The Cat Isn’t Using the Litter Tray
This is really breaking the unwritten rule of cat ownership, and is very distressing for everyone. It is also a very common cause of euthanasia or abandonment of cats, so is a problem to be taken very seriously. The following is a brief outline of the common causes of breakdown in ‘house training’, but if these efforts don’t work, then medical and often behavioural intervention is required.
An understanding of cat communication is essential - they are VERY SMELL ORIENTED. Cats use urine and faeces to post messages for other cats (and their humans, whom they do actually regard as being slightly incompetent cats, according to some research). Cat urine, especially, always gets attention, and if you compare it to people - some people have loud voices or shout when they want their opinion noticed, cats use urine to try to tell us about their problems and some have stronger urine than others. A key point here is that if a cat pees or poops on your bed, it’s because they love you (usually), so take it as a compliment (!) but then move on to establishing behaviour that you can live with. The sooner the problem is addressed the better, because once there is a learned component to the behaviour, and it becomes ingrained, it is a habit and is much harder to break the cycle.
House Soiling by Cats (From Robert J Holmes handouts)
Cats sometimes urinate and / or defaecate within the house in sites that are unacceptable to the human residents. This is usually outside the litter tray, but some cats that normally eliminate outside the house do so inside. The cat may or may not have been successfully trained to use the tray. Elimination may be at a regular site or sites, or may be apparently random throughout the house. Spraying or marking territory is done in ‘socially significant’ places such as entries and exits, doorways and windows or even on a person’s clothes or bedding.
Possible Causes
- Incontinence – loss of bowel or bladder control can result in elimination at other sites, so a complete health check by the vet is the first step to address the problem.
- Lack of Housetraining – There is often a history of incomplete housetraining, where the cat has never consistently used the litter tray over long periods. A change in environment can be sufficient to break the partially formed habit. Some cats are particularly difficult to housetrain with the usual methods (reputedly Persians especially) or may have unusual requirements, such as a covered litter tray or one without any litter at all.
- Dirty Litter – there is considerable variation between cats in the amount of urine or faeces that will prevent them from using the litter tray. Some cats will not defaecate in a tray with urine or faeces in it. Other cats will urinate but not defaecate in a tray already containing urine.
- Different Litter – A abrupt change in litter may be the cause, go back to the original litter and try changing over slowly (over 2 weeks or more) by mixing the old and the new.
- Proximity of food – feeding cats beside the litter tray is likely to stop use of the tray. This can be used effectively to stop cats eliminating in other areas by turning them into feeding or bed sites.
- Conditioned to other surfaces – Some cats learn or innately prefer to eliminate only on certain areas such as carpet, polythene and concrete.
- Anxiety – Many cats that house–soil are anxiety prone. Cats vary considerably in their individual tendency to be anxious, and some are born with a genetic tendency to anxiety. Others become socially incompetent due to early kittenhood experiences (kittens form most of their impressions of the world at 2 - 7 weeks of age, and at that time, a lack of good experiences – especially with humans – is as harmful as actual traumatic experiences). Cats may show a breakdown in normal elimination habits when there has been a change in environment, such as a member of the household leaving or a person or new pet arriving. Sometimes the cats eliminate on the bed or pillow of the person to whom they are most attached that has left the house. The presence of strange cats outside, or particularly inside the house (eg a neighbourhood bully cat gets through the catflap) can cause a breakdown in elimination pattern.
- Conditioned avoidance – cats may avoid the litter tray after having a noxious experience such as being attacked by another cat or pilled by a person while using the tray. Dogs sniffing them while they are in the tray or noises such as spin cycles of the washing machine also disrupt them.
Treatment Options
It is preferable to reduce or eliminate the causes whenever possible. Unfortunately it is not always possible to identify or do anything about them, and often there is more than one cause.
- Treat Incontinence – especially a problem in older cats or those with dietary allergies.
- Prevent other cats entering – Strange cats can be kept out by fitting the resident with a magnetic collar which activates the lock on their cat door. Otherwise, block off the cat flap and let your cat in and out by hand.
- Keep Litter Clean – It is always a good idea to keep litter scrupulously clean, and often an extra litter tray is all that is required. Faeces should be removed immediately it is seen or smelt, and to completely replace the litter once a day. There are many types of litter available, from very fine gravel-type (the one about 50% of cats have a preferencefor), through several types of clumping and biodegradable types. Be aware that a lot of cats do NOT like the ‘deodorized’ type as it is designed for our noses not theirs.
- Provide a Covered Litter Tray – Some cats want complete privacy for their toilette – you can try a cardboard box over the top of the tray with a door cut in it. Be aware that this makes it more difficult to see and smell waste products, and the smell can build up enough to repel the cat. Charcoal filtered covers are available.
- Clean soiled areas – For your own residential enjoyment you will probably wish to remove the sight and smell of the deposits. Removal of the odour is particularly important when soiling is done repeatedly in the same place. There are several very effective products available at the clinic. It can, however, be up to 4 weeks to actually have the smell disappear for the cat – remember their noses are more sensitive than ours, and their urine is designed to ‘hang around’ as a message centre. NEVER USE DISINFECTANTS (especially ammonia-based ones), as it then smells like a tiger has come and pee’d in their house and it upsets cats even more.
- Provide Extra Litter trays – Put litter trays over repeatedly soiled areas. Once there is consistent use, you can merge them into one tray, and move it (very slowly, 5 cm at a time sometimes) to where you want the tray. You may need one tray per cat plus one extra in multicat households. Also place trays in secure, private places away from food and foot traffic.
- Reduce Anxiety – Initiate more regular TLC (Tender Loving Care) contact, in a structured format (see ‘Four Points of Contact’). Reliability of contact is the key. Some cats may require a trial period with antidepressant/ antianxiety drugs to start them back on the path of reusing the tray regularly.
- Rehousetrain – Initially, when unsupervised, your cat can be confined to a very small area and progressively allowed more space to live in once tray use is consistent.
You may have to start with an area as small as a cupboard, often the bathroom will suffice. The cat can be let out for eating and TLC, and while supervised (some cats even need to be on a harness and lead to prevent them rushing over to their previous toilet areas). Once the tray has been consistently used for 4 days, the area available to the cat can be increased.
Loss of housetraining is a serious problem. Cats never ‘make mistakes’ when it comes to using the litter tray. There is always a message for us, but because we can’t always really understand their thoughts and motivations, we have to try to guess the message or the problem. Trial and error is the only way we can attempt this – it is not possible to ‘get it right’ first time every time. However, consistency, observation and perseverance will result in nearly every cat becoming a pleasurable pet again.