My Cat Has Unfriended Her Litter Box

Your Siamese cat Sasha is the most reliable cat you’ve ever met. Each morning, Sasha sits at her favorite window for some up-close birdwatching. Since that makes Sasha hungry, she chows down on her kibbles and tops off her meal with a few sips of water. Finally, Sasha completes her litter box business, always covering her deposits and never scratching litter onto the floor. Lately, though, Sasha has been urinating outside her box; in fact, Sasha has left foul-smelling puddles in several hard-to-reach corners. You’re desperate to find out why Sasha has suddenly abandoned her litter box. You’ve asked your veterinarian from Reynoldsburg for his expert advice. Read more about several reasons cats might steer away from their litter box.


Hidden Medical Condition

First, your vet wants to rule out a medical reason for Sasha’s strange urination behavior. Fortunately, a urinalysis will provide him with some useful results. If the vet concludes that Sasha has a urinary system-related medical problem, he’ll provide prompt treatment that should make Sasha feel better.

Unappealing Litter Box

Hopefully, Sasha’s a healthy girl who doesn’t have any urinary system ailments. Now it’s time for some detective work. If you’ve placed Sasha’s litter box in the busy laundry room or bathroom, Sasha doesn’t have any privacy for that important business. Perhaps the box is too small; or maybe the box’s sides are too high for Sasha to easily navigate.

Maybe you’ve dumped far too much litter in Sasha’s box; as cats prefer litter only two inches deep. Perhaps you’ve recently changed cat litter brands; and Sasha is expressing her displeasure with the new litter’s consistency. Or, maybe you’ve put off the litter box cleaning duties, and Sasha’s extremely annoyed with your laziness.

Stressed-Out Cat

A stressful experience can easily cause Sasha’s odd urination behavior. If Sasha has an unpleasant memory of a past urinary infection, she might associate her litter box with that awful experience. Or, if you have multiple cats, Sasha doesn’t want to share a litter box; so she just urinates in the corner. If you’ve recently moved, or gotten a new pet, Sasha’s routine has been disrupted and she’s quite upset.

Once your Reynoldsburg vet determines the cause of Sasha’s urinary malfunction, make the litter box-related changes that should solve your cat’s problem. If Sasha’s problem persists, your vet can design a behavior modification plan that should get some results.

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