Litter Box Problems, Solved

Start here, before anything else. If your cat is going in and out of the box, crouching, straining and producing nothing, get to a vet today. In a male cat this can be a urethral blockage, and a blocked cat can die within a day or two. Crying in the box, licking at the genitals over and over, blood-tinged drops, vomiting or sudden lethargy alongside the straining are all emergency signs. Do not wait to see if it improves overnight. Do not finish this article first — go now.

Any sudden change deserves a medical check, not a behaviour plan. Cystitis, bladder stones, kidney disease, diabetes and arthritis all show up as missed boxes. Pain teaches a cat that the box hurts, and the cat blames the box, not the bladder. Your vet will want a urine sample and will weigh what to test against your cat's age and history. So step one for any new soiling problem is a consultation. Everything below is step two.

Numbers first. One box per cat, plus one spare, spread around the home. Three boxes lined up in a row is one big box as far as a cat is concerned. At least one box on every floor, and never only in the basement.

Size next, and this is where most homes fail. A box should be about one and a half times the length of your cat from nose to the base of the tail. Almost everything sold in pet shops is smaller than that. A plain plastic storage tub with an entrance cut into one long side costs very little and is the right size.

Location. Quiet, but never a dead end — a cat wants to see what is coming and have two ways out. Not next to the washing machine or the boiler: one spin cycle while she is in there can put her off that spot for months. Not beside the food and water. Not behind a door that swings shut.

Litter. Unscented, fine-grained and clumping is what most cats pick in preference tests, at a depth of 5 to 7 cm (2 to 3 in). Scented litter and deodorising crystals are for human noses. If you want to change type, put the new box beside the old one and let the cat vote for a week.

Covered or open? A hood traps odour inside, which is exactly where the cat has to go, and it blocks her view of the room. Most cats manage either, but a nervous cat, or one being bullied by a housemate, does better with an open box. If you keep the lid, scoop twice a day without exception.

Scoop twice daily. Wash the box with unscented soap monthly and replace a scratched plastic box once a year, because scored plastic holds odour. Clean accidents with an enzymatic cleaner; ammonia-based products smell like urine to a cat and invite a repeat performance.

Never punish, and never rub a nose in it. Punishment adds stress, and in cats stress lands in the bladder. If the box has become a bad place, rebuild it: confine the cat to one quiet room with two or three boxes side by side, each with a different litter, and watch which one she chooses over a week. Then set the rest of the house up around the winner.