Litter Box Habits

Is Your Hybrid Not Using Their Litter Box?

It’s almost impossible to believe, but on occasion highly intelligent hybrids will opt not to use their litter box.  If this occurs, ask yourself:

Was there a change in your home?

Upsets can occur from a pet or person moving out or in. A stressful argument could be the issue.

Did I rearrange the furniture?

Hybrids can be very rigid about their territory.

Have I been scrupulous about cleaning the box? Not the issue?

Your cat might be finicky, wanting one box to pee in and one to poop.

Do I have enough litter boxes?

Cat experts recommend one litter box per cat, plus one extra.

Did I change my brand of litter?

Maybe your cat doesn’t like the litter you are using.

Did I move the box to a new location or has something changed in the old location?

Maybe your cat doesn’t like the area in which you keep the litter box(es), a noisy laundry room, for instance, might be upsetting.

Sometimes the problem can be simple, quick to figure out and fix. If you find yourself in an irresolvable situation, we have found a fail-safe method to retrain your hybrid to the litter box.

Retraining your hybrid

Savannah Cat Breed Select ExoticsGo back to ground zero as if your kitten had just arrived. Confine your cat to a small room, or a dog crate large enough to comfortably hold your cat, its food, water and litter box. We’re talking tough love here. Your cat will likely cry, but it has to be done.

We recommend containment in this small area for about a week, allowing for short recreational periods outside the “room” throughout the day as long as you are watching and interacting with your cat. After play, it’s back to the small room or large crate. We also recommend you switch to Cat Attract litter, a clumping litter with pheromones that aid in litter box usage.

After a week of confinement, your cat can be allowed out for progressively longer periods of time, as long as you confine him/her during this retraining process when you are gone.

If your cat progresses to where he/she is allowed out of confinement for two hours at a time, but goes outside the litter box, it’s back to the small room/crate for a full day without any play sessions. After the non-play day, pick up where you left off with time periods out of the small room/crate.

If your cat continues to potty in a specific area/room outside the box, keep him/her closed out of this area for as long as you can. Usually a cat will retrain to the box without any accidents. But should your cat have a few accidents in the process, he/she will quickly realize confinement results when the box isn’t used and the box will be regularly used again.