ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, April 21, 1996 TAG: 9604230003
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-7 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
COLUMN: Claws & Paws
SOURCE: JILL BOWEN
Q: We have two beautiful cats who were perfectly litter-box trained until recently. Now they seem to be having a problem in using their tray, not when they urinate but when they pass feces. They aren't hitting the tray. They do it just outside. Help!
A: Soiling in the house accounts for 75 percent of all the problems associated with cat behavior. The incidence is always higher if there is more than one cat in the house.
Cats are inherently tidy. As long as they are provided with a clean dirt tray they will usually use it. Unburied feces are usually left as a potent sign to other cats, and to us, that a boss cat lives here. It may also be the result of inefficient training of the kittens by their mother, in which case there is no reliable way to retrain them.
More common are the cats that seem to have a poor aim. The simplest solution is to invest in an enclosed tray. Some outdoor cats, if confined, prefer to use your flower pots. You can overcome this by covering the flower pot earth with pebbles, bark, aluminum foil or moth balls.
All cats vary, which makes it very difficult to alter their behavior.
I suggest the following tips:
a. Make sure the litter is clean and of the type your cat likes.
b. Check that the tray is the right size and shape for your cat.
c. Put the tray in an appropriate location: easy to get to, but private.
d. If your cat is soiling in a specific spot, try moving the tray to that area.
e. If soiling over the edge, use a covered tray.
f. Clean up all areas that have been soiled. Carpet can be difficult to clean, so after cleaning spread crushed moth balls in the area, to prevent the cat returning to that spot again. Tiles can be cleaned with soap and water or disinfectant; however, cement is virtually impossible to clean and deodorize. Dinegar is probably one of the best deodorants, while soda water works well on carpet and bedding.
g. After cleaning the area, place the feeding bowls there as cats are reluctant to soil where they feed.
h. Punishment never works and is usually counterproductive. If caught in the act, pick the cat up and place it calmly in the dirt tray.
If these procedures don't work, the final solution is confine your cats separately to small training pens. The pen should be large enough for the cat to eat, sleep and use the tray. The cat is only allowed out under supervision for short periods and is kept in the cage until it learns to use the tray again, probably for about four to five weeks. Hopefully you will not have to resort to anything quite so drastic. Good Luck.
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