Hug your dog, or your cat, every day.  It lowers your blood pressure and helps bond with your furry friend.  (They love it too!)

By far, the most common cat behavior call that I’ve ever gotten is about cats not using the litterbox.  There are several things that you can do, hopefully this can help you prevent problems if you aren’t having any, and give some suggestions for helping if you are already having problems.

First and Foremost

 Make an appointment with your veterinarian.  Veterinarians are an incredibly talented and compassionate group of people, however, they are not mind readers.  Tell your vet that something is going wrong with your cat’s toliet behavior.  Medical problems can range from diabetes to urinary tract infections, and lots of things in between.  If your  cat has a medical problem, no amount of behavior modification will fix the problem behavior until the medical problem has been addressed.  

If your cat is not spayed (for females) or neutered (for males) he or she could be sending out the feline version of a personal ad.  Make an appointment for sterilization right away!   Many places offer reduced rates if money is a concern.

Once you’ve ruled out medical reasons, you can look at some other common reasons for cats to stop using the box.

Placement

Placement of the litterbox is vital.  Make sure that the box is easily accessible to your cat.  Don’t put the box somewhere that is too far out of the way, or in a place where your cat can’t get to it when nature “calls”.  If you have other pets (particularly dogs) make sure that the litterbox is in an area that’s a little more private or that the dog doesn’t have constant access to.  (As a side note:  Dog’s love to eat cat feces, LOVE it.  The best way to prevent this is to limit access.)

Once you’ve  chosen a spot for the litterbox, leave it there.   How would you feel if you woke up one morning only to find that your bathroom had been moved to the basement, or that the stove was where the toliet once was?  Cats like consistency and need to know that when they need to go, the bathroom is where it’s supposed to be.

Cleaning

People call me with this very problem almost every day.  And they always tell me that they clean the box “regularly”.  Cleanliness is truly in the eye of the beholder.  In your case, the beholder is your cat.  Remember, the litterbox has to be clean enough for your cat, not for you.  Some cats are more fastidious than others.  Some cats don’t care so much.  Some cats are ok with weekly scooping, others daily, still others must have a clean box for each, ahem, visit.  Think about this in human terms for a minute.  Would you use a toilet that was only flushed once a day?  How about once a week?  And what if multiple people used that toilet?  Which segues nicely to my next point…

How many boxes do you need?

The general rule of thumb is that you need to have one litter box per cat, plus one.  That means that if you have 3 cats, you should have 4 boxes.  I personally have 3 cats and 2 boxes, but I do a lot of scooping, or else I deal with the (messy) consequences.  So, if you don’t have room for the number of boxes you are likely to need, be prepared to scoop more often.

Litter choices

Choices for litter are more numerous than ever before.  You can get cat litter from recycled newspaper, from corn, wheat and plain old clay litter or scoopable and the choices of scents can be mind boggling.  Again, when choosing a substrate for your litterbox, choose with your cat in mind.  In general, cats prefer the sandier litters (scoopable) and litters without heavy scents or perfumes.  (Use a little baking soda and scoop daily to cut down on odors.)  Once you have a litter that your cat likes, stick to it.  Don’t keep buying different brands or types.  If you want to try a different type of litter, put an additional box with the new litter in it and see which box the cat chooses.  (Also, buy the smallest possible container of the new type.)  Stick with what kitty chooses.

Unfriendly roommates

Cats are very vulnerable when they’re in the litterbox.  If you have multiple cats and one cat attacks the other (or has ever attacked the other while in the box) your cat may be a little reluctant to return to the “scene of the crime”.  Make sure that the ability to use the box doesn’t result in a cat fight.

 If you need additional help, call a behavior specialist.   Cats are intelligent and wonderful creatures, but sometimes the only way they can tell us that something is wrong is by altering their normal behavior.  As their caregivers, it’s up to us to try to figure out exactly what they’re trying to tell us.

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Don’t place your cat’s litterbox next to the washing machine.  The agitation of the drum could scare kitty away from using the box.

It’s that time of year again, kitten season.   For the uninitiated, kitten season is that time of year, starting in spring when the kittens start showing up at shelters in carriers, in boxes, in cartons held together with bungee cords and (my favorite so far)- a covered litter box duct taped together with a children’s book blocking the “entrance” so the litter couldn’t escape.  

