Dear Siouxsie, Thomas and Dahlia:
I've read some of the archives about inappropriate urination and defecation on your website. But I think my situation is a little different from the rest. First of all, one of my three cats, Bella, keeps urinating and defecating on the floor (not on rugs, but mostly on our linoleum floors). She doesn't seem sick, because she acts normal in every other way.

There are a whole bunch of reasons why she could be doing this, I just don't know what to do about it: 1) Bella's been doing it ever since we got my youngest cat, Mickey, who insists on using all three of the boxes we put out for the cats; 2) My first cat, Kiara, has been known to scare Bella out of the litter box, and that may have scared her out of going in the box; 3) All of the other people in my family spray air sanitizers whenever the boxes start smelling and I read that the smell of the sanitizers could make it uncomfortable for the cats to go to the bathroom in them; and 4) The cat boxes are always dirty because everyone is always out working or something. I'm home a lot, but I have pretty bad allergies to dust mites and mold, which I've been told are found in litter boxes.

Any advice you could possibly give me will be greatly appreciated. I'm completely out of ideas. Please help.
~ Shannon

Siouxsie: Shannon, you're right: The kind of litterbox questions you're asking are of a type we haven't answered before. And we've got some ideas for how you can keep your litterboxes clean and help your woebegone Bella to get back in the box again.

Thomas: First of all, you're doing well with the number of litterboxes. Three litterboxes for three cats is a good number, although some experts actually recommend having one more litterbox than the number of cats you have.

Dahlia: We do think you could take some advice from our previous columns about the location of litterboxes. Is there some common thing about the places where your Bella urinates and defecates? If so, she may be trying to tell you that she doesn't like the location of your boxes.

Siouxsie: You've got a cat that tends to scare Bella out of the litterbox, so Bella may feel that she needs a box with lots of escape routes. No covered boxes for this kitty, please, and if you can place a box so that it's not wedged into a corner or overlooked by possible ambush sites, Bella may feel more comfortable using the litterbox.

Thomas: Actually, we don't recommend covered boxes at all. They tend to trap odors, which makes toileting very unpleasant. How would you feel about having to do your business in a nasty-smelling closet?

Dahlia: You're also right that air sanitizers tend to make cats uncomfortable. Cats don't like the smell of citrus or anything that has a very strong odor. Cats' noses are a lot more sensitive than humans' noses, and that "light fresh scent" is overwhelming (and probably nauseating) to Kitty.

Siouxsie: But the root of your problem is that your litterboxes are, as you say, always dirty. This absolutely has to change -- not only so that Bella will start using the litterbox again, but for your and your family's health.

Thomas: If you're home the most, you probably should be the one taking care of the boxes. But we think that if you start a program of keeping the boxes clean, your family will be able to help.

Dahlia: We understand about your allergies to dust mites and mold, but we think we can help you there. Some cat litters are very dusty, but there are many types that aren't. Also, mold doesn't grow in litterboxes unless they're covered and/or never cleaned.

Siouxsie: There are types of cat litter marketed as hypoallergenic and dust-free, and we'd recommend that you look into these. Also, there are cat litters made of cedar (which has a very nice smell), wheat, and corn, and these could be helpful.

Thomas: Mama uses a brand called World's Best Cat Litter, which is made of corn. It's a clumping litter (which means that when a cat urinates in it, it forms solid clumps, making litterbox cleanup much easier), and it has a naturally sweet smell. World's Best is flushable and biodegradable, too. We recommend the multi-cat formula, in a yellow bag with a green label.

Dahlia: There are clumping clay litters, too, but these tend to be quite dusty. They are also not flushable, so you would need to have a diaper caddy or some other kind of sealed receptacle for cleaning out the litterbox. You would then throw the clumps in the trash.

Siouxsie: There is a brand of litter called Cat Attract, which is supposed to have some sort of pheromone or aroma which makes the cat want to use the box. We've never tried it, but we have heard good reports about this product.

Thomas: It can be tricky to change cat litters. Some cats will refuse to use the box if you make a major litter change. But we've never seen a cat that had a problem with the clumping corn litter. It's soft on the paws (which I like) and the odor control is very good.

Dahlia: Avoid scented cat litters. Cats don't like the aroma of a lot of these scented litters any more than they like air sanitizers or other chemical air freshening products, and the smell of the perfume can cause litterbox refusal.

Siouxsie: Baking soda makes a good (and very inexpensive) litterbox deodorizer. It's not toxic to cats, and it can do a lot to reduce the odor. However, you must not use the baking soda in place of regular cleaning!

