Some cats are very picky with their litter boxes.  They tell us about their dislike of the boxes we provide by eliminating (i.e. urinating or defecating) outside of the box.  We cannot ask them what they don't like about the box and what they would prefer, so we have to resort to another tactic.

We do this by creating a "Litter Box Cafeteria".  For a litter box cafeteria, you provide several litter pans in different styles with varying litters and let your cat chose which one(s) she prefers.

The steps are:

1.     Select an appropriate room in the house for the cafeteria.  It should be a quiet area that is easily accessible to your cat and large enough to hold a number of boxes.

2.     Purchase at least two and preferably three or four new litter boxes.  The boxes should be of varying styles, e.g. no hood, hood, very large, not-so-large, shallow sides, deep sides.  Put the boxes close to each other in the room you have selected.

3.     Purchase a different type of litter for each box.  Tests have shown that cats prefer non-scented clumping litters, but not all cats are the same!  Options for litter include (but are not limited to): wheat litter, pine litter, litter "crystals", plain newspaper, and old towels (for cats that like soft "substrates").  Rarely, a cat will prefer just an empty litter pan.

4.     You can also vary the depth of the litter.  Some cats prefer a deep layer, others like it more shallow.

5.     It is a good idea to keep one litter box as similar to the current box as possible - just in case your cat refuses the new pans altogether!

6.     Remember to still scoop all boxes twice daily.

NOTE 1:  Many cats that eliminate outside of the box have a medical reason for doing so (bladder inflammation, constipation, arthritis, e.g.).  Please have your cat examined by a veterinarian to make sure these conditions are not present.

NOTE 2:  The most common cause of inappropriate elimination is a dirty litter box.  Please be sure to scoop twice daily, or empty non-scoopable litter once daily.