Think Outside The Box: How To Keep Litter Contained
As frustrating as it may be, you should never punish your cat for her natural behavior. Instead, think about why your cat is doing what shes doing, and how to address it accordingly.
For some, this may mean switching to a larger litter box a large storage bin could do the trick. Opting for a box with a cover offers even more protection against rogue litter, and it offers more privacy for your cat.
Its also good to clean your cats litter box as close to daily as possible. It helps to set a routine so it becomes muscle memoryfor example, make scooping out the litter box the first thing you do when you get home from work.
Because digging can be a way of testing out litter, it may also take some trial and error to find the right litter for your cat. There are several options to choose from, each with its own perks, but remember to consider your kittys preferences too!
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Litter Box Number And Choice
The general rule of thumb is one litter tray per cat plus one for the household. These should be placed around the house if possible, in places where your cats feel safe to go about their business.
Many litter boxes are too small. If your cat is constantly kicking litter around, try investing in a larger box. A covered litter box may be a solution, but cats are individuals too and some dont like being cooped up when trying to poo or wee.
You can find trays with higher sides or an additional edge that hangs over and stops some of the litter from flying.
If you cant find something large enough or suitable, you can try making your own from something as simple as a plastic washing tub.
A great way to work out which type of litter box your cat prefers is to place two different types side by side and see which one they use the most.
How To Prevent A Cat From Kicking Litter Out Of The Box
Hygiene is likely the biggest problem for excessive litter scratching in their box. As we have stated, cats are especially clean creatures. There is little they hate more than dirt. You can see this by the fact they spend so much time licking and preening themselves. With the standards they keep for their bodies, they will expect similar standards with their litter box.
In the wild, cats will many more options of places to bury their waste. Even so, even big cats such as Bengal tigers will urinate on mounds and then spread the sand. They do this to announce their presence and ward off rivals.
In the case of domestic cats, they do not have as many options. Some may go outside if they have access to the outdoors. However, if their indoor litter box is not sufficiently clean, they may feel as if they don’t have enough space to do their business. This might cause them to scratch at the litter a lot to try to find an appropriate place to go. This isn’t a behavioral problem with the cat, but a result of our poor guardianship.
It is imperative we keep the cat’s litter box as clean as possible. If you increase the amount of time you spend cleaning up their box and changing the litter, you might find they will scratch less.
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Does The Type Of Litterbox Make A Difference
It can. If your cats litter box is too small, your kitty may be uncomfortable and turn around and around looking for a good spot to go in. A small litter box also means that when the cat does dig, there’s nowhere for the kitty litter mess to go except on the floor, creating another litter box problem. It also helps if the litter box has high sides, as these will catch some of the cat litter that is thrown around.
One of many litter box cleaning hacks, a simple answer to the problem is to get a larger litter box with a hood, which is like a separate room for your cat to go in. Whatever litter box type you use, always make sure to put in the right amount of cat litter. Too much, and you eliminate the benefits of a box with higher sides. Too little, and your cat doesn’t have enough to absorb their urine or cover their litter mess .
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Covering waste may also help cats to avoid parasites.
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Cats likely dig and cover their waste to hide their presence from visiting predators. Shutterstock
Cat waste also acts as an important communicator to other cats in the area, signaling how long ago a cat came through, a female that may be in heat or many other messages a cat may leave behind.
Which brings us to: what can you do about it, so your cat isnt kicking litter everywhere?
In terms of changing the cats behavior, the short answer is: nothing. Digging is a natural and important behavior and trying to interrupt that may cause stress and confusion for your cat.
In fact, cats who dig in their litter box for longer probably like their litter box more and are less likely to have problems with pooing or weeing. Inappropriate pooing or weeing, especially outside the litter tray, can indicate urinary problems in cats. In a survey, of Australian cats around 20% pooed or weed outside the litter tray.
There are some simple solutions in setting up litter trays that can keep you and your cat happy and litter in the tray.
Digging is a natural and important behavior for cats. Shutterstock
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Keep The Litter Box Clean
Consistently keeping the litter box clean can be easier said than done. Aside from the obvious aromatic benefits to keeping the box tidy, cleaning the litter box regularly can keep your cat from digging in the box or going in the corners where shes more likely to kick litter over the edge. And if youre using clumping clay litter, a dirty litter box can become a muddy mess when saturated litter sticks to your cats toe beans.
