Keep the litterbox clean and accessible! Tips for a happy kitty equals a happy you!

Good news! Cats instinctively cover their urine and feces. This means all we have to provide is a clean litterbox and litter in a safe location, and privacy. Cats are rather secretive, and prefer to eliminate in privacy, without concern for abrupt interruptions. In fact, a cat that has experienced being ambushed at the litterbox by another cat, the family dog, one of the children or other prankster, may avoid the litterbox thereafter. If your cat suddenly ceases to use her litterbox, a trip to the veterinarian may be in order. Read on for a few helpful tips on these issues.

Litter & Litterbox – An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!

Keep it clean! Kitties are fastidious, and will avoid overflowing litterboxes and odors in favor of your carpet, afghans, piles of clothes, or whatever and wherever else smells better to them. Can you blame them?! To avoid this cause for potty mistakes, be sure to clean the litterbox daily, depending upon the number of cats you have and their daily output. Use common sense, but err on the side of cleanliness to save yourself potential headaches. Remember, it is much easier to clean the litterbox daily than it is to retrain a kitty that has developed bad potty habits.

It’s all about location-location-location.

Whenever possible, put the litterbox in a place that affords privacy but does not require the cat to carry a map and flashlight to find. Again, common sense rules. If covered, the litterbox should face incoming traffic so the kitty can see company coming and thereby avoid a rude surprise—especially true in multiple cat households.

The litter-so many choices!

Cats are different. Some prefer smoother surfaces than others for elimination—sometimes preferring the bathtub to their litterbox. Experiment with your kitty. Try the softer grained clumping litters for cats that like a soft, smooth surface. Try using less litter in the box for cats that prefer a smoother surface. There are many kinds of litter on the market, so you should be able to find one that makes both you and your cat happy.

Nip problems in the bud!

If your cat begins to have accidents, do not resort to punishing him—it will only make matters worse. Instead, be sure the litterbox is clean. Remember, the cat wins in deciding whether or not the litterbox is clean enough! If your cat avoids a dirty litterbox and finds a new favorite place to eliminate, it will require time and patience to retrain him to use the litterbox. If a dirty litterbox is definitely not the problem, make a trip to the veterinarian with your cat to be sure there is nothing medically wrong. Ruling out medical issues returns us to behavior modification, but that is another article!