It’s fairly easy to understand how frustrating it can be to have a cat simply stop using the litter pan and instead use your bed, clothing, the floor or any other location besides the pan itself. Here, I’ve defined a few reasons cats may do this and how you might convince your precious animal to use the appropriate location…or at least stop them from going in the specific location(s) they’ve been using.
The Picky Kitty: This is the cat who seems to despise the litter when there’s even the tiniest amount of feces in it. He or she will give it a menacing glare and simply use a different location.
Fix: What I would recommend in this particular situation is to add a hood to your litter box if there isn’t one already there. For whatever reason, the cats that fit in this category feel better when there’s a cover on it. If there’s a specific location where the cat likes to go, take note of the differences in that spot vs. the spot he/she’s using. You could also change the litter box to an automatic scooper box… but the transition must be made carefully or else the cat will stop using the cat box entirely.
The Nervous Kitty: This is the kitty that hates the hood of a litter box but can’t stand to have people watching either. They’ll go to the bathroom anywhere as long as it’s not in that litter box. In this case, it doesn’t matter if they were trained before or not, because at this point, they’ve pretty much decided that litter is for the dogs.
Fix: You might try taking newspaper or some similar material and putting it in a corner (or a place) they seem to like using. I’ve found that this particular cat must be trained to use a spot, trained to use litter and then trained to accept the box. Once they’ve accepted the newspaper (do NOT use cloth), you can start putting the newspaper in a standard, very low to the ground box and then you can put the standard box into the litter box (make sure you don’t move the standard box from its location.) and then put a little bit of litter in there. Gradually, as you change out the newspaper and litter, you can start putting less and less newspaper in the container until there’s no more paper at all. And Viola! The cat is potty trained again. (Note that this method usually takes around two weeks or so and it’s best to have the chosen location covered by a table or something.)
It’s also much easier to keep a cat box trained if you train or re-train them before you get them neutered or spayed. When cats are solidly box trained, they usually stay that way after they’re fixed and won’t change their loyal litter loving ways unless something else changes. White vinegar is also a great deterrent when it’s poured over the urine stains. Personally, I prefer a mixture of white vinegar and LOC when cleaning up. (Legacy of Clean, it can be bought here: http://www.amway.com/essencesoflife
What do you think? What have you tried to stop your precious pet from ruining your cleanliness?