Our solution: let the box do the work for you! The benefits of automatic litter boxes are plentiful, but one of the many joys they provide is that you never have to worry about scooping. A ScoopFree® Self-Cleaning Litter Box with non-clumping crystal litter will keep itself clean to stop litter tracking, prevent odors, and give your cat a consistently fresh space whenever nature calls.
Clean The Litter Box More Frequently
As we know that, cat is a very clean animal. It always licks its fur to get rid of dirt. It wants its sitting place to be neat and clean. To make sure that the place is clean, the cat scatter litters with its paws. It thinks that cleaner liters are in the deep portion of the box.
That is why it sometimes digs the place to make sure cleanliness. While digging it has no idea when to stop and thus some amount of clean litter also comes out of the box and makes the floor dirty. So clean frequently cats poop from litter using a litter scooper.
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Provide More Litter In Your Cats Litter Box
There is a specific amount of litter to be used in a litter box. You can get that when buying a new litter box. If a busy owner misses measuring the amount of litter that should be poured in the litter box then the environment is not suitable for the cat to live in.
After doing its business it wants to hide it by scattering litter over wastes. If it fails to hide the total amount of waste then it will try to hide the existing litter with its paws. Therefore, always use a proper amount of litter so that it can hide its urine and solid waste accurately and avoid unnecessary scattering of litter.
How To Prevent The Cat From Throwing The Cat Litter Outside The Litter Box
Does your cat throw litter outside the litter box? If you want to discover some of the reasons why your cat can get litter out of the box, in this article we explain some of the most common.
Surely you know that feeling of having your cats litter scattered on the ground around the litter box, well, this behavior of cats is not something that they do on purpose as one of their mischief. We are going to teach you how to prevent your cat from throwing the litter out of the box by understanding the reasons why it happens.
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Natural Instinct Of Cats
According to scientific research, Animals get their genes from their ancestors. For staying with people they get used to living with humans and change some of their habits. People taught them how to manage their wastes and teach them good behaviors. But some of their core habits need much more time to change.
In nature, they are used to hide urine and solid waste under soil or some dead leaves. They dig the soil with claws and it became a habit for them. Such things they sometimes do with their litters and thus scatter them fall around.
Common Litter Box Problems
A happy cat and their clean litter box.
If your kitty stops using the litter box, youâre probably some combination of concerned and frustrated, depending on whether this is a first-time thing or an ongoing problem.
Typical kitty litter box problems include:
- Choosing a spot right outside the litter box
- Choosing another spot in your home
- âSprayingâ in your home
, is a Certified Cat Behaviorist at Cat World. She says, âIf your cat stops using the litter box, it is always important to go see your veterinarian to make sure that there arenât any medical problems first. Once that is ruled out, you can start looking to see if there is a behavioral reason.â
After youâve ruled out urinary tract infections, kidney problems, and any other medical concerns, you can think through your home routines and any recent changes.
Some common behavioral reasons cats choose bathroom spots outside of the kitty litter box include:
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Help My Cat Wont Stop Kicking Cat Litter Everywhere
You’ve just cleaned the litter box for your kitty. It’s all fresh and free of the litter box smell, and if you’ve got a quality crystal based cat litter, you shouldn’t need to clean it fully for several weeks. Your feline friend cat decides they need to use it right now, of course. They daintily do their business and… oh no! They’re kicking like mad, your cat makes a mess in the litter box, sending kitty litter flying all over the floor. All your hard work, is ruined and you see kitty litter scattered everywhere. Well, it’s not just you or your cat. As you go to type in “cat digging in litter box” in your search bar, you’ll find that this is a really common thing that messy cats do. But why? And what can you do about the litter tracking?
How To Keep Cat Litter Off The Floor Use Your Broom And Vacuum A Lot
It may go without saying, but keeping on top of the litter scatter in the immediate vicinity of the box helps control litter tracking. Sweep several times a day and you will have less of a problem. I have a broom and dustpan next to the litter boxes and a vacuum in the closet nearby. One woman told me her nonelectric roller vacuum does a great job as well.
