Q&A for How to Retrain a Cat to Use the Litter Box

There are several possible reasons for this behavior. Your cat may have a medical condition that needs treatment from a vet. However, it's also possible that your cat is afraid of the box because something scary happened near it, like a loud sound or a fight with another household cat. It could also be as simple as the box is dirty.

I would first try to figure out what's causing your cat's issue. Most cats stop using their litter box because they don't like the box, its location, the litter, or it's not clean enough for them. I would experiment until you find what works best for your cat. If your cat still isn't using the litter box, talk to your vet to rule out a medical issue.

Cats are clean creatures that dislike soiling their living quarters. You can litter train a stray but it does take patience. Keep the cat in a small room with a tray in one corner, food and water in another, and a bed in a different corner. Given a choice between soiling their bed or food, the cat will most likely chose the tray.

Cats empty their bladder a couple of times a day. They often have a bowel movement shortly after eating. So if you feed the cat 3 times a day, you can expect poops 3 times daily in addition to the pee. But bear in mind all cats are different so if the cat seems well but only poops once a day, this is nothing to worry about.

Cats are amazingly clean creatures and most learn to use a tray by copying their mothers. When provided with the right tray, a familiar cat litter, and a nice quiet spot, most cats will start using the tray and not need training to do so.

A change of toilet habits can be caused by a medical problem (such as cystitis or bladder stones) or behavioral. Behavior reasons include the cat developing a dislike of the tray. This can happen if the cat was frightened while using the tray, or the box is dirty.

Depending on the length of time the cat has been doing this, she may have learned this as a behavior and you will have to retrain it. Look at your cat as an individual and see how the environment in your home may be affecting it.

Block her out of your room at night, get a cat bed, lock her in a room, like the kitchen or living room, and leave the litter box in there with her. Hopefully, if you do this for a few months, she will get used to the box and use it all the time. However, some cats don't, and you may need to see a vet if this doesn't work.

If the kittens are using the same box, get a new box so the mother can eliminate without them underfoot. If she already has her own box, it's probably stress-related: she did just give birth, after all. Try to find the immediate cause. Maybe she doesn't have a comfortable, quiet place to keep her kittens, or maybe she needs a vet visit to check for medical issues related to the birth.

She could be going senile. At a certain age, cats' brains stop functioning like they used to. This means you will have to clean up after her. It will be difficult to retrain her at that age.

You can never rule out a medical issue without a vet visit, but that behavior can also happen when the cat becomes scared or uncomfortable around the litter box. Maybe your pet sitter didn't clean it as often as the cat preferred, or maybe your cat was just stressed by your absence. Try moving the litter box or buying a new one. Old cats can have joint pain or limited mobility, so also make sure the box has low enough sides for your cat to step in easily.

Get her an enclosed litter box. It might take up a little more space, but it should solve your problem. They also make mats that go outside the box that are meant to collect the litter so it doesn't go everywhere.

Cats are very clean animals, and they almost always prefer to use a litter box naturally. If a cat starts defecating other places in the house, it's usually because something isn't right, and this it the cat's way to tell you. This can happen if the cat feels stressed, sad, left out, over or under stimulated, etc. There are many reasons for a cat to feel "out of balance". They are animals of routine and even the slightest change in environment can be hard for them. Maybe you have re-furnished your house or moved to a new one. Maybe there's a new family member in the house, or maybe you just clean too often. Maybe its litter box has been left too long without being cleaned. Try to understand what might have changed to help the cat change its behavior.

With five cats sharing the same space, it's not unusual for problems like this to appear once in a while. Add a sixth litter box (the rule of thumb is "number of cats plus one") and clean all of them twice daily. If your cat shows any aggression or avoidance toward another cat, separate their food bowls and beds, and make sure there are enough perches and hiding places for all of them.

Adult cats prefer the cleanest box possible, but kittens may need a reminder: place a small piece of the feces in the litter box to demonstrate where to go. If this doesn't work, try giving the kitten a second litter pan.

Your cat could be marking you as his territory. If he is unneutered, then you should get him neutered and he should stop.

There is no set amount of time, each cat is different. Forcibly keeping a cat close to the box for too long has the reverse effect as cats are very independent. Keep lid off and place cat in the box after meals, and if you can add some of his pee or poop to the box, the smell will encourage use of this box for his litter needs. After cat uses it regularly, put the top back on.

Try getting a covered box. I have had really great luck with the Clevercat top-entry litter box. Since the cat enters from the top, and it's covered everywhere else, there's no way for the cat to eliminate outside the box unless they are literally not inside the box.

If the cat has been doing this since she was a kitten, it's not a habit she's likely to break. Make sure her litter box is cleaned daily and big enough for her to use. Try fragrance-free litter and make sure there's enough litter for her to dig and bury excrement. Try having another litter box in the house too. Keep piles of fabric items off the floor. You can spray sofas with a mix of lemon and white vinegar often (they usually hate that scent). DO NOT USE BLEACH to clean anything a cat has urinated on. There is ammonia in urine, so when you use ammonia containing products to clean with, it just smells like another litter box to them. Baking soda and vinegar work well.

It's common for the cat to avoid the litter box after a negative experience. Moving the litter box to a new location or buying a new box might help. More importantly, make sure the cat has plenty of spaces to go that the dog cannot reach, including the litter box room. A baby gate that the cat can crawl under or jump over is a good way to stop the dog. Take the dog to a vet or animal behaviorist for advice, and isolate it immediately if the dog tries to chase or attack your cat again.

Infections are common in the year following this surgery (urethrostomy), so the vet should follow up on your cat regularly. Bleeding and swelling are not uncommon, but if you think the area is infected, contact the vet right away. If your vet doesn't detect anything wrong, your cat might need a new box (if he associates the old one with pain), a lower box (if stepping high is painful after surgery), or just time to recover (if he is trying to hold in urine due to pain).

Play with the cat in the general area of the litter box. If she's too skittish to approach it, you may need to move the litter box to a new room or buy a new one.

You might just have to get a new litter box. Your cat is unlikely to change its mind any time soon, and you may end up having to clean up a lot of messes.

The area that the cat goes on the carpet could still have a stain or odor from it being used before. Also, litter that can be scooped absorbs the urine, but the poop odor could still be on the bottom of the box. Try washing the box and leave it in direct sun. Baking soda is also good.

Cats stop using their litter boxes for a number of reasons. They're probably anxious from being uprooted to a new home and could be urinating elsewhere to claim their new spaces or show their discontent. Try placing several litter boxes around the home and make sure the new owners are filling the litter boxes with enough litter for the kittens to dig in. If they have urinated outside of the litter box, be sure to clean the space with ammonia-free products (vinegar and baking soda work well). There is ammonia in urine, so if you use bleach or other ammonia containing products to clean with, it just smells like another litter box to a cat and they will urinate there again.

Some cats prefer one box in particular.

Since he does show a version of the behavior, you can encourage it with clicker training. Use a clicker tool to make a noise every time your cat scrapes the sand accidentally or moves its paws in the right motion. Follow the click with a toy or pat right away. (Treats aren't ideal in the litter box.) Changing the litter setup risks turning the cat off entirely, but if you think it's worth the risk, try increasing the size of the litter box reduce the chance that the cat steps in it, or switching to a covered box to contain the smell.

Check out the article on How to Litter Train a Kitten .

First, take her to the vet. If there's no underlying medical issues, the litter box might be dirty, in a spot that she/he doesn't like, or her food might be too close to the litter box. She might not like the litter you're using.

Sometimes kittens need a reminder; just relocate his poop to the litter box. He'll figure it out soon.