The District Vet: Thinking Outside the Litter Box

/ The District Vet /

THINKING OUTSIDE THE LITTER BOX

by Dan Teich, DVM

When people think of potty training, they often tend to think about either newborn babies or puppies, but not cats. This may be due to the fact that cats tend to be inherently “litter box” trained even when they are kittens. While cats rarely need to be taught how to use the litter box, it is not uncommon for cats to urinate or defecate outside of their litter box which could be a sign of illness, stress, or even (unintentional) human error. Here is the inside scoop, pun intended, on how to keep your cat’s litter box habits healthy!

Let’s start with the easy things that cat owners can do to ensure litter boxes are up to their cat’s standards. If all of the steps below are followed, it can help a veterinarian determine if the litter box avoidance is behavioral or medical in nature more readily. • Have one more litter box than you have cats - For example, if you have two cats you should ideally have three litter boxes in the house. This can be easier said than done, especially in D.C. where square footage is precious. Why is this important? Some cats prefer to urinate in one litter box and defecate in the other and if they aren’t able to separate them in the litter box cats will take it upon themselves to nd somewhere else to urinate or defecate. Cats can also be territorial of their litter box and might not want to share with their brother or sister cat. • Variety - Cats like to have choices with their litter box scenery so I recommend providing one litter box that is covered and one litter box that is uncovered. If you have a senior

cat, it is also important to consider possible arthritis and jumping in/out of the litter box could be stressful on the joints. Providing a low entrance litter box can be bene cial. • Litter type - Unfortunately, cat litter marketing is starting to focus on humans rather than the cats. Scented litter can actually be irritating to cat paw pads. As much as I loved the scent that came with the Hawaiian Aloha Febreze litter, my cats de nitely had other thoughts. • Location - Cats can be incredibly independent creatures and can enjoy privacy with their litter box habits. I recommend keeping their litter box away from noisy rooms (laundry rooms, i.e).

It’s also advisable to have litter boxes in separate parts of the house. If you have multiple oors, it would be great to have a litter box on each oor especially for older pets that might have arthritis. Additionally, cats do not like to have their food and water by their litter boxes. I recommend keeping cat and food bowls in a completely separate room than their litter boxes. • Liners - There are plastic products that you can line litter boxes with to help with the cleaning of the litter box. The noise created by the liners can cause cats to avoid using the litter box. • Cleaning - Litter boxes should be strained at least once a day. While some cats are more tolerant than others about adhering to this schedule, it is also important for their overall health. Cat urine has ammonia in it - which is what causes the potent smell. If ammonia builds up, it can be harmful for cats and humans alike. Additionally, litter boxes should be deep cleaned once a month. This means all the litter should be removed and the box itself should be scrubbed down with soap. If you are doing all of the things above but your cat is still not using the litter box, there could be a medical problem to blame. Here are some of the medical

conditions that can cause litter box avoidance. • Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs) - This is a common source of litter box avoidance especially in female cats. UTIs are caused by bacteria that can cause in ammation leading to pain when urinating, increased frequency to urinate, blood in the urine, and straining to urinate. Cats can associate the pain from urinating with the litter box so they try to avoid the litter box to help prevent the discomfort. UTIs require appropriate antibiotic treatment to ensure resolution of the infection. • Urinary Blockage - This is more common in male cats that are two- ve years of age. A cat can become blocked with a bladder stone/crystal or even just a plug composed of protein, cells, or debris. This is a medical emergency and can be life threatening if not treated promptly. If your cat is blocked, he may visit the litter box multiple times and produce little urine or your cat may posture to urinate outside of the litter box and still not produce urine. • Feline Idiopathic Cystitis (FIC) - This is a fancy way of saying when your cat gets stressed the aren’t able to separate them in the litter box cats bladder becomes in amed and irritated. This will take it upon themselves to nd somewhere can cause discomfort just like a UTI but withelse to urinate or defecate. Cats can also be ter- out the bacterial infection. Pay attention to when ritorial of their litter box and might not want to your cat stops using the litter box: is it when you share with their brother or sister cat. leave for a trip, furniture is moved, or guests come • Variety - Cats like to have choices with their lit- over? These can be stressful events for cats. ter box scenery so I recommend providing one Litter box avoidance has several causes and can litter box that is covered and one litter box that have several solutions. Please contact your veterinaris uncovered. If you have a senior ian if you notice your cat is not using the litter box so we can help ensure your cat’s health and provide an appropriate treatment plan. We hope this gave you an inside look on what your cat wishes they could tell you, aside from asking you to ll up their half-empty food bowl.

