18 years ago, in October of 2005, I adopted Alexander the Great from the VA Siamese Rescue. Yesterday, I had to make the difficult decision to let him go, to free his sweet soul from his old and failing body.
I wanted to write to thank you for everything you have done for cats over the years. Alex was truly one of the sweetest cats I’ve ever known, and I am so grateful to you for making it possible for me to adopt him and spend the last 18 years loving him. He grew into a confident cat, but he always maintained the sweetest and most laid back demeanor.
You and your team gave him his name because you wanted this sweet but shy guy to grow up into a strong brave cat. I couldn’t bear to change his name, because I had nothing better to offer, so “Alex” stuck. And it worked. He grew up to be a strong, confident, and adventurous cat. Many friends said he was like a puppy, because he would greet people at the door and follow people around the house. When I started taking him on adventures beyond his own back yard about 6 years ago, he was a welcome participant. And I loved it, because that meant he could go with me on my travels. He was truly one of a kind, and I hope he sends me another sweet kitty soul to fill his big adventurous paw prints.
Thank you again, for facilitating a perfect match for me and Alex 18 years ago. My heart is aching today, but I will be forever grateful to have had him fill my life with joy for so long. Thank you again for touching so many lives with your commitment to caring for rescue cats.
Hi Siri! I hope that you’re doing well! Just wanted to report that Gilda VA3840 was adopted by us 18 years ago today!! We do “mouse reiki” every night at bedtime – her request, of course! We love her too much!! Happy Holidays! Sandy & Whit
For 25+ years, our job has been to help the cat who needed a new situation find a new home. During those 25 years, we encountered every single reason imaginable for needing to find a new home. Some were unavoidable – the owner died with no family to take the cat. The new baby in the family had repeated allergic reactions that resulted in hospitalizations. The family lost their home and went to a homeless shelter that didn’t allow pets.
Others, not so understandable. One man told me his cat ‘purred too much’. Another lady said that the cat didn’t match the new sofa. And of course there was always the ‘we got a kitten and the older cat is unhappy.’
While at first our emotions bubbled over as we listened to the reasons, we quickly came to several big conclusions:
If the person wasn’t happy, and in particular wasn’t happy with the cat, then the cat wasn’t happy.
Cats are amazingly resilient. We’d like to think that no one is as great at being an owner as we are. But give them another excellent situation with enough love and adoration, and they can be happy again.
People tend to focus on themselves – what do “I” want that makes me happy. That is not always the same as what makes the cat happy. A person may have 12 cats and that fills their heart with joy. But for the one of those cats that is always hiding and tormented by the other cats, their heart may be filled with fear.
Social media allows just a snapshot of the real world. You see a beautiful garden, but not the rusty fence next door. You see a gorgeous beach, but not the pile of garbage washed up on the sand. We crop pictures, adjust backgrounds, frame our subject so that people ‘like’ our photo. You never see the whole story unless you are right there. And with rehoming of animals, there is always more to the story than what we see presented.
Each of us has X amount of energy to use each day. We can use it in any way we see fit – being helpful, being kind, being supportive, or we can use it being critical, throwing stones, casting blame. In the case of animals needing new homes, our focus should be on the animal itself. What can we do to help? Can we share the post? Do we know someone who might help? Can we donate to their cause? Or can we just offer some words of kindness to a stranger who is likely going through a lot tougher time than is presented?
The world needs more kindness and compassion. Not hatred and criticism. If you can’t say something nice and supportive, or help in some way, then scroll on by. Let’s strive to have our actions and words have positive reactions. There’s enough unhappiness as it is without any one of us contributing more.
In Part 1 on this topic, https://siriouslysiri.com/2022/02/06/dont-bite-the-hand-that-feeds-you-part-1/ we discussed some of the reasons that cats nip, or bite, as well as some of the ways to prevent this (sometimes) learned habit. In this post, let’s look at some of the ways to respond to, as well as to discourage, these biting behaviors. Keep in mind, however, that it is very helpful to try to determine the ‘why’ of these behaviors in the event that you or an external force is inadvertently causing the behavior.
