Stress related litter box aversion





By Frania Shelley-Grielen. All rights reserved



You already know that keeping the litter box clean is important, so, why is your cat not using a clean litter box? Cat litter box aversion is the number one cause of owner surrender and one that, at times, is not always as simple as clean litter and multiple cat boxes. This predicament is frustrating for both humans and cats. First steps in figuring out what is going on should always start with the medical to rule out possible urinary tract infections, bladder stones, arthritis, etc., all of which can contribute to litter box avoidance (de-clawing is also problematic, more on this below). After obtaining a clean bill of health, going back to litter box usage 101 is in order along with tackling the reasons behind the behavior.


Getting a cat to use a litter box works so well because it approximates what they would normally use in a free living situation, a clean, safe location with a soft, fine substrate (ground covering) to cover waste in, away from where they eat and drink. It makes perfect cat sense that a clean litter box, with the right sort of litter (fine textured and unscented), in the right place, is essential.


A quick review of litter box 101:


Litter box size matters, think 1 and ½ times longer than the cat and avoid covered boxes and automated litter set-ups (designed more for humans than for cats). Finest grained and unscented litter is necessary. Adding timothy grass or a commercial cat attractant may help. Food and water bowls should be separated. Keep boxes out of closets if possible and away from noisy appliances, like the washer, avoid litter box liners which can interfere with scratching and covering. Scoop litter waste on a daily basis. More than one cat? Than, you need more than one box. Make sure to replace the box every 6 months to one year plastic is porous and holds on to odors, especially when scratched.


Former ferals do need more training on litter box usage especially those that have used the great outdoors as their litter box. When addressing this, no matter how often you have gone back and tried a solution with litter box basics, it is always helpful to start again from the beginning. (Keep reading below)




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But what about when inappropriate (for us, the cats have their reasons) elimination aversion is more than just about the box? A closer look at what is happening can help the both of you:


Human beings mainly communicate visually and verbally, smelling is not high up on our list but for cats and dogs it's a whole other story. In the feline and canine world, odor and scent work to convey and process vital details about themselves and their environment. Urine marking and middening defecation (intentional placement of feces) are definite expressions of information to be shared. While dogs scent mark with urine and will over mark another’s after reading the “pee mail,” cats do not over mark and find an adjacent unmarked location to spray urine on. Cats who are urine marking are usually intact males, this is thought to relate to territory as is “middening.” Cats may begin spraying, intact male or not, when “intruders” are involved whether the intruder be a visiting outdoor cat, raccoon or new addition to the family. This sort of signaling is mostly to delineate territory, especially when placed next to an exit door.


Even knowing that marking and middening are deliberate communications we do not come close to knowing the full particulars that cats and dogs are transmitting through "smell-o-vison" so limiting it to territory is certainly too simple an explanation in every scenario. The cats and dogs that encounter the purposeful placement and scents left behind are certainly fully aware of their significance, for us, it's a bit more work.


Urinating and defecating in other areas, like an owner’s bed has a definite stress /frustration/insistence aspect and may relate to a traumatic event (as perceived by the cat) such as a move, bringing in a new cat or person, mistreatment or other significant change in environment or routine. Urine and feces do not mean the same things to cats as they mean to us. While we may think such an act is an insult, it is anything but in this scenario. And even as there is a definite component of communication in some instances of inappropriate elimination, we still need to puzzle out what is being "said.


This communication is not directed in a vengeful or adversarial way, rather it is meant to share an urgent concern that the cat has about what is happening around them that they feel the situation to be so uncomfortable and untenable that they are pressed to communicate this to their human in a location that has the most of our own scent deposited on it, our beds, clothes or shoes. We do not know the chemical component of the urine or feces when this behavior occurs. It is very possible that it might "communicate" this sort of message through scent if we were able to process it. (We often use a non invasive method to determine stress levels in animals by measuring the cortisol (the stress hormone) levels in urine and feces.) No doubt cats are able to easily decipher this information with the urine and feces of other cats and in fact, most probably, use urine and feces as part of how they communicate all the time in outdoor living situations. (Continue reading below)





"That a cat would think we have the power to solve the problem gives us some big shoes to fill, it is also amazing and motivation enough for us to do just that."



