I am at my wit's end! If you could, please help me to get my human to clean my litter box MUCH more often! It is humiliating to have people come into our home and wrinkle up their noses. I can't help it and would scoop myself if I had thumbs. I am almost reduced to not using the box but I hate to go that far.

Hopefully,

Distressed in Down East

Dear Distressed,

I feel your pain! Next time your human is on Facebook, dance over the keyboard to this link and get them to read this.

Cat Owners! Cats do not like soiled or smelly litter. Keep it clean! Some cats do not like strong perfumed litter or different textures. Scoop at least daily and wash the box as needed, preferably not with a strong scented cleanser.

If your cat is avoiding the litter box it could be several reasons aside from a less than pristine litter. It could be a urinary infection and your feline blames the pain on the box, the box itself may not be to it's liking (some like open, some like covered, older cats may like shallow-sided boxes due to arthritis) or where the box is...which leads to:

 Location,location,location! Most felines prefer a box located with an escape route option so they don't feel vulnerable. Sensitive little things, aren't they? We dogs will go anywhere. :-)  Number of litter boxes needed are one per cat plus one is the ideal standard of kitty toilets. Three cats? You need four litterboxes.

I hope this helped Distressed in Down East!

Labby (also known as Otter, Lab Manager at Morehead Animal Hospital)