of the litter box. The noise created by the liners can cause cats to avoid using the litter box. • Cleaning - Litter boxes should be strained at least once a day. While some cats are more tolerant than others about adhering to this schedule, it is also important for their overall health. Cat urine has ammonia in it - which is what causes the potent smell. If ammonia builds up, it can be harmful for cats and humans alike. Additionally, litter boxes should be deep cleaned once a month. This means all the litter should be removed and the box itself should be scrubbed down with soap. above but your cat is still not using the litter box, there could be a medical problem

Dan Teich, DVM is Medical Director at District Veterinary Hospital Eastern Market. ◆

XWORD

“Top Models”

by Myles Mellor

Across:

1. Top model 6. Cries of discovery 10. Raytheon syst. 13. ___ the dice 17. Animated 18. Stereo forerunner 19. “What’d I tell ya?” 20. Smooth jazz player 21. Top model 24. Top model fi rst name 25. Indy 500 time differentials, for short 26. Helicopter’s predecessor, briefl y 27. ‘’___ the ramparts ...’’ 28. Signs off on 29. Keep in a barrel 30. “Here’s to you, ___ Robinson. . .” 31. Roman number 33. Favoring 36. Dawson of N.F.L. fame 37. Auto insurer with roadside service 38. Hosp. personnel 39. Juliette Low’s org. 42. 67.50 (cardinal direction) 43. Garfunkel or Carney 44. Org. with Penguins and Bruins 45. Over and over 49. Ran into 50. ___ manner of speaking 51. A lookout position 52. Top model 58. Top model 59. Protract 60. “Wonderful!” 62. Spanish king 63. Musician’s reading matter 64. Government security agency, abbr. 65. Frenzied 69. Party serving 71. BBC competitor 72. Diverse 76. Top model Alessandra 82. Top model 84. Becoming visible 85. Twin, e.g. 86. Russian fi ghter 87. Lead, often 88. Family room 89. __ and Tina Turner 92. “Where did ___ wrong?” 93. Whatever 94. Emirates, for short 95. 1969 Peace Prize grp. 96. Formerly, USSR 97. Scale starts 98. Prefi x with acetylene 99. Indian lentil stew 100. Accident-assessing areas, briefl y 101. Awry 105. Flemish painter van Eyck 106. “I’d love you to want me” singer ____ 108. Punjabi believer 112. Top model 113. Top model 116. The best 117. St. intersector 118. MIT grad. 119. Seeker of attention 120. Cousin of a gull 121. Equal terms 122. All-male affair 123. Shreks

Down:

1. Fairy tale fi gures 2. “I cannot tell ___” 3. Frisbee, e.g. 4. Folk singer Burl 5. Spanish contraction 6. Atmospheric music genre 7. “Spring forward” amount 8. Domini preceder 9. Green stuff 10. Campfi re residue

Look for this months answers at labyrinthgameshop.com

11. Pabst Blue Ribbon 12. Pieces on a board 13. “___ Croft: Tomb Raider” 14. One’s partner 15. Liquorish fl avor 16. It may be loaded 20. Shaggy-haired ox 22. Kind of Halloween vandal 23. Pink color 24. Cultivated carp 29. Imp followers 30. Maharajah wife 31. Chief Vedic god 32. “A house ___ a home” 33. ___ fatale 34. Coach who has a “Legacy Seat” in the Royals’ stadium 35. Back in? 37. ‘’Ella Enchanted’’ star Hathaway 38. Lamb section 39. ‘’Silly’’ birds 40. Fresh-mouthed 41. Qty. 46. Cow, maybe 47. Mil. branch 48. Divers’ breathing device 50. Eisenhower and Turner 53. Lee of literature 54. Doctors Without Borders, e.g. 55. ‘’Can’t Help Lovin’ __ Man’’ 56. Downed 57. Jamaican religion 61. Manual ringer 65. Keen 66. Plaintive cry 67. Decorative vase 68. Intel group 69. Golf gimme 70. Drain 73. Meek 74. Pal 75. Former Nigerian capital 77. Corinne Bailey ___ 2007 Grammy nominee 78. Hockey great Bobby 79. Crazy Horse, e.g. 80. Inlaid work 81. Arch style 83. Nevada city 84. ___ premium 88. Brit princess 89. Titanic’s undoing 90. Bolshoi rival 91. Sibilant symbol 98. Part of B.Y.O.B. 99. Risk taker 101. Capitol Hill gofer 102. Plaintiff 103. Skater Michelle 104. Moray, e.g. 105. Coffee island 106. Season of fasting 107. “Quantum of Solace” Bond girl Kurylenko 108. Smooch in London 109. Stravinsky or Sikorsky 110. Part of the pants 111. Not his 112. Set afi re 113. Headgear 114. From, in France 115. W.W. II battle site, for short

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