House-soiling is a common unwanted behaviour in cats. They attach great importance to a well-set-up, clean toilet that is big enough, with the right litter, without strange odours, without plastic liners, and above all with enough choices throughout the house.

When litter boxes aren't set up properly, this can increase stress in cats, which can result in a cat choosing other spots in the house to urinate, such as the bed, bathroom mats, hidden corners in the garage, or the sofa.

TIP 1 - Scoop it out every day (2x)

Treat litter boxes like a baby's diaper: it must always be clean. Try to move away from 'closing off' the litter box so you don't have to see or smell the mess - that's not good for your cat's wellbeing.

Scooping a few times a week is unfortunately not enough - scoop at least once a day.

What you smell, your cat smells much more intensely due to her sharper sense of smell. If the box is dirty, it's quite possible your cat will want to go somewhere else that is clean. We don't use a dirty toilet either.

TIP 2 - Enough litter boxes

Your number of cats + 1 - that's the minimum number of litter boxes you want to place in the house, spread throughout it. After all, in the wild a cat urinates and defecates in two different spots, so one cat already needs two boxes regardless.

That's the reason cats are more likely to urinate outside the box than defecate outside it, because it's more important to them that their faeces are properly buried, while urine is less of a concern.

TIP 3 - Fine sand like in the desert

The ancestors of our house cats lived in the North African savanna, where you find fine sand. We see that cats also prefer to use litter that is as fine as possible. This is because they have very sensitive paws, and fine litter doesn't hurt. So avoid larger pebbles, wood pellets, and silica granules.

TIP 4 - Large, open litter boxes

Taking the cat's instincts into account, and based on experience from behaviour professionals, we see that cats prefer large, open, tall boxes, such as Ikea or Curver storage boxes, or large round rubber tubs.

The cat can look around 360° during her toilet visit, while still feeling safely enclosed inside the box.

TIP 5 - Avoid strange smells

Various types of cat litter have added scents such as baby powder, vanilla, or lavender. You want to absolutely avoid this. Not only because it creates an unpleasant smell combined with urine, but it may also drive the cat to go somewhere else.

TIP 6 - Remove the flaps

If you still use classic litter boxes, be sure to remove the flaps. Cats have very sensitive fur, and the flap constantly brushing against their fur can be discouraging and make them reluctant to use the litter box.