Shelters (across the country) are quickly (some more quickly than others) filling up with kittens.  Last summer, during one routine weekend day in the summer, there were 72 cat and kitten surrenders.  There were 3 adoptions that day.  It doesn’t take high level math skills to figure out that the intakes swamp the adoptions.  

If you are looking for a cat, now is a great time to shop around, you can literally have “pick of the litter”, in fact you can pick the litter to have the pick of the litter from!  

If you’re not in the market for a new companion right now, especially if the long term commitment of a cat/kitten adoption isn’t in your plans (cats can live in excess of 20 years if well cared for), why not consider fostering.

Worried about space?  All it takes is a spare room, bathroom, closet, even a cattery cage will work!  

Worried about time?  Kittens are usually fostered until they are 2 months old and 2 pounds (that’s when they can be surgically altered and put up for adoption).  Kittens and cats who are suffering from upper respiratory illness (URI) are treated with antibiotics typically for about 2 weeks.  If you have a litter with a mom, she’ll do most of the work herself!

Worried about supplies?  While food and supplies aren’t guaranteed, most of the donations of food and litter that are received at the Animal Rescue League are saved for the foster program.  (Some of the donations are used to help needy families keep their pets.)  If you are interested in donating supplies, things like bags or cans of cat/kitten food and kitty litter are always welcome!  See the website wish list for more ideas!

Worried about falling in love?  Oh, don’t worry, you most definitely will!

Photo by Megan Beckler

For more information about fostering, contact the Animal Rescue League’s foster coordinator, Cleda Klingensmith at (412) 661-6452 x 231

Chris Whyle at the Western Pennsylvania Humane Society (412) 321-4625 x 221

Judy Gerhard at Animal Friends (412) 847-7097.

Photo by Megan Beckler

Somewhere in my grade school years we all learned about Paul Revere and his famous midnight ride.  While “kitten season” isn’t nearly as vital to our national security, it certainly is a national problem.  By Fourth of July weekend, most shelters across the nation, including the three right here in Pittsburgh will be filled with cats and kittens who are looking for a home.  Countless others are vulnerable to the threat of being abandoned, neglected, or worse.

Adult female cats can have a litter of kittens approximately every 63 days, think about that.  Cats are able to start having kittens as soon as they reach maturity, about 6 months.  So that means that your cat can have a litter of kittens in April and the females of the litter can have their own litter by October, all of the females from those litters can have their own litters by the following March and so on.  It’s easy to see how quickly one unaltered cat can become more than 100.

So, what can be done to slow the constant flow of unwanted cats and kittens?  There’s no “magic bullet” or special trick.  It’s an old message, tried and true: spay or neuter your pet.  Cats can be surgically altered as young as 2 months (as long as they weigh at least 2 lbs.) with no ill effects.

Females are spayed (the ovaries are surgically removed) and males are neutered (castrated).  The surgery itself takes a relatively short amount of time and while it’s more invasive for females, both genders recover relatively quickly with only a minimal disruption in their regular routine.  Things to watch out for are irritation or swelling at the surgery site.  Any medical concerns should be promptly reported to your veterinarian for medical attention.

Here are some of the additional benefits.  Altered pets cannot get cancer of their reproductive organs, because they don’t have them.  Castrated males are not likely to start spraying urine in an effort to send out an APB for a fertile female.  Aggressive behavior, wandering and caterwauling (those 3am screeching serenades) are never likely to develop at all.   You also are doing your part to reduce the overall number of unwanted kittens.

Myths and misconceptions (no pun intended) about cats and reproduction abound.  If you’re interested in having your children “experience the miracle of birth”, you might be further ahead to have them watch an episode of Nature or another animal related program that contains footage.  Spaying or neutering your pet won’t deprive her or him of anything-they won’t miss what they’ve never had. Pets who have been mothers aren’t any more gentle or friendly than those who have never been mothers, friendliness is more a function of genetic factors and socialization (the old nature vs. nurture debate).  You don’t need to wait until after your pet goes into heat in order to have the surgery.

If expense is an issue, there are several places around the Pittsburgh area where you can get reduced surgery, including the shelters in the area.  Spay day events, held at various dates and times generally offer a reduced surgery/vaccination combo at a rock bottom price, you just need to call around to the shelters for the details.

So, do your part to heed the call, the kittens are coming, and coming soon, what can you do to help out?