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Tips For Controlling Cat Litter Tracking And Scattering
Cat litter tracking is one of the most common complaints cat owners have. No matter where you keep your cats litter box, somehow litter ends up everywhere on the floors, in your shoes, even in your bed! Theres nothing quite like having to brush litter bits off the bottoms of your feet before you put on your socks.
Litter tracking is caused by bits of litter sticking to your cats paws and fur after she has used the litter box. Many cats also like to dig to China in their boxes, kicking and throwing litter all over the floor. Then they walk through the mess and bring it to every corner of your home.
So, is there a cat litter that doesnt track? How do you keep cat litter off the floor? Is there truly something like a no-mess litter box? Well, you can reduce the amount of litter tracking throughout your living space with these tips.
Overfilling The Litter Box
Follow the Sepicat litter package recommendations to see how much you should fill the litter box. If you overfill it, when the cat goes to bury its needs, it may accidentally throw litter out of the litter box.
These are some of the reasons why your cat may throw litter out of the box. If you see that even understanding some of the reasons, you still have a lot of litter outside the litter box, we recommend that you put a special mat under it.
There is a type of rugs with holes where the litter that falls outside enters and remains inside, so its collection and cleaning are much easier.
We hope you found this article about how to prevent the cat from throwing litter out of the litterbox interesting. If you want more information, tips and curiosities, do not hesitate to visit our blog.
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Choosing The Best Cat Litter And Litter Box For Your Kitty
You have plenty of options, including choosing a disposable cat litter box and kitty litter subscription from Kitty Poo Club. When you sign up for home delivery, your best kitty litter choice shows up on your doorstep every month. Thereâs no need to drive to the store and lug it home.
For a happy cat, you can choose from clumping litter such as Clay or Organic Soy, or non-clumping litter, such as Silica, Fine-Grain Silica, or Diatomite whichever suits your finicky kitty best.
Now that you know about common kitty litter box problems, you can tackle your litter box problems with confidence and ensure a happy cat.
Visit Kitty Poo Club to learn more about monthly litter box delivery for your cat!
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Theres Too Much Litter
Even the largest, deepest litter box can still pose problems if youre filling it with too much kitty litter. After all, your cat isnt going to be sitting any deeper than that top layer.
A layer of litter should generally be between 2-4 inches deep: deep enough that your kitty can dig and kick as needed, but shallow enough that theres plenty of space for it to fly around without leaving the box.
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Get A Bigger Box For Your Cat
You may have adopted your cat many years ago. It gets bigger and bigger day by day but you may not have changed its box. That is why it feels uncomfortable and does unusual activities like kicking litter with paws. If it doesnt get sufficient space to do its business then it can scatter litter from the box.
The space of the box should be such that the cat can spread its arms all around and move easily. Observe carefully what is the root cause of it. If the size of the litter box is an issue, then changing the litter box would be the best solution.
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Reasons Your Cat Kicks Litter Out Of The Box
It seems as though every cat lover on the planet is always looking for the perfect, magical type of litter that doesnt scatter and get tracked all over our homes. Cats instinctually dig into their litter to cover whatever deposit theyve left in the box, and that digging can look an awful lot like kicking. While its true that some types of litter tend to track less, many cat parents dont take the litter box itself into consideration when trying to solve the problem. Here are five reasons any type of litter may be getting kicked out of the box.
A photo posted by Ciaran on Jan 30, 2016 at 8:09am PST
#1 The box is too small The litter box should be big enough for your cat to easily and comfortably turn around in, and big enough to accommodate some good digging. When your cat digs in her litter, she kicks it beneath and behind her. If the box is so small that there isnt much room behind her, that litter will end up outside the box.
#2 The sides are too lowEven if the box is big enough, it may not matter much if the sides are too low. Some cats are super diggers who will kick their litter with extra gusto. And some simply like to do their business near the edge of the box, even if they have plenty of room. If this sounds like your cat, investing in a box with higher sides can save you some cleanup time.
A photo posted by Oxy on Jan 27, 2016 at 1:25pm PST
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