3 Reasons Why Cats Don’t Use Their Litter Box - GoodRx (2024)

Our cats make wonderful companions. They bring us comfort and laughter. But sometimes, they might develop concerning behavior problems. One common behavior problem people experience with their cats is eliminating — peeing or pooping — outside their litter box.

Even though it might seem like it, cats don’t pee or poop outside their box as a form of revenge against their owner. It’s a sign that something is wrong. Punishing them in any way will only make the behavior worse.

Different things can cause a cat to not use their litter box. Finding the underlying problem is the key to treating inappropriate elimination. Here are the possible causes:

1. Your cat has a medical condition

If your cat stops using their litter box, the first thing you should do is take a trip to your vet. Your vet can perform tests to look for medical conditions.

Medical conditions that can cause your cat to stop using their litter box include:

• Arthritis

• Bladder stones

• Constipation

• Feline lower urinary tract disorder (FLUTD)

• Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)

• Urinary tract infections

These conditions can make your cat associate the litter box with pain or discomfort.Other conditions can make your cat drink more — which would cause them to pee more often. Because of this, their litter box can fill up faster and may make them look for other locations. These conditions include:

• Diabetes

• Kidney disease

• Thyroid disease

Along with not using their litter box, other signs your cat may have a medical condition include:

• Straining to pee or poop

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• Peeing or pooping in small amounts

• Blood in the pee

• Unable to pee at all

It’s important to take your cat to your veterinarian as soon as possible. Your cat’s veterinarian may do the following to narrow down any likely causes:

• Blood tests

• Urine test

• Fecal test

• X-rays

• Abdominal ultrasound

Treatment depends on which medical condition your cat might have. Once your vet pinpoints the condition, your cat’s treatment could include:

• Medication

• Surgery, such as for bladder stones

• Indoor enrichment

2. Your cat is trying to protect their territory

Cats communicate to other cats with their pee or poop. They also mark their territory by rubbing their faces on objects and scratching surfaces. But stress can make a cat feel the need to secure more of their environment — which could lead to marking areas of the house with pee or poop.

Stress typically comes from a change in their home, such as:

• Loud construction outside

• Other or new cats in the home

• Outside cats

• Moving to a new home

• New furniture

• Your absence

Peeing to protect their territory is more common than pooping. Cats usually do this by urine marking on vertical surfaces while standing. Other signs of stress include:

• Marking near a door or window

• Marking the same spot repeatedly

• Pooping in the box but peeing elsewhere

• Sometimes using their box and sometimes not

• The marking started after a household change

Cats who aren’t neutered or spayed are more likely to mark their territory. Your vet will likely suggest spaying or neutering your cat — if they’re not already — as a first step in tackling their behavior.

If you have cats who don’t get along, it’s important to find the aggressor and the one they’re bullying. The aggressor will stalk and attack the other cat. The other cat will try to avoid the aggressor as much as possible. They may leave any room with the aggressor in it or prefer to stay on higher surfaces.

Here are some things you can do to ease the tension:

• Keep plenty of resources for all cats. This includes extra litter boxes, food and water stations, and hiding places. Having enough of these things will help limit the competition.

• Do not punish either cat. Punishment will likely increase the anxiety and confuse the aggressor cat.

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• Schedule rewarding playtime with each cat. Playing with your cats 20 to 30 minutes a day can give them mental stimulation to prevent boredom and aggression. You can also use positive reinforcement training 5 to 10 minutes daily to teach them basic commands like “sit” and “come.” Play and training can help alter the way they respond to stressors like other cats and people.

If the source behind your cat’s stress can’t be found, your veterinarian might recommend anti-anxiety medication to address inappropriate elimination. Some of these medications include:

• Amitriptyline (Elavil)

• Buspirone (Buspar)

• Clomipramine (Anafranil)

• Fluoxetine (Prozac)

• Diazepam (Valium)

Supplements that have alpha-casozepine or L-theanine can also be used with the medications above. They both have anti-anxiety properties that could be beneficial. But, it might take 4 to 6 weeks to see results.

Pheromone sprays and diffusers — such as Feliway — can be effective for urine marking. If they’re used in the area your cat is marking, they signal to your cat that the area is safe. So, they may no longer feel the need to mark it themselves.

3. Your cat doesn’t like their litter box

Some cats may just not like their litter box. The biggest reason cats might not like it is a lack of cleanliness. Other reasons could be they don’t like the size of the box, the litter, or the placement.

It can be hard to tell if their behavior is from stress or an aversion to the litter box. Some signs that might signal your cat doesn’t like the box include:

• Multiple cats share one box

• The litter box is covered

• The litter box is in a busy or noisy part of the house

• The litter was changed to a new brand

• They don’t usually mark vertical surfaces

• They pee and poop outside their box

To address litter box aversion, it’s best to try to make the litter box as appealing to your cat as possible. You can do this by:

• Changing the litter often (at least twice a day)

• Keeping the box clean by regularly washing it with mild soap

• Making sure the box is big enough — at least 1.5 times your cat’s body length

• Placing it in a quiet area

• Placing several litter boxes in different areas of your home

The litter itself could also be offensive to your cat. Signs of this include:

• Refusing to dig in the litter

• Shaking litter off their paws after using the box

• Sitting on the lip of the box while peeing or pooping

There are some other things you can try to retrain your cat to use the litter box. They are:

• Figure out which litter they prefer. It can take time. But it’s best to find the one they like. You may also set up various boxes with different litters and see which one your cat uses the most.

• Try changing the box location. Cats don’t typically like their feeding areas in the same place as their toileting areas. Place food or toys in a completely different area from their litter box.

• Keep multiple litter boxes in different areas. Litter boxes should ideally be kept on each floor of a house. And if you have multiple cats, make sure to have a litter box for each cat plus one extra. For example, if you have three cats, you should ideally have four litter boxes.

• Use a herbal additive in the litter. A herbal product designed for cats is supposed to attract cats back to the box.

But if nothing seems to work, it might be best to talk to a cat behavior specialist. Your veterinarian can help you find one in your area.