Emotional Distress in Cats - How to Overcome Litter Box Frenzy

Recently, I adopted a cat believing my complications with housebreaking a dog would be too difficult and require too much energy out of my family and myself. Believing a cat would provide a stress free family pet, I was excited to bring our first feline home to meet the family.

Soon after the arrival of my new cat, I learned the impact of housebreaking a cat can, at time, be as equally difficult as a dog. With the litter box as a new addition to my home, I was quite confused by the complications of my cat and had mistakenly assumed my cat would provide a hassle free life, using the litter box on a regular basis.

What I soon learned is that litter box issues are a leading cause of complaint among cat owners. Not only is the litter box confusion frustrating to my family but I could tell our cat was equally as frustrated, especially when considering how clean he would like to be. As a result, I called our veterinarian.

The vet informed me that my new cat was probably experiencing stress from the move into a new home. Because the cat was in excellent health, and the litter I used was the same as that by the prior owner, the veterinarian deduced the complication was related to stress or emotional complications of the cat.

To create a less stressful home environment for our new cat, I was instructed to continue using the same litter box and, instead of allowing our cat to have full reign over the house, I should limit his ability to move about to one bedroom. In doing so, our family feline would have an opportunity to adjust to his new surroundings without feeling stress and overwhelmed. Also, because my home was occupied by dogs previously, the cat may feel intimidated and unsure of the scents he has been exposed to, further warranting the need to keep him restrained to one living area.

Another aspect of confusion and stress for my cat is the exposure to new individuals. With two teenage boys in my home, our new cat was very unfamiliar with this family lifestyle and, as a result, was most likely suffering complications as a result. Under the advice of the veterinarian, I was told to reduce the exposure of the cat and only allow for one or two individuals to care for him in the first few weeks of being in our home. Slowly, over a four to six week period, our cat could be exposed to additional individuals and be provided a greater area to roam through the home.

As with any new family pet, the key to the successful assimilation is to consult a veterinarian who specializes in family transitions. With this as our first experience in cat ownership, we learned relatively quickly the impact stress and emotional complications can have on our favorite feline friend.