While working to understand and ideally remove the cause of the behavior, it’s helpful to have a set response that you give whenever a bite occurs. One that comes naturally to most of us is the word ‘ouch’, and you can use this to your advantage by exaggerating this word in volume, tone, pitch, and length of utterance. To understand why this is effective, let’s backtrack a moment. When cats are kittens, they will romp and wrestle with their siblings; this activity usually accompanied by vocalizations of various sorts. This sibling interaction serves a very useful purpose in that the kitten is learning about both their strength and the effect that their behaviors have on others. There is an action/reaction sequence that occurs, teaching the kitten both what is acceptable and what is painful to another. (Realize, not every kitten has siblings and some kittens may be orphaned or may leave their family too early, so this learning experience may be lost.)
A high pitched, loud and exaggerated ‘OUCH’ will often accomplish the same thing, resulting in an arrest of the biting behavior. Very few cats are biting to be assertively aggressive, so realizing they have actually caused you pain may stop them in their tracks. If the cat is seeking attention (albeit inappropriately), removing yourself from the situation (and therefore the source of attention for the cat) often works as well, although it may not always be possible to do so. In cases where you can’t easily get up and leave the cat, removing the cat from the situation may need to happen – and this should be accomplished by a quick picking up, no cuddling or kind words, and a very quick deposit in another room – kind of like a time-out. (It should go without saying, but I have seen it happen aplenty, that when removing the cat from a situation you are doing so in a professional, business-like manner – there is no baby-talking or holding the cat close to your body or giving any kind of indication of warmth and comfort during this movement.) This time-out (ten minutes tops) must be used consistently so that the cat learns that biting behaviors result in loss of attention.
At this point it is necessary to point out that corporal punishment does not work with cats. Inflicting pain, whether it be a slap or a spank, will only make matters worse. Just like you would not play directly with your cat with your hands, you also don’t use your hands to inflict pain. You are much better served to use a ‘strong teacher voice’ and express how displeased you are about the situation.
Finally, don’t forget about positive reinforcement. When the cat is behaving and interacting appropriately, that’s the time to shower him with praise, with pets, perhaps even treats. Cats are smart creatures and if you provide consistent reinforcement, positive when they are behaving, negative when they are not, they can learn what behaviors are acceptable.
Questions or comments welcomed. We are always happy to try to help with cat misbehaviors in the home – feel free to contact us (vasrc@siameserescue.org) if you need advice. Many inappropriate behaviors can be curbed if addressed early, consistently, and by everyone involved.
While there are some cats who have learned, overtime, that humans are awful and scary and therefore may be proactively aggressive with you, typically you see a cat bite or nip in reaction to something you are doing, or not doing – bringing some of the onus back to the owner.
Some of the more common reasons cats nip:
We have taught them to do this by our own behavior
They are frightened
They are seeking attention, albeit inappropriately
They are overstimulated
They are vying for Top Cat Position
They are declawed*
As a kitten, many people (and sorry, guys, but a heavy portion of the blame may fall on you) have actually taught the cat to pounce on hands. Think about the all-too-common scenarios – the kitten is on the bed, and you are wiggling your fingers (or toes) under the sheet, encouraging the cat to pounce. Alternatively, there is no sheet or blanket, and you are using your fingers to tempt the kitten to play. A pouncing kitten is often followed by a full hand-on grab around the belly, perhaps rocking or jiggling the kitten back and forth as a tease. While this behavior may seem like harmless fun, and yes, many of us did it for years, what we are teaching the cat via this behavior is that hands and fingers are toys. When that kitten goes from a 2 pound jumping bean to 10 pounds of solid muscle, it’s no longer funny – yet too often, we were the ones who taught the cat to behave this way. From the beginning, never ever use your hands as play toys – always use a cat toy as you encourage the very normal kitten behaviors of pouncing, chewing and ‘bunny kicking.’ Hands should be kept for soft movements, such as petting.
