Litter Box Issues?

Have you ever wondered why if your cat isn’t using their litter box everyone says to check for urinary tract infection? 
 
We should seek the advice of a vet to explain why that is the physiologic biological pieces, but there is a behavioral component as well. When we have infections in our waste-elimination parts, eliminating is painful. Some animals will associate that pain with the location, smell, or substrate of their bathroom. Because of this, some cats will still struggle to go back to their litter box even after successful treatment of the infection.  
 
For cats, stepping into their litter box is followed by urination, which is painful. These poor cats are experiencing an aversive stimulus immediately after stepping into their litter box! We know that punishment decreases the probability of a behavior, so if they’re experiencing something aversive when stepping into their litter box (and the aversive is working as a punishment), those cats will stop entering their litter box.  
 
But the bodies are funny little things, and they have to eliminate waste. They have to go to the bathroom somewhere, so they’ll often choose a new place with a totally different substrate. Perhaps your wood floors, your bed, or your bathroom rug.  
 
If, when the cat starts eliminating elsewhere, the infection is still present, the pain will still be there. Soon that new place may become poisoned as well. The cat may continue looking for a place, so it looks like your cat is just peeing indiscriminately. We get this idea that the cat just refuses to use the litter box. But what really could be happening is they’re trying to find a place to go to the bathroom that doesn’t hurt. They don’t have the view that we have. They may not know that they could be sick. If they do know, they don’t have the ability to take themselves to the vet to get checked out.  

This is why vets and trainers often need to team up to help an animal with the same issue. We each have an important role to play in the care of pets.