Thomas: The first thing you're going to need to do is clean out all three of your current litterboxes. Dump all the litter out of the boxes and wash them with unscented (or very lightly scented) dish soap and hot water. While you're at it, wash your litterbox scoopers as well. Make sure you rinse all the boxes very well to get rid of all traces of the soap you used.

Dahlia: You might want to do a bleach-water rinse to disinfect the boxes as well. Again, make sure you rinse all traces of the bleach out of the boxes. Dry the boxes very well and fill them with litter.

Siouxsie: Make sure you fill the litterboxes deep enough so that the cats can cover up their waste. Two or three inches should do. Don't fill the boxes to the very top, because the cats will scatter the litter and it will tempt you to put off the cleaning until you can see poop and pee in the top of the box.

Thomas: Consider wearing a dust mask when you clean the litterboxes. Dust masks are available at hardware stores, and they will filter out the dust and other allergens before they aggravate any respiratory symptoms you might have.

Dahlia: The most important thing is that you and your family clean each litterbox at least twice a day. This will minimize odor and reduce the amount of time cleaning takes. It's also safer.

Siouxsie: Humans can catch toxoplasmosis from the feces of cats who carry the disease, but only if the feces have sat out for at least 12 hours. This should be very good motivation to clean feces as soon as you become aware of their presence. Statistically, not that many cats are carriers, but it's better to be "on the safe side" and clean your boxes promptly.

Thomas: That's right. Tell your family that if they smell cat poo, they should scoop it out of the box and put it down the toilet, not spray air sanitizer and wait for someone else to take care of it! In our old house, Mama put the litterbox right next to the toilet, so whenever we did our business, she'd just scoop it out and flush it.

Dahlia: In this house, where the litterbox isn't near the toilet, Mommy keeps a big yogurt container nearby, and as soon as we do our business, she scoops it out and puts it in the container. Yogurt containers have sealed tops, so the smell is gone right away. Then she takes our waste to the toilet and flushes it.

Siouxsie: Don't use plastic litterbox liners. Cats tend to scratch holes in the liners when they're covering their waste, so the liquids leak through and ferment to a state of true nastiness under the liner. Yuck!

Thomas: If this program of thoroughly cleaning your litterboxes, changing to a better litter and removing waste promptly doesn't inspire Bella to change her wicked ways, then you may have to keep her in one room for a while and retrain her to use the litterbox.

Dahlia: Find a room where Bella can remain unmolested by the other cats in the household. Put her in there with some toys, comfortable resting places, food, water and a litterbox. Make sure the litterbox is as far from the food and water as possible. Cats don't like to poo where they eat -- it's just instinct.

Siouxsie: Make sure the litterbox you put in Bella's room is freshly cleaned and that no other cats have used the litter in that box. Bella will need to make this "her" box by putting her scent in it. Also, make sure you keep in mind Bella's location preference when you place the box.

Thomas: If you have a home office with a door that closes, this could be an ideal place, especially if you spend a few hours a day there. Bella needs to feel like she's not being neglected or punished, so make sure you give her love and attention while she's in her special room.

Dahlia: Cats usually go to the bathroom within half an hour of eating, so make sure you clean solid waste out of the litterbox as soon as she uses it. If you leave a clump of urine in there, that will remind her that the box is hers.

Siouxsie: Once Bella has begun using the litterbox regularly, you can allow her to go out of that room and explore the house again. If she starts soiling again, return her to the room and allow her to get her "litterbox programming" back in effect.

Thomas: If Bella soils outside the box while she's in the room, use a high-quality pet odor neutralizer such as Nature's Miracle or Anti-Icky-Poo to clean the spot, and move the litterbox to the place where she did her business.

Dahlia: You might want to use this product in other places in your house where Bella has soiled, too. That will remove any traces of her scent that lure her back to the same spot.

Siouxsie: If none of this works, talk to your vet. He or she may be able to refer you to an animal behaviorist for a personalized consultation.

Thomas: If the soiling behavior is due to anxiety, medication may help. But you've got to "clean up your act" and solve the obvious problems before behavioral consultations or medicine will be effective.

Dahlia: Good luck, Shannon. We hope you and your family make a New Year's Resolution to keep your cats' litterboxes nice and clean -- for your cats' sake and for yours!

Got a question? Need some advice? E-mail us at advice@paws-and-effect.com. None of the material in this column is meant to be a substitute for regular veterinary care.