Cats who respond with biting behaviors when frightened, are, well, frightened of something, and often that may be you. It’s pretty simple. Stop whatever you are doing that is triggering the fear. Along these lines, realize that picking up and cuddling a cat is a human need – it’s not necessarily something the cat wants until they are comfortable with you, and maybe not even then. Just like you don’t force yourself on another person, do not force yourself on the cat until the cat is ready. And yes, some cats may never be ready for the level of interaction you are attempting. (One of our cats has been with us in a quiet loving household for ten years, and we still can’t pick her up).
As far as seeking attention, cats are not much different than children in that if they feel lacking in the attention department, they are going to seek you out, even if the interaction results in negative attention. While there are some cats who may by nature be standoffish and want to be left alone, cats in general are social creatures, and your typical house cat will, at some point, appreciate your attention – whether it’s playing with them, petting them, or just feeding them. If you continue to ignore them, some cats may revert to nipping or grabbing at your hands in an attempt to get you to recognize their need for interaction. While we will discuss ways to curb this behavior in a separate post, keep in mind that if you have taken on the responsibility of a pet, that responsibility includes paying it some attention, regardless of how busy your day was or how exhausted you may feel. This could be petting, if that’s what the cat wants, or it could be playing (feather wands are great for this).
Overstimulation can happen as a result of how you are interacting with the cat; it may also happen as a result of something external that is in the environment. If you are in the middle of an intense brushing session, for example, you may notice your cat’s tail begin to twitch, or the skin to ripple – and because cats can’t talk to you and say ‘ouch, you’re too rough’ or ‘that’s enough thank you’ they may overreact if you continue the behavior. Just as you might ask someone to stop if they were getting too intense with a neck massage, your cat may simply be asking you to cool it. Pay attention to those body signs.
There may be external forces at work as well that are causing overstimulation. If you’ve ever watched your cat at the window eyeing the birds, or perhaps another cat that’s outside, you are likely to notice some tail twitching and vocalizations of some sort. Should you choose this inopportune time to focus on petting your cat, or even just picking it up, you may find you get a smack or a nip. External overstimulation, or redirected aggression, requires you to pay attention to the environment and to selectively choose the times you are going to interact with your cat. It’s a two way street – when you want to give attention, your cat should indicate they are ready for your interaction, either by seeking you out or by demonstrating positive responses when you begin to touch them.
Finally, nipping can occur when the cat is challenging you for Top Cat. This is a bit more difficult to address and we see it a lot when a very smart cat is owned by a very ‘gentle-natured’ person:
Cats tend to live in hieararchies. Whether it be lions in the wild or multiple domestic cats in the home, there is almost always a Top Cat. Sometimes it’s obvious which one is dominant (they usually eat first, they are never usurped for the best sleeping spot, etc.), sometimes it’s very subtle and hard to tell. When you have just one cat and one owner, it’s clearly the owner who is supposed to be dominant. However, when the owner a) caters to every whim of the cat (you want to get up at 4am and play? Sure! You want to have a snack at midnight? Absolutely!) or when the owner is intimidated by the cat, the cat may take that as an indication that the position of Top Cat is available. This results in the cat expecting you to bow to their every desire, and if you don’t, reaping the consequences. If this is you, giving in to excessive whims of your cat, you may need to work to adjust that. You are the boss, you choose the rules. Sure, we accommodate and spoil our cats in many ways, but you can’t sacrifice your health and welfare to do so. And if you’re intimidated by your cat, (and I’m surprised at the number of people who are), you need to work to get over that, taking up the lead position in the relationship. You are bigger, stronger, and in charge, so while it’s important you are compassionate, kind and sympathetic to the cat’s needs, you can’t be frightened of the cat, or the relationship is not going to work.
*Finally, we should mention cats that have been declawed. In rescue and shelter situations, where cats have been traumatized at some point for some reason (abuse, abandonment, etc.) and then find themselves in a situation where they feel threatened, declawed cats are very likely to use their teeth as a defense weapon. Makes total sense when you realize that they no longer have their claws, so the warning swat no longer holds any weight. We won’t talk about the cons of declawing in this post; suffice it to say it pays to be aware that those cats who have been declawed may well become biters.
