Ways to wean a kitten or an adult cat from shitting in the wrong place depend on the reason for this behavior.
Cats are amazingly clean animals and are renowned for their adaptability to the human world. Therefore, feces past the cat’s tray are a kind of cry for help from the animal. Deviations in the behavior of an animal can be caused by a variety of reasons, but they can be conditionally divided into behavioral and physiological.
The main problem in such cases is the owner, who could not create a normal living space for the cat and does not seek to understand his little friend. To identify the causes of “surprises” a reasonable person just needs some time carefully watch your pet.
Good living conditions for cats cannot be determined only by the presence of bowls with food and drink, a tray with filler. Cat comfort is determined by the ability to communicate with caring and understanding owners in a certain area, as cats are extremely dependent on their environment.
Contents
Causes
Sterilization of the male half of the cat is recommended to make life easier for both the cat itself and the people living nearby. The nature of an animal is stronger than its upbringing, therefore, from overwhelming feelings, a cat can mark everything that is of interest to it.
Elderly and spayed cats may develop physiological problems with uncontrolled urination. Cats usually relax and lose control in places where the smell of their beloved owner is strongly felt.
Sometimes animals refuse to enter the litter box because it evokes unpleasant associations with the pain that the pet experienced when he was sick. The animal sits down and shits where it has to, because its tormented by pain and urge to urinate:
- with constipation;
- with worms;
- with diseases of the kidneys and bladder;
- for various pains.
The same unpleasant results can occur with nervous exhaustion of a furry pet.
The presence or absence of the host
In cats resentment manifest itself in a certain unpleasant manner for people. In cat language, this means attracting the attention of a big and smart person who will try to improve relations with his smaller brother. The association of a cat between your presence and subsequent punishment can aggravate the situation – the animal will continue to spoil, but when the owner does not see.
A similar embarrassment can occur when the animal is anxious in the long absence of a beloved owner. Cats can shit on the personal belongings of their owner, as if increasing their security through associations. Surrounding the pet with attention, you can distract him from longing for the absent owner. The necessary feeling of comfort for the cat makes it possible to sleep on the owner’s bed or armchair during his absence.
Jealousy and rejection of strangers
Cats are jealous and just may not want to share with strangers to their master and territory. When an animal child, a new pet, or if several animals are kept in the habitat, jealous individuals may also begin to show emotions in an inappropriate way.
If troubles occur with the things of the guests of the house, then the animal tries to show its rival who is the boss in the house. During such periods, it is best to be attentive and play with the animal so that its hunting instincts find an outlet through movement. The four-legged friend must be made clear that the love of the owners for him has remained the same and the misunderstanding will remain in the past.
Scents
Interspecies communication in cats, like most animals, is based on smell. In order to mark the territory of their habitat or to attract a sexual partner, they can leave marks in the form of feces. Territorial markers are a natural occurrence in wild animals, and pets can use this method in situations where they feel anxious and restless.
When moving to a new place, rearranging or buying new furniture, that is unfamiliar odors, cat disorientation may occur. In addition, the smell of the house familiar to the animal can disappear with the use of all kinds of aerosols and fragrances, which leads to a loss of a sense of security.
Food
It is strictly unacceptable to place feces trays near the place where animals eat. The psychological state of a cat directly depends on the availability of food in its habitats, so you should try to arrange the bowls in several places. You can also put bowls of food on the places treated from the smell of feces or put cardboard boxes with glued dry food.
Tray
When buying a new litter box, consider the size of the pet and consider the quality of the plastic the urinal is made of. The container should not initially smell strongly. It will not be superfluous to wash the tray at the first use with a neutral chemical agent. The cat must have constant access to his toilet and be able to calmly turn around in the bowl.
It is advisable to have a tray with filler in a secluded, quiet place. Some felines are so shy that they prefer to perform procedures in the dark. They can choose a secluded place under the bath or bed for this. In such cases, the best option would be a closed toilet for cats.
Multiple Trays
Perhaps the manifestation of extreme cleanliness of cats, when, for various needs, they prefer to go to separate containers. In this case, the appearance of an additional tray cannot be avoided. This measure is also necessary if there are several animals in the house, because most cats prefer to smell only their own smell in the box.
Sometimes cats have associations for long pile carpets, as for a tray substitute. In this case, it is necessary to temporarily remove the object that the cat loves in order to fix the conditioned reflex on the tray. Sometimes you can even increase the area of the cat litter by connecting several trays together. Then, when the cat gets used to defecate in a certain place, it will be possible to remove the extra trays.
Filler
Cutting smell of heavily soiled filler can make the animal shit next to the tray. It is worth constantly monitoring the sanitary and hygienic condition of the trays and washing the tray with each change of filler. In addition, cheap fillers can emit a sharp specific smell, which is unacceptable for an animal with a sensitive sense of smell. When wet, some fillers can even cause allergic reactions on the delicate skin of the paws.
