litter box clean is a big responsibility; it’s important enough that an adult— never a child— should be the one to ensure that it gets cleaned properly. Teaching your children how to care for animals is a wonderful thing, but please just have them help you, rather than making them ultimately responsible for animal care. It’s not fair to your cat to make her suffer a dirty litter box because you’d like litter box cleaning to be your child’s responsibility.
Location, location, location…
The litter box should be easily accessible to the cat and not too close to her food or water. To avoid confusing her, try not to move the location of the litter box too often. If you do have to move it, be sure to pick the cat up and show her where the litter box is now kept.
What type of litter should I use?
Litter that isn’t too strongly scented is a good choice. Perfume is actually a deterrent for cats— spraying cheap perfume in areas where you don’t want your cat to go is an effective way to teach her not to go there! If your cat doesn’t use the box when you get her home, maybe she doesn’t like the type of litter. Many litters have strong deodorants, some of which might be too strong for some cats, so you might need to experiment with different brands.
For kittens, we recommend non-clumping litter (it will say this on the bag). Litter that clumps can become clay-like when it gets wet and stick to the kitten’s paws and/or tail. When the kittens clean themselves, they could ingest this clay-like litter, which could cause health problems.
For adult cats, clumping litter is a good idea, since it makes cleaning the box easier and better absorbs odor.
What type of litter box should I use? To cover or not to cover?
It depends on the cat. If your cat will sometimes miss the box by a narrow margin, a covered box or a tray underneath the box would be good experiments to try. Generally, covered litter boxes are supposed to eliminate odor, and they often do for you, but they can trap and intensify odor inside the box for your cat! If you go the route of the covered box, it’s important to clean it daily. A covered box may also require the cat to hunch over in an unnatural position, so make sure the box and cover are large enough for your cat to remain comfortable. Self-cleaning litter boxes may sound like a godsend, but cleaning the box yourself can alert you right away to possible health problems. If your cat is having diarrhea, passing blood or urinating excessively (or not at all), these are all signs of potential health issues that you’d want to know about and discuss with your vet.
How many litter boxes do I need?
You may need more than one litter box if you have more than one cat—a general rule is that you should have a litter box for each cat. If your kitty is having a problem using the box consistently, you may need to add a second litter box or confine her to a small room with food, water and a litter box until she uses it.
Why do cats spray?
Spraying sometimes occurs in male cats, but some female cats can have this problem. It comes from a natural instinct to mark territory— it’s not usually associated with litter box issues. Spraying is often more common in indoor/outdoor cats that have not been spayed or neutered. Any cat adopted from the East Bay SPCA has already been fixed; it’s unlikely that you’ll encounter spraying. If you do, however, there is a hormonal treatment called Feliway available. It uses a pheromone to calm the cat and reduce the desire to spray. Your vet can tell you more about this product, as well as other medical explanations and remedies for spraying. Keeping your cat indoors can also decrease his territoriality— preventing interaction with other cats can make it unnecessary for him to mark territory by spraying.
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