In Part 2, we’ll talk about different ways to address nipping and biting behaviors, so stay tuned. (If you enjoy these posts, please consider subscribing to the blog, and thank you!)
Bunny, after 10 years with us, will still not allow us to pick her up.
So you’re getting a new cat! How very exciting! Once upon a time, I combined households with hubby #1, bringing his cat, Broadway, over to my house and plopping her down in a room with my two cats. All three were laid back; I figured they’d sniff each other and be wonderful friends from there on in. What ensued was a fur-flinging, pee-spraying fight that lasted almost 10 years. They never got over that (WRONG) introduction and poor Broadway lived out her life in misery because we didn’t introduce them the right way. Don’t make that mistake!
Whether or not you have other animals, it is highly likely that your new cat may be a bit overwhelmed by the change of scenery, particularly if it’s past kittenhood. Cats like small places, so before bringing your new family member home, set up a room that can be the ‘safe room’ for your cat. A place to hide (under the bed is fine), food and water, and of course the litterbox are the main components. The chosen room should be a quiet one; ideally a space where you can easily spend time (even if it’s sleeping) – so a bedroom, den, study or home office works well. Make sure that the food, water and litterbox* are fairly close to wherever you suspect the cat may hide and that they don’t have to cross an enormous spanse of scary space to get to them. Ideal isolation time (if you have other animals) is 10-14 days, just in case your new cat breaks with a sniffle or a bout of loose stools from the stress of the new environment (you don’t want any existing animals to catch anything). If you do need a vet visit (and it’s always a good idea with a new family member), it’s ideal to make your appointment at or around the ten day mark, allowing you an opportunity to observe and get to know your cat. This way you can provide information on eating, drinking and litter habits to the vet. (You definitely want a vet visit in place before your cat meets any existing pets). Rushing off to the vet on day one can be done, but doesn’t allow you to provide any feedback as to how the cat is adjusting. Obviously if your cat is sickly or comes from a situation where it hasn’t been vetted, an early vet visit will be prudent.
Even if you don’t have other animals, you will know your cat is ready to explore when you walk into the safe room and your cat is standing there looking at you expectantly, as if, surely, there must be more to your home than this small space. Don’t rush this, there’s no hurry, ensuring your cat is good and comfortable with you as well as with the smells and sounds of your home is key before giving them the entire house to explore. I always liken this time to a person’s first ever visit to a large city: New York City for example. Imagine you are a country person with no experience in a metropolitan area – you could easily be overwhelmed by the sights, sounds, and even smells of such a large place. For a cat, your home may be similarly overwhelming, so take it slow.
If you have other animals, you can help the integration process during the 10 days by exchanging bedding, the litterbox, even by placing the carrier your cat used out in the general population so that it can be inspected. Remember that animals and particularly cats work by smell, so providing every opportunity to smell the new member without actually interacting with them is ideal. Basically you want to wait for two things – first, existing pets appear bored by the fact there is a new addition behind closed doors, and secondly, the new pet is showing comfort within their safe space – laying on the bed, acting relaxed, interacting with you, etc.
When it’s time to integrate, depending on how many other pets you have, you may want to introduce them one at a time, rather than the entire slew, so that there is no opportunity for gang behavior. I have always been a fan of simply leaving the door to the safe room open, as if I did it by mistake, and letting nature take its course. Again, depending on the size of your home, you’re not going to do this if you live in a massive place and your new cat is spooked. You may need to gradually increase their comfort zone by closing off extraneous doors as you allow your cat the opportunity to explore the new digs.
Patience is really key. You are working here to build a long-term relationship between you and your new cat and your new cat and the existing family members, both furry and human. Cats who are overwhelmed need time to decompress – they are unlikely to want to be held, cuddled, carried around until they trust you – no kissing on that first date. If you rush things, forcing yourself or others on the cat before they are ready, establishing trust and bonding between family members is going to be so much more difficult to attain. There is no hurry – relationships are not built overnight. Failure to integrate properly often results in rivalries that cannot be overcome, as was true for poor Broadway. She spent her entire life tormented by the other cats in the household and, in hindsight, would have been a much happier cat if we had found her a quieter home. But that’s a blog entry for another time.
