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My 15-year-old senior cat is getting sloppy about making sure she is urinating inside the litter box. There's no evidence of breaking litterbox protocol otherwise, so I don't think she's indicating illness or annoyance (other than possible early senility), though I'll have the vet look at her. She seems to just be just getting careless.

This is usually OK since it's a covered box and the sides catch it, and I've taken to putting "pee pads" in front of the door so mistakes get caught. Not a big deal.

If I catch her I can tap her gently and she'll be startled into stopping, but I don't want her to think the box is wrong generally, and I'd rather not have to follow her to make sure I'm there to do so.

So I'm wondering whether anyone has had success retraining an older cat on where the sides of the box are, and whether there's a recommended approach to doing so, short of going all the way back to kitten-training.

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At 15, I would not be at all surprised if your cat is experiencing lessened mobility or joint pain, which could very well be the reason for her not using the litterbox correctly. You might try getting her a very large litterbox with a low entry way. The increased size will make it easier for her to turn around, and the low entry will make it easier for her to get in. Counterintuitively, removing the lid might also help, because when the litterbox is fully enclosed, it is much harder for the cat to turn around as well. There are even litterboxes specifically made for senior and disabled cats that might work. Of course you should protect the area around the litterbox as much as you can while you experiment, in case it doesn't work out.

A vet trip is also recommended to make sure she's not having any health conditions causing the litterbox problems, and to ask about pain management if something like arthritis is suspected, which is very common in cats.

Along a similar vein to changing the litterbox to something more accommodating, you might also try changing the litter if you suspect some sort of pain in the paws. A finer grained litter might lessen the pain.

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  • She's had some tendonitis all her life -- another reason not to declaw cats -- but arthritis is certainly a possibility. She's still agile and jumping well, but she's missing or pausing to consider a jump a bit more often, so that's definitely worth asking.
    – keshlam
    Commented Jun 13 at 1:05
  • I'll consider alternative litterbox. This one is semi self-sifting, and it's what she's used to, but I could offer both and see if she decides the other is easier.
    – keshlam
    Commented Jun 13 at 1:06
  • @keshlam My vet has told me that with declawed cats arthritis is even more likely, so it's definitely something to ask about. Another possible thing to try, especially if she is declawed, is to change the litter to something finer. Stepping on coarse litter may hurt her paws more, if it's pain in the paws.
    – Kai
    Commented Jun 13 at 13:19
  • Trying larger litterbox. Will post if that seems to be working. She accepted it, at least.
    – keshlam
    Commented Jun 15 at 3:49
  • Update: Larger box by itself wasn't sufficient. A box with a door seems to be helping, though I haven't observed her yet to see if it has persuaded her to position better or if it's just catching the mis-aimed spray. Continuing to put down absorbent pad as backup.
    – keshlam
    Commented Jun 19 at 1:09

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