New Apartment / Litter Box Suggestions

[AndrewGeibel]

I am moving to a new apartment in a few weeks. Historically my cat has been a little iffy about using the litter box. I don't want this to be an issue in my new apartment (I'd like to keep it clean and fresh unlike the apartment that I am in now). Do you guys have any suggestions as to how I can go about making sure he is better about using the litter box? Thanks for the help in advance.

[Alexandra V]

If you look around at some pet shops, there are 2 products you could look at:

1. Some shops sell a powder or liquid spray that contains pheromones that will make wherever you spray it more attractive for the animal to pee on (so spray it in the litter box).
2. If you notice that the cat seems to prefer a certain area when he doesn't go in the box, then you can find a spray along the lines of "shoo!", which you spray where you don't want an animal to go. Similar idea as above, but different pheromone and different effect.

Or you could try a different type of litter-it might be the texture that puts him off the box.

[Jessica Loesch]

Usually a cat won't use a litter box because he doesn't like it for some reason.

Assuming you keep it clean, it may very well be the type of litter. Is there a hood on it? Maybe he likes privacy/dislikes closed spaces.

Good luck on figuring out what the issue is. I got lucky with my cats, they will use whatever. In fact, if I put fresh litter in the box, my siamese comes over to use the bathroom every single time.

[reptile65]

I'd suggest using a regular, uncovered litter box in a secure, quiet location. Use unscented plain, scoopable cat litter and make sure it's no more than a couple inches deep. Scoop the litter box AT LEAST once per day. Also, it's a good idea to provide more than one litter box. A good guideline is the number of cats plus one. So if you only have one cat, offer 2 litter boxes. Good luck!

[AndrewGeibel]

Thanks for the replies everybody. I have tried using a covered litter box before and he seemed to like it but then stopped using that box and started using the uncovered one so I removed the cover and he started using it again.

Currently he is using the litter boxes to urinate in but not for pooping. I'll try some different kinds of litters and see if that changes things up at all. Do you think it is a good idea to change one box at a time to see if he prefers one thing over the other?

[Jessica Loesch]

Yes most definitely. Give him options. You'll figure out best what he likes that way.

[weird_science04]

I have 5 cats and one cat of mine won't use the litter box for pooping if one cat peed in one of the boxes. It is ridiculous. If she is the first kitty in there, then she will use it. Luckily, she only poops right in front of the litter box so it isn't that hard to clean and since it is on tile, easy to disinfect also.

Sometimes cats are just quirky. If you know the cat is going to poop outside the litter box, then make sure it is in a location that it is not on carpet. Also, if I try to put something under the litter boxes to catch the poop from and litter kicked out, I have another cat that will pee on it.

Star