Kokomo and Gummy became good friends, but it took some time
*Cats should eat and drink within the first 48 hours of getting home. Remember that production in the litterbox means something is going in. If they are so frightened they are not eating or drinking, it’s time for a vet visit asap.
In Part 1 (https://siriouslysiri.com/2021/12/27/out-of-the-box-experiences-part-1/) we talked about some of the medical and physical aspects of litterbox misbehavior, and honestly, when working with a cat with litterbox issues, I am always hoping the issue is dislike of the litter or dislike of the box location – a quick change and the problem is solved. Start with the easy, possibly the most obvious – get medical issues checked out, and if you get an all clear, move on to the physical aspects of litter type, box type and location – as these can be easy fixes. If, however, one has ruled out these things, then we need to delve into the emotional aspects of litterbox misuse, a much more complex matter.
In this post, we’ll look at several psychological influences – human/cat interactions, dog/cat interactions, and finally, cat/cat interactions. Keep in mind that there may well be more than one of these conflicts at play. (In one of my next posts, I’ll discuss single cat issues, including litterbox).
Human/cat interactions: In many of the litterbox scenarios we encountered, the cat belonged to one person, who then partnered with another person: the cat becoming third fiddle. If the newest family member happens to love cats and makes a concerted effort to become buddies with the cat, things can often work out. If not, the cat may feel jealous they are no longer the priority and may express their dislike of the situation via litterbox issues. This becomes a tough scenario to resolve, simply because the new human in the equation must, again, not only like cats, but be really vested in establishing a close relationship with the cat. Becoming the cat’s caretaker (feeder, toy person, treat-giver) is one way to endear oneself to the cat. Additionally, it is important to be sure the cat is not excluded from situations or time slots that used to belong to them – for example, not closing the cat out of the bedroom, if, for years, the cat was allowed to sleep with its person. The same scenario can occur with the birth of a new baby, diverting attention away from the cat. Just as one should do when having a second child, be sure to pamper the cat, who was there first, with lots of time and attention in order to avoid any problems with jealousy.
Dog/cat interactions: While a few cats may be terrified of dogs due to previous bad experiences, most cats can learn to coexist with a new canine presence – provided the dog does not torment the cat. It goes without saying that chasing, nipping, barking at or cornering the cat in any way shape or form is not going to make the cat happy. If one is adopting an older dog and bringing it into a cat household, make sure the dog is cat-tested prior to committing to the dog. You may also want to have a friend bring their dog for a visit so you can judge your cat’s reaction. If it’s a young dog, training the dog from the start as to how to behave around the cat is important. Be sure to provide the cat with places to go that the dog cannot get to – gating off a room or providing plenty of cat trees for the cat to climb in order to be out of reach of the dog. Of course, making sure the dog is not guarding whatever location the cat has chosen is key, and ensuring the cat can get to their food, water and box is also obvious. Suffice it to say, if the cat feels threatened by the dog in any way, they are very likely to choose alternative locations for elimination. Additionally, a cat that is baseline terrified of their own shadow is very likely to be terrified of a new dog, so think twice before adding more animals if your cat has a victim/pariah personality. Remember, when it comes to pets, you are the one choosing the makeup of your furry household – the cat has no say in the matter – so plan carefully.
Cat/cat interactions: This, I feel, is where many of the litterbox issues stem from, and I’ll start with something we talked about in Part I. If you have multiple cats, and you are experiencing litterbox issues, you must, you must, you must – have multiple litterboxes in multiple locations. The two most common reasons we found that cats did not want to use the box in a multi-cat household were a) that the box had already been used by another cat (remember the porta-potty scenario) and b) the cat was afraid to use the box because either it was being guarded by the bully cat, or the use of it resulted in being ambushed by the bully cat. If you are thinking that you don’t have space for more litterboxes (for whatever reason), then you shouldn’t have multiple cats. The number one reply we found when counseling adopters who were dealing with litterbox issues was that they didn’t have the space to add more litterboxes – yet they were able to add more cats. That doesn’t work.
