Litter scatter, what to try

Aggressive litter scatter, what to try

 Maintaining a cat that scatters litter all over the area can be a headache.  It is natural for cats to cover-up, that’s just how they are.  They have been doing this since the beginning; it covers their scent and prevents predators from following their trail - pretty smart for a small little house cat.  Some cats can be very aggressive about hiding their business and the litter goes everywhere.  If your cat won’t use a covered litter box, select one with high walls to help contain the litter scatter.  It won’t stop all the scatter but can cut down your clean-up time and how often you need to sweep or vacuum.  Try to locate your litter box in a room with a hard floor surface like tile or linoleum.  This will certainly make cleaning up the litter scatter easier for you.  Place the litter box on a large beach towel or other material to help prevent the box from sliding around, plus you can just shake the towel outside for most of your clean-up.  Placing a scrap piece of carpeting in front of the litter box will help capture litter before your cat tracks it out of the area.  All these small details can add up to a big difference when it comes to clean-up time in your cat’s bathroom area.

 The first thing to try when getting your cat to lesson their efforts to cover up is adding more litter.  It could be something as simple as the cat feeling like they can’t get enough litter on top of their problem to hide it from others.  Most of the time one to two inches is sufficient but this may not be sufficient for your cat.  Add another inch of litter and watch their response.  If that works, great, if not keep experimenting.

 Changing your cats’ diet may help the problem.  Some foods may disagree with your cats’ digestive system causing them to find their own odor in the litter box overwhelming.  If this is the case, they may be trying extra hard to cover their scent.  Changing to a different food could help.

 Another thing to try is changing their litter to another brand or style.  I hate to suggest this option if your cat is happy with the litter you are using but if they really toss litter all over the place; they may not think the litter you are using is covering up the scent.  Try a type of litter which covers up their scent better or has a scent that masks theirs into something they don’t recognize like wheat, corn or fragranced litter.  Sometimes this may help or it may cause them to scatter even more so watch them closely for the first couple of times.  Some cats may be allergic to these other types of litter so watch them closely.  If possible, try putting a few selections of litter in a few trays and see if your cat prefers one over another.  Once you figure out what they think works best, you’re well on your way to less scatter!

 Another option is having your cat spayed or neutered.  Although this seems extreme, their litter scattering could be a sign of shear aggression which should be reduced once your cat’s hormones are reduced.  Unless you are going to breed your cat, getting them spayed or neutered is a wise decision and could save you money by avoiding unnecessary litters of kittens.  Unwanted litters are a tragedy and could be prevented.

 Last but not least, if you have multiple cats using the same box they may be trying to get ride of the other cats scent by tossing out the litter.  Try using another litter box for the other cat or cats.  Separating their litter boxes may also lesson the problem.  One cat may like a different litter than the other. 

 One final thought, try a disposable litter box.  Sometimes the smell of plastic or what’s embedded in the scratches of the plastic, is what the cat is trying to hide.  Plastic retains odors in these scratches and may never come out regardless of how well you clean their box.  A disposable litter box offers a unique clean smell every time you change it.  Catsdesire can be the solution you’ve been dreaming of.  If it’s not for you, maybe one of your cat loving friends would like it.

 Experimenting with some of these solutions should help to limit the amount of litter scatter you are experiencing.  If you have other solutions that have worked for you, please share them here so others can benefit.  Thanks for sharing…..