The cat’s welfare is directly and forcefully impacted by routine and environmental events. A ground breaking study done in 2011 found that disruption to routine resulted in sickness behaviors (which are defined as vomiting, diarrhea, decreased food or water intake, elimination outside the litter box, lethargy, fever, decreases in grooming and decreases in social interaction) in healthy cats and that providing an enriched environment to sick cats resulted in a significant decrease in the number of sickness behaviors and/or symptoms exhibited. The study found that keeping the time the same every single day for each feeding was paramount to stress reduction. Other factors were providing for the same caregiver, playing classical music (no rap or heavy metal please) offering playtime including the interactive kind, keeping clean litter boxes in the same locations and avoiding manual restraint.


A separate study published in May of 2017 by the Journal of Feline Medical Surgery compared the behaviors, including inappropriate elimination, excessive grooming and aggression, of cats that had been de-clawed compared to cats that not been de-clawed, the de-clawed cats significantly demonstrated more of these behaviors. 63% of the de-clawed cats were found to have bone fragments left in their digits, these cats were more likely to have back pain, inappropriate elimination, biting and aggression. de-clawed cats without retained bone fragments were found to have increased biting and inappropriate elimination. Introducing a new cat into an existing cat household can also generate house soiling and litter box issues.


The work is in figuring out what is stressing the cat so very much that this is what they feel they have to do in their cry for help to reach us to do something about it. Start with trying to determine first what has changed and what change would be most upsetting from the cat point of view. Again, a two pronged approach, where litter box basics as noted above needs to be reviewed and implemented at the same time as working on behavior, in order for the most effective solution.


Once the stressor is identified, remediation and mitigation and of course, enrichment, need to happen. Allow for a period of latency, for a time when the cat will continue or attempt to continue the prior behavior while you are making changes. In cases where a new cat is being introduced reconsider introduction strategies, including revisiting them from step one.


Remember, part of changing your cat's behavior is changing your behavior with your cat. Should your behavior include punishment, no matter what the form, even verbal or body language you want to remove it. And spraying water or shaking a can of pennies or rocks? Stop doing that, definitely out. Punishment creates fear, increases stress and makes behavior problems worse not better, especially with cats. For what will make things better- adding in the following changes will help:


Do apply management initially along with addressing the causes of stress. With cats that have been de-clawed the use of gravel type litters or clumping litters is probably not a good idea. These cats have compromised abilities to manipulate litter so the softest possible litter is the kindest. With a cat that is targeting the bed, placing the litter box on the bed might shift placement but is definitely not palatable from a human standpoint, in this scenario, placing unwelcome objects from a cat point of view on the bed or temporarily prohibiting access to the bed or bedroom would be a more workable strategy. Another example of a management strategy for outdoor intruders is blocking the view to cut down on visual stimulation think of taping paper over window panes. Additional strategies would have to be employed to deter the outdoor visitor as well because even if they cannot see the intruder they can smell them -mothballs, placed outside, are an excellent deterrent. Although not always effective, a plug in pheromone diffuser that has been tested specifically for marking behavior can be tried. Add in overall soothing (tested and approved) scents such as lavender oil (a few drops on flannel, tucked close to the cat's preferred resting place). Catnip and Valerian root sprinkled on to toys, scratch pads and in on resting areas have been shown to be preferred scents for cats and are beneficial and stress reducing.


An enriched environment is essential for these cats to alleviate stress and allow for necessary and natural behaviors that are intrinsically rewarding. For multiple cats, you want to make sure resources are adequately distributed, including your attention and careful integration strategies observed for newcomers (more on that here).


Provide opportunities for of satisfying cat activities like foraging and hunting with puzzle feeders for meals (rolling feeder or tray feeder -especially good for more than one cat) instead of food bowls. Add in daily interactive play with their humans with fishing wand toys. Consistently offer the right sort of petting to stand in for allogrooming (cats grooming each other). Make sure the appropriate cat furnishings are available such as beds with at least three sides to offer containment, raised resting spaces (shelves and towers) for safety and retreat (this is vital to multi cat households), scratch posts or boards rubbed with catnip or its related cat friendly valerian root (to attract them to the places you want them to and because they need to scratch) and plenty of toys (fur mice that rattle are a must) with the most important aspect of play, again, being with you -unpredictable, bonding and way more engaging.


The key here is looking at the whole entire picture from a human and cat point of view to solve and address things that are troublesome. That a cat would think we have the power to solve the problem gives us some big shoes to fill, it is also amazing and motivation enough for us to do just that.


References: -Martell-Moran, NK, Solan M., Townshend H.G.G. (2017). Pain and adverse behavior in declawed cats. Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery, (published online May 2017)


-Stella, J.L., Lord, L.K., Buffington, C.A.T. (2011). Sickness behaviors in response to unusual external events in healthy cats and cats with feline interstitial cystitis. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 238, 1, 67-73


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