Litter box lessons

I have been asked  question about litter trays a a few times (toileting challenges are common reasons cat behaviourists get asked for help), so I wanted to share some information with you here, incase you or a friend needs it.

A cat can pee or poo outside of the litter tray for a number of reasons. Illness can make a cat more susceptible to stress, so a vet check and monitoring of behaviour is imperative.

Health

Sometimes a cat can pee outside the tray because they are in pain. They may find it difficult to easily walk in and out of it (because they have a painful condition such as arthritis or joint diseases).

Gastro problems may mean that they simply can't access it quickly enough.

Sometimes they may associate the litter tray with pain and avoid it. They may have been constipated and associate pain with the tray therefore choose not to use it. This is why working with a medical and behavioural timeline is useful.

Social environment

The tray maybe located in a busy place or somewhere the cat can be seen. It can be intimidating being watched while you're doing your business and the same goes for cats! They may choose to do it somewhere quiet instead. 

The tray may be hard to access or the litter may be painful on the cats paws.

The tray itself

Is it cleaned regularly? Sometimes it may be that it is lingering with smells.

Can the cat easily turn around in it and access it? These are all important factors.

Are the cleaning products cat friendly? Bleach or citrus smells can be off putting.

A covered tray can be intimidating as cats can't look at their surroundings while using it.

If a cat is not using their litter tray, there will always be a reason. They are  never doing it out of spite, they can't think like that and they can't talk to us.