I have a 2 yr old cat suddenly not using her litter box. Don't know what to do anymore. Any suggestions?

Question

She has always used the litter box with no issues. Now it's hit or miss. I don't know what to do to correct this. She is my first cat.

Answer 1

Have you made sure, the litter tray is clean:).

Answer 2

she may have a bowel problem or urinary tract infection so get her seen to by a vet.no one can tell you why this is and only a real positive answer by some one thats (been there done that kind of thing) can tell you.  hope kitty is ok,best of luckxx

Answer 3

Keep it clean, make sure there are no other cats threatening your cat.  Here are some suggestions from my vet's web site (Dr. Waxler-Mitchell who answers questions for the Cat Fancy Magazine) about litter problems (link to catcare.com below).  

- What should I do if my cat is urinating on the floor or spraying?

Cats can get urinary tract infections just like people, however they cannot tell us, so they may spray or urinate in inappropriate locations. If your cat exhibits this behavior, you should have it examined by a veterinarian, and a urinalysis should be performed to determine if a medical problem exists. If the problem is deemed behavioral, the veterinarian will discuss behavior modification and possible drug options.

Below is advice from Cornell University (link below)

- Something about the litter box bothers your cat.

- The box contains harsh odors. The litter box may have an offensive odor if you clean it with harsh chemicals. Or, if you don't clean it enough, the box may smell strongly of ammonia (a normal byproduct of urine). In either case, covered litter boxes hold in and amplify such odors.

- The sides of the box are too high. Cats with painful legs, sore joints, or other mobility problems may have trouble getting into a box with high sides. Kittens have similar problems.

- Something about the litter bothers your cat.

- The litter is dirty. Cats usually prefer clean litter.

- The texture of the litter is distasteful. Your cat may have a preference for finer-textured clumping litter over coarser non-clumping litter—or vice versa.

- The scent of the litter is unpleasant. Most cats prefer non-scented litter.

- The location of the litter box bothers your cat.

- The box is in an unpleasant area. Avoid placing the litter box in a high-traffic, noisy, dark, or dank area.

- Your cat is afraid to use the box. If another cat, dog, or human terrorizes your cat when she's in the box, or ambushes her as she exits, she may avoid the box altogether.

Inappropriate Site Preferences.  Alternatively, your cat may develop a preference for eliminating in a spot other than the box. Preferences can be categorized as follows:

Another surface is more desirable for elimination. Cats that prefer certain surfaces usually stick with that choice. For example, a cat that finds it more pleasing to eliminate on soft surfaces like clothing or carpets would be unlikely to use tile floors.

Another location is more desirable for elimination. This usually results from an aversion to the current box location.

Answer 4

If you're having a hard time persuading your cat to use the litter box, it just may be time to draw a line in the sand. Most cats prefer eliminating on a loose, grainy substance, which is why they quickly learn to use a litter box. But when their preferences include the laundry basket, the bed, or the Persian rug, you may find yourself with a difficult problem. By taking a closer look at your cat's environment, you should be able to identify factors that have contributed to the problem, and make changes that encourage your cat to head for the litter box once again. The most common reasons why cats don't use the litter box are an aversion to the box, such as dislike of a covered box, or dissatisfaction with the depth of the litter. Two other common reasons are a preference for a particular type of litter not provided in the box, or a preference for a particular location where there is no box. Animal Care Professionals:

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Sometimes, the problem is a combination of all these factors. To get to the answer, you'll need to do a little detective work—and remember, the original source of the problem may not be the reason it's continuing. For example, your cat may have stopped using the litter box because of a urinary tract infection, and then developed a surface preference for carpet and a location preference for the bedroom closet. If that's the case, you'll need to address all three of these factors to resolve the problem.

Cats don't stop using their litter boxes because they're upset at their human caregivers and are determined to get revenge for something that "offended" them. Because humans act for these reasons, it's easy for us to assume that our pets do as well. But animals don't act out of spite or revenge, so it won't help to punish your cat or give her special privileges in the hope that she'll start using the litter box again.

Medical Problems

It's common for cats with medical problems to begin eliminating outside of their litter box. For example, a urinary tract infection or crystals in the urine can make urination painful—and both are serious conditions that require medical attention. Cats often associate this pain with the litter box and begin to avoid it. So if your cat has a house-soiling problem, check with your veterinarian first to rule out any medical problems. Cats don't always act sick, even when they are, and only a trip to the veterinarian for a thorough physical examination can rule out a medical problem.

Cleaning Soiled Areas

Because animals are highly motivated to continue soiling an area that smells like urine or feces—and because cats' sense of smell is so much stronger than humans'—it's important to thoroughly and properly clean the soiled areas.

Urine stains will glow in the dark under a fluorescent black light, which can generally be purchased at hardware and pet supply stores. Once located, the stains should be cleaned with an enzymatic cleaner, also available at pet supply stores. Strong smelling household cleaners will do little to eliminate the odor or deter your pet from re-marking the area. Be sure to clean the area thoroughly before steam cleaning to avoid "locking in" the odor.

Aversion to the Litter Box

Your cat may have decided the litter box is an unpleasant place to eliminate if:

The box is not clean enough for her.

She has experienced painful urination or defecation in the box due to a medical problem.

She has been startled by a noise while using the box.

She has been "ambushed" while in the box by another cat, a child, a dog, or by you, if you were attempting to catch her for some reason.

She associates the box with punishment. (For example, someone punished her for eliminating outside the box, then placed her in the box.)

What You Can Do:

Keep the litter box extremely clean. Scoop at least once a day and change the litter completely every four to five days. If you use scoopable litter, you may not need to change the litter as frequently, depending on the number of cats in the household, the size of the cats, and the number of litter boxes. If you can smell the box, then you can be pretty sure it's offensive to your cat as well.

