Poor litter box
maintenance is often the cause of cats soiling outside of the box.
The first rule of thumb is that there should be one more litter box than there
are cats in the household. These boxes should be located on different floors in
the house. If there are multiple cats and not enough places to keep the litter
boxes,
litter boxes can be placed together, side by side, so they can be
used by multiple cats at the same time.
Part of litter box maintenance is choosing a litter box that your cat likes. The size of the litter box needs to fit your cat. Cats must be able to turn around comfortably in the box. The box needs to be lower if being used by a kitten than if it is being used by adult cats. If the kitten cannot climb in or out of the box, the kitten will refuse to use it. Some cats need a higher sided litter box, because they tend to spray high or fling litter. Other cats will not eliminate in a litter box that is covered or placed near objects that scare them, such as items hanging over the box.
There are various types of litter that can be purchased for your box. Litter types include clay type litter, litter made from plant products and litter made from recycled materials. Some litter forms clumps, while others do not. Some litter is fine in texture, some are pellet-like. You will need to decide what works best for your cat. Once you have decided on a litter type, do not change the litter type, as this change can lead to unwelcome accidents and unhappy pets.
Having a scoop that fits the size of the litter is very important in litter box maintenance. Most scoops are metal or plastic, fairly inexpensive, and easy to clean. The openings or slots in the scoop need to be able to allow the non-clumped kitty litter to pass through while capturing the feces and urine clumps. You may need to add new litter as you scoop waste to maintain adequate litter depth. Most litter manufacturers recommend a litter depth of 2 to 3 inches as an adequate depth for cats to bury their waste. Some cats prefer deeper litter if they tend to dig a lot when burying their feces.
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The area around the litter boxes should also be kept cleaned. Mats can be placed around the litter boxes to prevent tracking of the kitty litter out of the area. Also, if the litter boxes are not covered, then the walls around the boxes can be covered with absorbent material to collect any overspray of urine. These materials should be removed daily to keep the urine smell to a minimum.
The litter box must be cleaned daily and the clumps removed. On average, non-clumping litter will need to be completely changed more often than clumping litter. Urine tends to pool at the bottom of a litter box with non-clumping litter, so you may want to use a liner to make litter box maintenance easier. The entire litter box will need to be cleaned and rinsed thoroughly with water periodically. Adding a little vinegar or lemon juice to the water will help neutralize the odor of the cat's urine. Do not use ammonia; this will make the litter box smell worse.