The reason for the refusal of the tray by the animal may be an inappropriate filler for this particular animal or its abrupt change. Although wood-based litter is closer to a cat’s natural habitat, many cats cannot tolerate it due to its rolling cylindrical shape. And for a correct change in the type of filler, it takes some time to add a new one to the already familiar one.
The solution
The futility and inadmissibility of any methods of punishing an animal during the education in it of a stable conditioned reflex to use the tray have been proven many times. In all cases of a cat’s psychological discomfort, it is important for her to feel safe again.
therefore completely useless:
- shout at an animal;
- splash water on it;
- drag to the tray by force.
This will increase the cat’s anxiety and proportionally increase the amount of stool in inappropriate places. All good cat owners know how to wean a cat to shit in the wrong place without the use of brute force.
Hiss like displeasure
If you choose the straightforward way of poking the animal’s muzzle into its feces in the wrong place, then it will take it as “do it here all the time.” Only the right way let your pet know how you don’t like what he is doing at the moment – hiss like cats hiss at unintelligent kittens.
If you want to express your dissatisfaction after some time has passed after the misdeed of the animal, it will not be able to understand what you want from it. The best option, when the animal sits down in the wrong place, is to gently pick it up and quickly carry it to the tray without scaring it.
Kitten and tray
Much in the life of a kitten is determined by parental genes and the first weeks of communication. The conditions of the period from the 2nd to the 7th week of a pet’s life determine its further adaptability to a changing environment. If during the first weeks of life kittens are deprived of the opportunity to communicate with people, then this lowers resistance to stress adult animal. An overly excited kitten in the presence of people can lead to a reactionary bowel movement.
While the kitten is growing, immediately after feeding, he needs a tray for cleansing the body procedures. Therefore, during accustoming to the tray, it is necessary to plant the pet after each meal. It is necessary to fix the result with positive emotions, praising and stroking the kitten. Sure signs that a kitten is looking for a toilet:
- starts fussily running around the house;
- scrape with front paws;
- mew.
In this case, it is worth helping him find the right place for toilet procedures.
animal from the street
A normal adult animal, accustomed to looking for a place for natural needs in an outdoor habitat, at home quickly understands what is required of it. Alternatively, the animal will have to be released outside to cope with its needs or walked on a harness with a leash, like a dog. But for your furry friend, there’s a litter box in the house. should always be available.
Kindly indicate the place
Having put your pet in a cat litter box, you can say something to him with an affectionate intonation, stroke him and wait for the procedure to end. After a positive result, you need to praise the animal and treat it with something tasty. You may have to do this repeatedly, but then your pet and you will not have a nervous breakdown and it will be possible to wean him from spoiling with affection and care.
If the necessary moment has been missed, then use toilet paper and put it together with the feces in the tray so that there is the smell of the animal’s waste products. Places not intended for cat “arts” should be treated to remove the characteristic smell and made inaccessible by putting something in these places.
Alone with the tray
In order to wean shitting in different places, the method of restricting the movement of an animal for a while is effective. By closing it in a small space for a period of adaptation to new conditions, you can calm the animal. There should be a place for a comfortable rest of the animal with bedding, a tray with clean filler, a bowl of water and toys for the animal.
Access to the feeding place should be provided to the pet at least 2-3 times a day, subject to calm behavior. After a while, you can gradually begin to release the animal into other rooms.
Furniture and smell
The feeling of protection from external attacks for the animal will create the ability to climb on all sorts of high objects and furniture. In addition, cats never shit where the smell of their facial glands is present. After stroking the cat’s muzzle with a soft cloth, especially in the area of the whiskers and tonsils, then you need to wipe the vertical surfaces at the level of the cat’s growth.
The smell of their own pheromones will make the animal feel calmer and reduce the desire to spoil. Pet stores sell analogues of such pheromones that help normalize the behavior of an animal in a stressful situation.
Means and preparations
The smell of feces, elusive to the human sense of smell, encourages the cat to shit in the same place. Therefore, it is recommended to immediately treat such ill-fated places with odor-repellent agents. Many cat owners prefer to purchase these drugs from pet stores, but home remedies can usually be dispensed with.
Cats can’t stand strong smells, so diluted table vinegar works well, which removes the smell of cat urine well. Often, zest from oranges and lemons is used to scare away cats.
It is highly undesirable to use such a popular disinfectant in Russia as bleach. In addition to being harmful to health, bleach provokes cats to continue unflattering activities in the places of its use, since they like its smell.
All drugs sold in pet stores are harmless and effective, but will be especially useful for the problem of “unauthorized” urine and feces litter box training spray. In case of any problems with the animal, you can always consult a specialist in a veterinary clinic.