Having animals is a great satisfaction and joy. There is, however, one rather large downside to such a situation – animals in the house rule out order. A house with furry animals running around is never perfectly clean, but you can do some simple things to keep the house tidy in a house shared with a cat. Check out our patents!
What can you do to keep your cat from pooping outside the litter box?
The cleanliness of your home is largely dependent on whether your cat does its business in the desired place. Unfortunately, it happens that cats under the influence of illness, strong emotions or big changes start to settle outside the litter box. Most cats already know how to use a litter box when they are small, because burying feces is one of the strongest instincts for these animals. Rarely does a kitten need to be taught to settle in the litter box. What could be the cause of soiling in the house? First of all, if you notice this behavior, you need to go to the vet as soon as possible. It may be a pain signal, a sign of cystitis or other health problems. After urine and blood tests and other diagnostics ordered by the doctor, you can detect the problem and introduce treatment, or rule out health problems. If it appears that your cat is healthy, yet you find his urine and feces outside the litter box, it is most likely a behavioral problem. What could be the behavioral cause of this behavior?
- Poor litter box placement, inappropriate litter box model, and too few litter boxes in the house – the litter box should be a quiet, peaceful place for your cat to relax and do what it needs to do. If it stands in a too busy or noisy place, your cat may not feel safe there and may avoid being in the cat litter box. The cat litter box should also not be too built up. The pet is in the most vulnerable position when doing its physiological needs, so it needs to feel secure. Any kind of capsule with a narrow door or built in box does not allow the cat to observe and control its surroundings, so it will feel threatened when visiting the litter box. The last aspect is the number of litter boxes, there should always be one more than the cats in the house, so: for one cat two boxes, for two pets three, and so on. This gives the cat a choice, and in the case of more than one furry, makes it difficult to block resources, which is a form of aggression
- Changes in the house, new furniture, smells, moving house – all these situations can result in a stressful reaction from the cat, in the form of defecating outside the litter box. Some very territorial cats will mark new furniture or, for example, objects belonging to people visiting the apartment. This is an extremely annoying but unfortunately natural behavior for some individuals. By urinating on an object, the cat can also signal that it does not accept it in its environment and in extreme cases you have to get rid of these items. In solving these problems can help pheromone collar, which has a strong calming effect
- Stress, aggression from another animal, unwillingness to share resources – different cats react differently to stress, which can be caused by almost anything. The reason for peeing in the apartment may be the smell of the neighbors’ dog, renovation three streets away or changing washing powder, which changes the smell of the caretakers. Cats are aliens and in fact the smallest factor can cause unwanted behavior. Interaction with another cat can also be a problem. Although cats are social animals, it is very common for them to have misunderstandings or passive aggression, such as staring intensely at the other cat or blocking its access to resources. This situation can be very stressful for the victim of violence, even more so if the resource being taken away is a litter box. In these cases, the intervention of a zoopsychologist will be necessary
- Inadequate litter box substrate – in the wild, sand is the most convenient substrate for a cat to bury its feces. Unfortunately, caretakers, having in mind their own convenience, often choose litter which smells and does not resemble sand at all. Silicone crystals smelling of lavender will certainly not encourage your cat to use the toilet. A clean litter box does not have an unpleasant smell, it only appears when the litter is not picked out and the litter needs to be changed. Aromatized litter or special powders really aren’t necessary if you care about cleanliness. The best choice will be unscented, fine bentonite litter, such as the blue “Benek” you can buy at https://unizoo.pl/.
How to clean the floor on which the cat walks?
The bane of every cat owner is omnipresent hair and litter spread under the cat’s paws. Even if the floor is seemingly clean, it only takes a slight movement of air for it to start moving from the flying hair. The only effective way to deal with this is to regularly groom your cat and clean the floor. If you don’t have the time or inclination to vacuum the whole apartment every day, invest in a self-propelled vacuum cleaner, which will do this unpleasant duty for you. Remember that a well fed cat has a healthy coat and loses much less of it. Make sure your cat is well fed. Cat food should be high-meat, absolutely grain-free and contain only natural ingredients and flavors. Colorful crisps full of grains, or “meat” pieces in purple sachets, not enough that they actually contain only 4% meat, are also very harmful to the digestive and neurological system of animals. Also avoid dry food, because cats by nature drink very little, and they get most of their moisture just from their food. Feeding your cat dry crisps can lead to dehydration
Owning a cat is a big responsibility. These characterful but devoted and loving pets have their own needs, which if unmet can become a really big problem. If you want the best for your cat and at the same time you want to protect your sofa, mattress or floor from cat litter, make sure that all its needs such as hunger, play, intellectual exercise, fulfillment of hunting instincts, peaceful sleep and freedom from pain and disease are met
Main photo: Marko Blazevic/pexels.com
