Bonding Tip of the Week: Scoop More

Hi everybody! Molly with Cat Behavior Solutions, here with your Bonding Tip of the Week. This week’s bonding tip is: scoop your cat’s litter box more.

Now, what does scooping your cat’s litter box have to do with bonding, you might ask? Well, it’s in line with the last few bonding tips, which are rooted in the idea that the more comfortable your cat is in their environment, the more it’s going to seek you out for bonding.

A clean litter box is key to your cat’s comfort and overall wellbeing. If you don’t scoop your litter box frequently, it’s going to accumulate soiled spots of urine and feces. This doesn’t leave enough clean room for the cat to do everything it needs to do—dig, make a hole, turn around, go, and cover it all back up—without stepping on that soiled space.

Compare the litter box to a human bathroom and it makes sense why it’s important to keep it clean. Say you walk into a public restroom, and it’s filthy. You’re not going to go to the bathroom there! You’re going to seek out another stall, a cleaner place to go.

Your cat may do the same. In the same vein, if your cat’s litter box is too soiled, it might lead them to look elsewhere to go to the bathroom. Scooping more may avoid litter box issues in the home, and you can’t scoop too much. I scoop two, three times a day, and unless I’m following my cat with a scooper going every time after he goes, then there’s probably always room for improvement.

So, happy scooping, and happy bonding this week! And until next time, keep calm and purr on.

For more cat behavior tips, visit: CatBehaviorSolutions.org