Has anyone used potting soil in their indoor cat's litter box?

[Galeann]

Vet tech here, I work exclusively with cats. I definitely second the advice to rule out a medical issue first because if there is one, you're not going to have a chance to correct litterbox behaviors until it's dealt with.

The only time I've heard the vet I work for suggest using soil, leaf litter, or pine straw in a litter box was when people were trying to train an outdoor cat to indoor life. Otherwise, if the cat is using litter at all, and if your goal is for the cat to only use the litterbox, it's a better idea to remove the other substrates that are tempting him away and basically let litter be its only option so that he relearns appropriate litterbox behavior. If the cat is heavily favoring potting soil at this point, you might need to put a little bit in with the litter to attract him, and again, take away the potted plants so he targets the box more reliably.

In general though I can imagine potting soil would make rather poor litterbox material. I'm really not sure how you'd clean it out other than tossing the entire box every day. Plus a decent percentage of potting soil has roundworms in it so you're risking a lot of parasite exposure for both the cat and the humans in the house.

If this has been going on for a year or more, as I'm inferring from your post, this is probably not going to be something that will be fixed overnight. Again, I would strongly suggest the first order of business be to have the cat checked out by a veterinarian to make sure there are no medical issues to address, and then if that comes back okay, you get to move on to the tougher topic of modifying cat behavior . Because all this advice means nothing if what we're really battling is an ongoing FLUTD or crystalluria case.

Thank you for replying. I apologize that i did not include that Ninja has been doing great since he moved in with me. I have 2 other cats. All cats get along fine. Plenty of space to get away from each other if they need to. 4 litter boxes. No noisy kids around unless grandchildren visit. I believe Ninja was sending a message that it had been too long since the litter boxes had been changed. Thanks HB. He and i will have a discussion if i have to be gone for over 2 weeks again. I have been thinking about giving Ninja a couple choices of litter. Before I try potting soil in one of the litter boxes, I want to read some personal testimonials. For now, i will continue with my usual litter box routine and observe if Ninja progresses toward better litter box etiquette.

 

[Galeann]

I decided to use potting soil before and let me tell you, it was a bad idea! I wanted a more natural alternative so we tried it out. The cats actually avoided it and didn't like using it. The soil in the bags can be a bit moist upon first opening. We didn't think that when we poured it in their box. Eventually we had flies and maggots like crazy! Ants love it, too. If I were to ever consider it again, I would say dry out the soil first.

Make sure like it was mentioned to rule out health problems. I adopted a cat that for a few years would jump on the bed next to me and just pee everywhere. She wasn't getting in her box or making it to her box and later she got really sick. She was lethargic, she wasn't grooming herself (her mama cat did), and she wasn't getting up to play or eat. She had an intestinal blockage and kidney failure. After fluids and such she was better, and we still don't know what the blockage was but it seemed like she ate something she shouldn't have. After a year or so of recovery she was back to using her cat box from then on. At first we thought it was a behavioral issue until she became ill so it is worth mentioning to your vet.

Make sure you clean the litterbox at least once a day no matter whether it looks clean or not to you. Cats generally do not like a dirty box. My cats would refuse to use it if I did not clean it once a day. Make this a priority. Also make sure the cat is not repelled by the cat attractant. Keep the cat box in a quiet place - not near highly trafficked areas. One of our cats was scared out of the box if someone walked too close when she was going and what a mess that would be....

If the cat must be an outdoor cat, there are cat enclosures that can be made so the cat can enjoy time outdoors and safe from predators.

I hope you find a good solution soon!

Thank you for your testimonial about your experience using potting soil.

 

[Aquatic_blue]

Thank you for your testimonial about your experience using potting soil.

You're welcome =)

 

[cassie]

Thank you for replying. I apologize that i did not include that Ninja has been doing great since he moved in with me. I have 2 other cats. All cats get along fine. Plenty of space to get away from each other if they need to. 4 litter boxes. No noisy kids around unless grandchildren visit. I believe Ninja was sending a message that it had been too long since the litter boxes had been changed. Thanks HB. He and i will have a discussion if i have to be gone for over 2 weeks again. I have been thinking about giving Ninja a couple choices of litter. Before I try potting soil in one of the litter boxes, I want to read some personal testimonials. For now, i will continue with my usual litter box routine and observe if Ninja progresses toward better litter box etiquette.

If he is using the present litter don't change it. Cats like what they are used to. They don't like surprises. I can't think of any reason to use potting soil unless you are transitioning an outdoor cat to be an inside cat and dirt is what he is used to and dirt is what he wants. As far as I can see, potting soil would make a big fat mess. It won't absorb nearly as well as the clumping letters, either.

 

[Dinogrrl]

@Galeann Thanks for the additional info! Yeah if Ninja uses the litterbox reliably when it's cleaned, then a lot of his avoidance was likely due to the dirty box and really I wouldn't mess with adding soil or anything to the litter (other than possibly the cat attract, that stuff's actually pretty useful sometimes!). He's showing that he does like the litter. He just needs his bathroom to be sparkling clean all the time. Which, I mean, who doesn't? nobody likes to use an old port-a-pot.