Ideally you have done some matchmaking of cat personalities when you added additional cats to your household, so you don’t have a bully/pariah cat situation. (An article on matchmaking coming soon). Perhaps the personality pairing was unavoidable (you couldn’t tell as a kitten what the cat’s personality would be like as an adult, you combined households which involved combining pets) and you have one cat that is dominating the other. Realize that cats develop their feeling of security by establishing a territory that belongs to them. If I asked you which locations in your home are key to your sense of security, the answer is likely to be where you sleep, where you eat, or where you eliminate. Not having a comfortable place to do one of those three things is very stressful. Cats want to be able to sleep undisturbed by others. They want to know their food and water are easily found and available to them when they are hungry. And they want to be able to eliminate on their own time, in their own space, without feeling threatened. If you only have one litterbox, and it is down a dead-end hallway, a victim cat may be unlikely to use it, as they know there is no escape if they get cornered. By offering multiple locations, you make it difficult for the bully cat to guard them all, and increase the possibility of a stress-free litterbox experience. (Putting a collar with a bell on a bully cat will also help alert the victim cat to his whereabouts).
Realize that cats are very clean creatures. And while they certainly may have preferences as to the type of litter and box, for the most part they prefer to eliminate somewhere that is clean, comfortable, and smells nice. Sure, this means that if you have a cat that is prone to litterbox issues you may not be able to leave clean clothes laying in a pile, but this is one of the changes you may have to make for your feline roommate.
There is no doubt, not all litterbox issues are solvable. Sometimes the circumstances are such that they are unavoidable given that life sometimes puts us in less-than-ideal situations. Too often, people don’t want to make the changes necessary to solve the problem; if you want to keep the cat, it is likely to involve some adjustment on your part. There are, however, times when considering responsible rehoming may be justified. The key here is the word ‘responsible’ – there are right ways and wrong ways to rehome: dumping the cat outdoors or giving the problem to some unsuspecting person is not the way to go. More on that in another post.
If your cat is having out-of-box experiences, take a step back to assess the situation. Is the cat healthy? Cats are stoic, and medical issues are often invisible to an untrained eye. Is the litterbox area clean, pleasant, comfortable and safe? Is there tension in the household, be it interspecies, cat vs. cat, or the cat and a person? The more upset you (or someone in the household) becomes by the inappropriate elimination, the more likely the cat’s level of unhappiness will increase. Hopefully with some effort, a willingness to change things around, and thinking like a cat, you will be successful getting the cat back into the box.
Angel gets easily worried and tells you the only way she knows how
Out of the box experiences! The bane of having a cat. The number one reason for cats being turned in to shelters or rescue groups. Without a doubt, the most frustrating, the most common, the most damaging issue with cat ownership. Yes, believe it or not, one of the easier ones to solve, IF you can take the time and do the detective work. And herein lies the road to returns – too many people don’t want to take the time, or don’t have the patience to try to figure out what their cat is trying to tell them. As Director of the Siamese Cat Rescue Center for 20+ years, I have scooped and monitored litterboxes for thousands and thousands of cats. Were there some whose litterbox issues could not be solved? Sure, but the numbers were miniscule compared to how many we could solve. And I mean miniscule. 20 maybe, out of, literally, thousands of cats who came in with box issues.
They are speaking to you, you know. And if we could all understand those meows, resolving the issue might be easy. But since we don’t speak cat, we must learn to understand what they are saying by doing some puzzle solving.
