{"id":5987,"date":"2022-12-08T01:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-12-08T01:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hartz-v2.local7\/when-your-cat-wont-use-the-litter-box\/"},"modified":"2023-02-24T15:18:00","modified_gmt":"2023-02-24T15:18:00","slug":"when-your-cat-wont-use-the-litter-box","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hartz.com\/en-ca\/when-your-cat-wont-use-the-litter-box\/","title":{"rendered":"When Your Cat Won\u2019t Use the Litter Box"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Cat

Cats prefer a quiet, secluded spot for their toileting needs.<\/p><\/div>\n

If you were to poll any group of cat lovers on which feline behavior problem they find to be the most troublesome, chances are, most of them would say litter box issues. It\u2019s messy, it\u2019s smelly, and it\u2019s just unsanitary to have your cats urinating all over your house, and it\u2019s no wonder that people find accidents outside of the litter box to be a dealbreaker when it comes to their feline friends.<\/p>\n

Did you know that, contrary to popular belief, kittens don\u2019t have to be trained to use the litter box? Our domestic housecats today share much of their DNA with the desert-dwelling cats of ancient Egypt. And what is there a lot of in the desert? Sand. Because cats haven\u2019t changed much over the centuries, they still share that ancient instinct of burying their excrement in the sand. Your modern litter box is what remains from the world\u2019s largest sandbox that our cats used to use! Believe it or not, clay kitty litter wasn\u2019t invented until 1947, so even cats as recent as 75 years ago were doing much of their toileting outside in the dirt.<\/p>\n

Often, cat owners have tried everything when their cat will not use the litter box \u2013 or at least felt like they have. Even felines with impeccable toileting habits may, for no obvious reason, stop using the litter box. A number of reasons can spark this unwelcome behavior, including:<\/p>\n