why would my cat suddenly decide she no longer wanted to use a litter-box?

Answer 1

I. Cat Behavior -- Common Questions

A. Why has my cat suddenly started urinating/defecating outside its litterbox?

Basically, there are three reasons why your cat is not using
its litterbox:
1. The litterbox is not clean enough. Cats are fastidious animals and prefer everything in their environments to be as clean as possible.

2. Urinary tract disorder or constipation/diarrhea. If your cat
has a problem of this nature, it may associate the litterbox with the pain caused by its urination or defecation. Alternately, your cat may not be able to get to the box in time when it needs to relieve itself.
3. The cat's environment has been upset in some way. This is the most difficult cause to diagnose, since whatever is upsetting your cat may not even be noticeable to you. Some common problems include a new member (or a missing member) in the household, either animal or human; a strange
cat which your cat has sighted outdoors; or disturbance around the litterbox if it's in a high-traffic area.

Cause number 1 is easily remedied. Clean your cat's litterbox at least once a day; more often if you have more than one cat and only one box. A good rule of thumb is one litterbox for every two cats. If you use a non-clumping litter, the litter should be changed at least once a week.

If you suspect a urinary tract disorder or constipation, take your cat to the vet immediately. This cannot be stressed enough. Your cat will not only be uncomfortable; its life could be in danger. Luckily most of these cases are easily treated by a change in diet, if caught early enough. In fact, any time you see this problem in your cat, you should check with your vet first.

If a change in your cat's environment is the cause, you must do what you can to minimize the change. Move the litterbox to a quieter area; keep your cat away from the window where it sees the strange cat. Most of these cases require time and patience. You may need to retrain your cat to use its litterbox. This can usually be done by confining the cat in a small room with its food and water, and the litterbox. Remove any blankets, towels etc. that the cat might use instead of the box.

Eventually you should be able to return the box to its usual place.

Answer 2

A lot of the answers already given are good about reasons for not using the litter box. You need to exclude illness before anything else.

As already mentioned by other posters, if she's had trouble peeing or pooping in the box, she may have learnt to associate the pain with the box.

If it's not a medical problem, a feliway diffuser may be helpful in treating the problem.

Does she share with another cat, some cats are very fussy and they have to be cleaned straight away or they won't use it and some don't like sharing fullstop.

There may be other cats around, possible females on heat who are disturbing her, remember that cats can smell a female on heat for miles and she may think it's too close to HER territory.

Answer 3

1) is the box clean?
2) is yuor cat healthy? you cannot see a urinay tract infection, but it hurts and can make cats start to soil, so go to your vet and bring a fresh urine sample (if you can't get one, don't worry the vet will tell you how)
3) are the box next to her food / water?
4) did something happen to scare her off the box?
5) did yuo change littertype or box type or box location?
6) do you have more than one box? some cats dislike to pee and pooh in the same place
7) do you have more than one cat? are you sure which one is soiling?
8) has she been outdoors?
9) has something changed in the home (like a new boyfriend, new carpet, new furniture - anything)?

many questions. If your vet says the cat is healthy you can ask for referral to a behaviourist that specializes in cats.

Answer 4

Try replacing your current litter box with a new one. If you are using one with a cover, change that to one which is open. As much as it's nicer for us not to see the contents of the litter box, sometimes the cats are more comfortable if they know there's an easy escape.

Watch for any signs of illness in your cat. Watch for increase in thirst, increase in urination, blood in urine. Watch, too, for any signs of injury such as limping, inability to get comfortable. If you rule out problems with the litter box, it's time to get a check up with vet.

Answer 5

She might have urinary track infection
She could be acting out if you have changed you're schedule
she might need her litter-box moved or changed form current sight
have you gotten a new cat? she might not like to share.

Answer 6

If it goes outside it might not like the litterbox because the outdoors is always clean.

Also if the box is dirty it wont use it

Answer 7

Lets send my cat and your cat on a blind date and what ever your cat would share with my cat i would post it here and you would get to know what was bothering her.

Answer 8

change of litter, sickness, new people or animals in the home upsetting her

Answer 9

Sense of smell--doesnt like it?--on heat(wants to leave her smell out to attract the toms)??

Answer 10

probably didn't have any litters to post !