1) Let’s start with the basic tenets: your cat is over six months of age and is spay/neutered. What? Your cat is not spay/neutered yet? Stop reading right now, take care of that, and then, if the issue continues, read on. Females or males, if not spayed or neutered, are highly likely to pee (urine is directed downwards from a squatting position) or spray (urine is directed horizontally from a standing position) if they are not spayed or neutered. Read that again. Females will spray as well. 2) You have been to the vet and had the cat checked for urinary tract issues. You could be wasting your time spending lots of energy trying all sorts of behavioral strategies when it could be something as simple as an infection. Both males and females can get UTIs (urinary tract infections), crystals in the urine, even bladder and kidney stones (though less common). Particularly if your cat has been fine in the box, nothing has changed in the household, and out-of-the-box experiences begin, it’s time to take a trip to the vet. No one likes to spend money unless necessary, but infections and crystals are easily treated once you know about them, so rule them out first. 3) There is an issue with the box itself. Now imagine yourself at the last restaurant, concert venue or other public place you have been, and you need to use the restroom. You find where it is (was it obvious?) and you look at the row of toilets. How many of us are going to choose one that has not been flushed? Or smells awful? Or has urine on the seat or the floor? You know the drill. We are walking down the row of toilets peering in each one to find one that looks halfway clean. Your cat is no different (and arguably cats are cleaner than most humans). They don’t want to use a toilet that is full, or filthy, or smells. They want one that is clean. Because they may need to go more than once during the day, hopefully (see below) they have more than one litterbox to choose from. The box they choose needs to be clean, which means not just keeping it scooped, but keeping it odor free. This may involve scrubbing the box on a weekly basis (or as needed). Remember that a cat’s sense of smell is much better than that of a human. 4) There is an issue with what’s inside the box, assuming we’re not talking feces and urine. In other words, what kind of litter are you using? It may be nice and fine that you prefer dust-free, flushable or some sort of organic litter, but is that what your cat likes? Cats have very sensitive noses, so not only can they detect long-term urine smells, but they are also often overwhelmed by the scented litters. While many times it is possible to convert a cat from one type of litter to another, cats with sensitive feet (in particular those that are declawed) are often averse to anything that feels too gravelly or rough on their paws (pelleted litter for example). Additionally, while it may make things easier for us, many cats absolutely hate plastic litterbox liners. 5) There is an issue with location. Flash back to the public venue you were last in when you needed to use the restroom. Was it clear where that restroom was? Was it down a dark hallway that was kind of intimidating? Did you have to go up or down flights of stairs when you were feeling a bit arthritic? Was the bathroom located where it was terribly smelly, or loud, or sketchy in any way shape or form? Ideally, all of us would like to have a pleasant and relaxing experience when we use the toilet, even if it’s a quick one, and your cat is no different. So rethink locations that are in closets, down the stairs to a dark corner in the basement, behind the noisy washing machine, etc. 6) What about the type of box? Is it hooded, because you don’t want to see or smell it, but your cat is afraid of tight spots or dark places? Is it big enough the cat can get in, turn around, dig to China, and use the box without going over the edge? Does it have a high lip they have to climb over when they are old and achy? Is it motorized and makes a scary noise if they linger too long? 7) Finally, let’s talk about the number of boxes you have. Keeping in mind what has been discussed above, unless you have nothing else to do with your time other than scoop litterboxes, you likely need more than one box. The general rule of thumb is one box per cat, plus one more. This will ensure that there is always a clean box available when the cat needs to go. If you don’t have room for more than one box, and you have litterbox issues, then rethink the number of cats you take on. If you won’t use a public restroom that hasn’t been flushed or cleaned, don’t expect your cat to be happy doing so.
Cats are very clean creatures, and they function primarily by smell. They also have good memories, so it only takes one or two negative experiences to turn a cat away from a particular box or location. If the box is uncomfortable in any way (where it’s located or what’s inside of it), they are likely to pick another place to go. How likely are you to return to a public venue where you had an awful experience? In Part 1, we’ve touched on medical considerations, as well as talking about the location and the physical box components that are important. In Part 2, we’ll discuss the environmental, emotional and psychological issues which may affect litterbox behavior. (If you like this post and want to read more, please subscribe to the blog – you will be notified when there are new posts!)
Squeaks wants desperately to tell me what’s wrong…..
