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 Is your cat soiling its reputation by doing its 'ones and twos' around the house, and not in its litter tray? You will be happy to know that there are solutions to wee problems like this.
You need to determine if there are any medical problems with your cat. Then you need to ensure you are cleaning up the mess in the best way and, next, ensure your litter tray management is perfect.
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Is it medical?
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Firstly, you need to determine if the problem is medical or behavioural. If you notice that your cat is urinating or defecating more frequently then an illness could be the cause. This is especially so if its urine seems darker coloured than normal or if its faeces are lose or poorly formed.
If there are any traces of blood in the urine or faeces then medical assistance should be sought immediately. You should also look for any increase in thirst and if your cat strains to pass its urine or faeces or if your cat is losing weight then you need to be particularly concerned and visit your vet immediately.
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Getting Into a Flap
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If your cat is allowed outside during the day, make sure your cat can exit the house when it needs to. It is a bit much to expect a cat to be able to be clean if it doesn't have a litter tray inside and it can't get outside when the urge strikes.
A cat flap in your front or back door may be all that is necessary but you will need to train your can how to use it.
If you curfew your cat at night, a litter tray is essential.
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A wee cleaning job
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When you clean your cat's deposits, do you use cleaning agents that have an odour?
Any cleanser with an odour may make the cat want to mark over the scent the cleaner leaves behind, just like it would if the scent is left by another cat.
However, if your cleaning agent is not effective and does not remove the smell of your cat's deposits, the residual smell will remind your cat that the soiled area is a recognised toilet spot and it will use that area again.
So, it is important when you clean the mess that you leave no smell behind - not even that of your cleaning agent.
How do you achieve that? There are several good products for this purpose, including Bac To Nature and Urine Free. These products contain enzymes that digest the biological waste and non-pathogenic bacteria that eat the degraded waster matter, thus leaving no smell behind.
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Litter-al Logic
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What's the best way of managing your cat's litter trays? Firstly, let's look at why your cat is not using the trays you have.
There are five main reasons:
1. The trays are not clean enough.
2. The cat has a litter preference and you are using the wrong litter.
3. You have the trays in the wrong location.
4. Your cat may not like the trays you are using.
5. Bad things happen to your cat when it’s using the trays
To solve the problem you will need a number of litter trays (at least six) for a while. Put the trays in triplets around the house, especially in the areas where the cat is currently soiling. Also be sure you have a triplet in the current location you use for your cat's trays.
Now put a different type of litter in each tray so that your cat has a choice and lastly clean each tray as soon as it is soiled.
Suggested litters include:
Any clumping litter
A paper-based litter
A sawdust-based litter
A lucerne-based litter
Max’s Cat Litter (recycled plant material)
Any silicon-based litter
Now wait and see what happens. Is the cat using only one type of litter and ignoring the other? Is it always using the trays in one spot and not in the other or is it still ignoring the trays totally?
If your cat prefers one type of litter, then 'go with the flow'. If the cat prefers not to use the trays in the old location, then it is averse to that position for some reason. If it uses any litter in any tray but keeps moving from tray to tray, it is probably fastidious about the cleanliness of its tray. This information will help you to hone in on the problem.
Be a little cautious about trays with hoods on. Some cats don't like them. Also keep an eye on your other cats or your dog if present, because sometimes other pets can disturb your cat when it's using the tray and that creates the aversion.
If your cat is still soiling outside the trays then it will need to be litter trained again.
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Toilet training
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A little science will make this task easier. Can you tell when your cat wants to 'go'?
Cats are more likely to soil after they have had a meal or a drink. Watch them when they have awoken after a long sleep and when they get that characteristic "I wanna go NOW" look on their faces.
If you see them sniffing around a previously soiled area, then pick up your feline felon and take it to its tray. Scrape the litter with its front foot to stimulate the natural action that follows a successful deposit. In a gentle voice tell it to 'do wee' or use some other goofy expression that the cat will totally ignore. You commands will make no difference but they make you feel better!!
For the dedicated defecating demons you may need to set your alarm clock to ring every two hours during the day. At each alarm, take the paranoid puss cat to its litter tray scrape its paw in the litter and then move away.
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Get stuck into food
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You can also try changing the cat's perception of the soiled areas by feeding it in that spot and leaving its drinking bowls there too. Some folk even glue a spoonful of dry cat biscuits to an old saucer which they leave in the area where the cat is soiling. Boy, does that frustrate the furry feline felon!
Another technique is to smear some vegemite onto the location where the cat was soiling and then persuade your fur-ball to lick that vegemite from that location. This can create an immediate change in the perception of the soiled area.
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Spying on your Cat
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Sometimes it's useful to know when you cat is sneaking into a target area and for this purpose, motion sensors similar to the type used to alert shop owners that a customer has arrived, can be placed in entrance ways to bedrooms or on furniture that is commonly desecrated by cats.
Litter tray problems with cats are always solvable. It just takes a little science and lot of patience. Really – it' only a wee problem!
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Dr Cam Day BVSc BSc MACVSc is a veterinary surgeon, an animal behaviour consultant and media presenter.
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