By Liz Barton

Below is a great article on why your cat(s) is not using the litterbox and what you can do about it!

HOW TO SOLVE CAT HOUSE TRAINING PROBLEMS

One of the reasons why it tends to be difficult to solve house training/house soiling or litterbox avoidance issues, is because you are the one who needs to identify the cause.

The hardest part of solving inappropriate elimination problems is identifying the cause. Unfortunately, cats are extremely sensitive to change - and if your cat has been using the litter box regularly and then suddenly stopped, there has been a change whether you are aware of it or not.

So the goal is to find out what's changed.

Here are a couple of things to keep in mind:

The most important thing to consider when trying to figure out what caused the house soiling problem is: Approximately when did the house soiling begin?

2nd most important: Have you ruled out a health issue such as an Urinary Tract Infection? (The #1 symptom of an UTI is litter box avoidance)

Here are a few other questions to consider that will help you determine the cause:

Did anything at all change near the time when the behavior started? (Try to think of everything, no matter how small it seems)

Did you recently move to a new home?

Did you recently introduce a new cat/dog/ferret/roommate into the home?

Have you moved any of the litter boxes? (Maybe he or she tends to frequently use one certain box and that particular one was moved)

Did you rearrange or add any new furniture to your house?

Are you 100% sure this cat is the one not using the box?

Are any of your cats not getting along?

Multi cat tension is actually a lot harder to spot than most people realize. Your cats may not be physically fighting with each other, but that doesn't necessarily mean they are getting along. One cat may even be "silently" intimidating another, but the owner isn't aware of it.

If you know exactly which cat isn't using the litter box, and you know which litter box that cat usually uses, watch to see if any of the other cats tend to spend extra time "hanging around" near that box.

If you have any covered litter boxes, pay special notice to any cats that have a tendency to sit on top of the litter box.

One surefire method of retraining a strong-willed cat is to put the cat in a nearly empty room for up to a week, providing only a few toys, a scratching post, water, a bed and a litter box.

Use this technique to house train your cat and don't allow free access to the rest of the house until the cat is completely retrained and no longer eliminates outside of the litter box.

Some people are shocked when they realize just how many things can upset a cat's bathroom habits. What they don't realize is that elimination is actually a very complex and fragile piece of a cat's life, and it can be easily disturbed.

Get more information about cat house training problems and litter box training today by visiting Cat Behavior Secrets Revealed.