Add a new box in a different location, and use a different type of litter in the new box. Because your cat has decided that her old litter box is unpleasant, you'll want to make the new one different enough that she doesn't simply apply the old, negative associations to the new box.

Make sure that the litter box isn't near an appliance (such as a furnace) that makes noise, or in an area of the home that your cat doesn't frequent.

If ambushing is a problem, create more than one exit from the litter box, so that if the "ambusher" is waiting by one area, your cat always has an escape route.

If you have multiple cats, provide one litter box for each cat, plus one extra box in a different location.

Surface Preferences

All animals develop preferences for a particular surface on which they like to eliminate. These preferences may be established early in life, but they may also change overnight for reasons that we don't always understand. Your cat may have a surface preference if:

She consistently eliminates on a particular texture—for example, soft-textured surfaces such as carpeting, bedding, or clothing, or slick-textured surfaces such as tile, cement, bathtubs, or sinks.

She frequently scratches on this same texture after elimination, even if she eliminates in the litter box.

She is or was previously an outdoor cat and prefers to eliminate on grass or soil.

What You Can Do:

If you recently changed the type or brand of cat litter, go back to providing the litter that your cat had been using.

If your cat is eliminating on soft surfaces, try using a high-quality, scoopable litter.

If your cat is eliminating on slick, smooth surfaces, try putting a very thin layer of litter at one end of the box, leaving the other end bare, and put the box on a hard floor.

If your cat has a history of being outdoors, add some soil or sod to the litter box.

Location Preferences

Your cat may have a location preference if:

She always eliminates in quiet, protected places, such as under a desk, beneath a staircase, or in a closet.

She eliminates in an area where the litter box was previously kept or where there are urine odors.

She eliminates on a different level of the home from where the litter box is located.

What You Can Do:

Put at least one litter box on every level of your home. (Remember, a properly cleaned litter box does not smell.)

To make the area where she has been eliminating less appealing to your cat, cover the area with upside-down carpet runner or aluminum foil, place citrus-scented cotton balls over the area, or place water bowls in the area (because cats often don't like to eliminate near where they eat or drink).

OR

Put a litter box in the location where your cat has been eliminating. When she has consistently used this box for at least one month, you may gradually move it to a more convenient location at a rate of an inch—seriously!—per day.

Everyone Makes Mistakes

If you catch your cat in the act of eliminating outside the litter box, do something to interrupt her like making a startling noise, but be careful not to scare her. Immediately take her to the litter box and set her on the floor nearby. If she wanders over to the litter box, wait and praise her after she eliminates in the box. If she takes off in another direction, she may want privacy, so watch from afar until she goes back to the litter box and eliminates, then praise her when she does.

Don't ever punish your cat for eliminating outside of the litter box. By the time you find the soiled area, it's too late to administer a correction. Do nothing but clean it up. Rubbing your cat's nose in it, taking her to the spot and scolding her, or inflicting any other type of punishment will only make her afraid of you or afraid to eliminate in your presence. Animals don't understand punishment after the fact, even if it's only seconds later, and trying to punish them will often make matters worse.

Other Types of House Soiling Problems

Marking/Spraying: To determine if your cat is marking or spraying, consult a veterinarian or animal behaviorist.

Answer 5

Is there any new stressers in the house?  New kids, pets....

If not, then are you cleaning your box out daily (and scraping to the bottom?)? If yes, are you replacing the old litter you are taking out daily with new litter (there should be 3-4 inches of litter)?  Are you adding additives with a smell (they don't like things that have an odor - just use baking soda in the litter, 1/2 cup per 2 inches of litter)?  Is the litter near their food (would you want to eat in a smelly bathroom)?

If you have changed their litter lately, they may not like what you've bought, or you changed it too fast without introducing it slowly.

If none of these things help, you may want to take him to your vet for a check up, there might be a health issue involved.

Answer 6

time to go to the vet, I will betcha she has a Urinary track infection, generally when a cat stops using the litter box this is the problem, but its nothing that a trip to the vet and a round of antibiotics wont cure

Answer 7

If nothing else has changed that might cause her emotional upset (like someone new or another pet moving in, etc.), it's almost always a medical problem.  Could be diabetes or as simple as a urinary infection, but either way, get her to to the vet to be checked over.

Answer 8

Is she using the bathroom outside of the litter box, like in laundry and on the furniture? If so, then she is probably acting out because of some environment stresser, as other people have mentioned. If she is not going at all, she probably has a medical problem that needs attention. My cat used to get urinary infections and the main way we could tell was that he started to pee in the shower or elsewhere to get our attention - sometimes right in front of my face! - and he went frequently with very little quantity. Lots of little squirts.

If it turns out there isn't any medical problem, you can try the "Cat Attract" brand of litter. I found it at PetSmart. We adopted feral kittens last week who never saw a litter box before and were going all over the couches. Within an hour of changing the litter to Cat Attract, all of them rushed to the litter to use it :-)

Answer 9

Did you change the brand of litter or did the litter company change the way they make it? This happened to my cats, I used tidy cats clay litter with the little crystals then tidy cats changed the way they make it and made it little balls instead of crystals and my cats refused to use it! Eventually I switched to tidy cats unscented and they started using it again. Also make sure you keep it clean, cats don't like p**p as much as you don't like p**p!

Answer 10

could be the litter or it could be a urinary tract infection try changin litter first if not that then trip to vet

Answer 11

She might be ticked off about something...has anything changed in her environment recently?  Is she being left along too much?

I've had a couple of cats who brought their displeasure to my attention by doing this.