Elimination Behavior

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   Elimination behavior problems in cats are one of the most frequently occurring and frustrating problems in the ownership of pet cats. However, in many situations the cause of the problem can be diagnosed and the proper corrective measures instituted to stop the unwanted behavior. If you are new to cat ownership, there are some preventative measures you can take right now to hopefully head off the problem. Remember to always have your cat examined by a qualified veterinarian to make sure your cat is not suffering from an illness. In most cases, the behavior of the cat is normal, but undesirable. It is not abnormal behavior to the cat – just to you.

   Do not punish the cat. Often times the problem is misinterpreted by the owner as a vindictive response by the cat, but this is almost never the case. Punishing the cat is the wrong means of correcting the behavior and punishes the cat for the activity that is occurring at the exact moment and not for the improper elimination. For example: An owner comes home from work and finds that the pet cat has urinated on the carpet near the living room window. The owner seeks out the cat, which is presently eating, takes it over to the spot where the urination occurred, and punishes it. The cat has now been punished for eating because that is what the cat was doing at the time the punishment occurred.


Some causes of Elimination Behavior Problems

• Intact male or female (sterilization will correct 90% of elimination problems)
• Dirty litter box
• Location of the litter box (noisy areas near furnaces or below stairs may frighten a cat away from the litter box)
• Type of litter box (covered litter boxes may not be accepted)
• Type of litter (some cats will not eliminate in scented litter or litter that has odor neutralizers)
• Stray cats outdoors antagonizing indoor cats
• Number of cats in the household (the more cats in the household, the more likely one of the cats is to start eliminating out of the box)
• Number of litter boxes (some cats use one box for urine and another for stool)
• Litter box liners
• Preference for another site
• Preference for non-litter substrate (sand or potting soil are examples)
• Change in environment (different people in home or someone leaving)

Some cats will tolerate very dirty litter, others only moderately dirty litter, while other cats will not use a litter box that has already been used once.


Things to Remember about Elimination Behavior Problems

   There are frequently a combination of problems such as an aversive litter substrate and a litter box that is not cleaned often enough.

   Remember that the initiating cause of the behavior and the reason the behavior is maintained may not be the same. Often the behavior starts as a response to something that the owner has done and not something that the cat has done. For example, an owner may not have had a problem until she went away on vacation. The neighbor, who was supposed to keep the litter box clean and feed the cat, only cleaned the box when it got so dirty that there was a heavy odor of urine and feces in the air of the house. In the meantime, the cat, with a litter box full of feces, has begun defecating behind the couch. After a few days of this, the cat has learned to eliminate either in that site (behind the couch) or on the substrate (the carpet) or both. When the owner returns him and starts cleaning the litter box again, the undesirable behavior continues because it is now part of the cat’s repertoire of learned behavior.

Two important questions are:
• How often do you scoop feces and wet litter from the box?
• How often do you totally change the litter?

   Litter does not need to be very deep if it is kept clean. The best way to avoid the odor of feces and urine is to keep the litter clean, not to attempt to cover the odor with a scent to which the cat may have an aversion.


Spraying

   Cats urinating outside of the litter box with their elimination in a standing position may be spraying. Spraying is generally considered to be a behavior used to identify or mark territory and is commonly seen in feral cats. This behavior is most commonly seen in male cats that have not been neutered or were neutered after the unwanted behavior already started. Female cats that have not been spayed will also tend to spray during the times that they are in heat. Female cats that have been incompletely spayed will also spray. Less commonly these behaviors can be seen in neutered and spayed cats.

   Causes of spraying can include: too many cats in the household; outdoor cats roaming the neighborhood, antagonizing indoor cats; or unsterilized cats that are attempting to defend territory.

   Treatment for spraying behavior involves trying to eliminate the underlying cause when possible. Sterilizing cats prior to reaching puberty will usually prevent the unwanted behavior from starting. Often times neutering or spaying will stop the behavior once it has started. Elimination of cats from the outside environment is also helpful. In cases where the environment cannot be changed, medication can be used under the direction of a veterinarian to eliminate the behavior problem.


Medical Problems

   Before making the diagnosis of a behavioral problem, it is always necessary to rule out medical problems based on history and physical examination. Many cats will have what appears to be a problem with behavior when in fact the cause for not using the litter box is a bladder infection. Take all cats with elimination behavior problems to the veterinarian for a complete physical examination and a complete urine analysis, including examination of urine sediment, to rule out disease.

   It is important to remember that what starts out as a medical problem may remain a behavioral problem long after the disease in no longer present. The sooner the problem is recognized and treated the better the chances of a cure.


Some Tips to Help Prevent Elimination Problems in Cats

   Elimination behavior problems in cats are a frequently occurring problem. In general it is best to provide an environment for elimination that will minimize the chances that your cat will not use its litter box. The following tips are designed to help you as a cat owner to provide a suitable environment to help prevent elimination problems.

• Have your male cat neutered or female cat spayed when he or she is over 12 weeks of age.
• Provide at least one litter box for each cat in the household. The cats will certainly “share” litter boxes, but this is intended to allow plenty of room for elimination. One litter box per cat plus one extra is ideal.
• Place the litter box in an area that the cat will always have access to. If the litter box is in the bathroom, but the bathroom door is closed periodically, this may cause a problem.
• Keep the litter box clean. A cat’s litter box should be cleaned daily to avoid a problem with a box that is too dirty. Cats have individual preferences for the amount of dirty litter that they will tolerate. It is only necessary to put enough clay litter to cover the bottom of the box (except when using clumping litter). Using this method you will not use more litter than you are probably using right now.
• Use an unscented cat litter made out of clay or an unscented clumping litter. The use of cat litters with odor neutralizers will make the litter box unattractive to some cats and will cause them to look elsewhere for a favorable spot to eliminate.
• An alternative to changing the litter box daily would be to use a clumping cat litter that can be scooped out without having to change the entire box.