LAS (Litter Aversion Syndrome)

[CJK]

OK, did you kow this was a syndrome? I didn't only jsut read about it on worlds best web site!
Can't wait to try this out though and see if Princess likes it.

Heres what i found on LAS though:

Litter Aversion Syndrome (LAS) Study
If your cat avoids the litter box, here’s some good news

As cat owners are well aware, every cat, much like every human, is different. While Fluffy constantly creates furballs, Tiger sleeps all day. While Muffin chases mice, Killer runs from them. And while Princess will eat indiscriminately, Old Scruffy eats only canned tuna. And, much like humans, it is these quirks that comprise the unique, lovable qualities that make each cat so individual.

Most cat owners tend to cater to their cats’ whims and fancies when it comes to the majority of these individual preferences, including eating, sleeping and even playing habits. Yet, many of those same owners suffer frustration when it comes to litter use and preference, or perhaps more poignantly, non-use and non-preference. Unless you have the remarkable powers of Dr. Doolittle, it’s impossible to verbally communicate with your cat about such likes and dislikes. But, if you have a cat that does its duty everywhere but in the litter box, those actions are speaking louder than words.

However, according to noted animal behaviourist, Peter Borchelt, Ph.D., Director of the Animal Behaviour Clinic at The Animal Medical Centre, New York, this frustration on behalf of cat owners isn’t necessary.

Borchelt, who has spent more than 20 years observing, recording and analyzing cat behaviour, says, “Most cats do use [the litter we give them] most of the time, but cats are individuals too, and have their own likes and dislikes regarding the type of material they like to dig, cover and eliminate in. Sometimes, they’re not satisfied with what we give them.”

The Problem

In studies he’s conducted at the behavioural clinic, Borchelt has witnessed a great number of cats displaying what he calls “litter aversion syndrome” or LAS.
According to the animal behaviourist, all cats normally exhibit certain behaviours when eliminating. These behaviours begin with a search for a suitable material to use. Once a cat selects its most suited material, it will dig, or attempt to dig, a shallow depression. After eliminating, the cat will often dig once again to cover up the waste.

But according to Borchelt, these normal cat behaviours are interfered with by humans who require their cats to use certain types of litter. For one reason or another, the cats sometimes feel the chosen litters simply are not suitable, or preferred.

It is this non-preference, Borchelt says, that our lovable cats very demonstratively communicate to us—if we’re paying attention to them.

So, what behaviours are our favourite pets demonstrating to us? Instead of digging, covering and eliminating in the litter as owners suspect they should, cats with LAS will do one or more of the following:

• Leave their waste in various places around the house.
• Shake their paws after exiting the litter box.
• Refuse to cover their faeces.
• Stand on the edge of the litter box.
• Jump out of the litter box and run from it.
• Cry on their way in or out of the box.

Some cat owners equate these behaviours with emotional feline outbursts, but to Borchelt, these signs may indicate it is the litter more often that it is the cat.

“Owners often ascribe these misbehaviours to spite, anxiety or nervousness due to household changes, and they overlook some of the basic natural behaviours, preferences and aversions that cats exhibit regarding their ‘bathroom’ habits,” says Borchelt. Even if Brand X is touting that it’s the best selling litter on the market, if your cat doesn’t like it, they won’t use it. It’s for this reason that Borchelt has decided to leave the decision-making to the cats themselves.

The Discovery

In late 1998, Borchelt became aware of a new, all-natural litter that was being introduced to the market. WORLD'S BEST CAT LITTER™, made from processed corn, is an all-natural, odourless, 99% dust-free product. Borchelt became intrigued.

Through his years of study, Borchelt knows that cats tend to prefer “diggable” litter material containing high levels of odour control and comprised of a particular granularity, weight and feel. The fact that WORLD'S BEST CAT LITTER was made of processed corn intrigued Borchelt because it contained the feel, texture and particle size and weight that cats prefer.

Safety to the cat, in any litter, is rated as the number one trait consumers list when considering the purchase of cat litters. While some cat litters contain silicas, clays and other undesirable components, it’s hard not to be safe when your product is made from good, old-fashioned corn. As cat owners, none of us want to harm the cats we love. It’s our jobs as pet lovers to be responsible to that philosophy.

The Test

Borchelt was curious as to whether an all-natural litter made from corn would tempt cats with LAS to adjust their behaviours. So, he decided to test his theory.

In late fall, Borchelt got his tests underway. While most of the cats he was going to test the litter with occasionally used their current litter boxes, all of them were certainly demonstrating strong degrees of LAS. One cat defecated in the bath; another urinated in his owner’s laundry. A third cat squatted with his tail end out of the box while eliminating just outside the box; a fourth stood on the edge of the box and ran out as soon as it was finished.

In most cases, the cats’ owners had tried multiple litters, hoping that a solution to their various dilemmas could be found. And, in all cases, the exchange of one litter for another was unsuccessful in converting the cats to litter comfort, let alone use.

Borchelt organized the experiment by offering WORLD'S BEST CAT LITTER in addition to all of the current litters. “I regularly see cats with litter aversion and other types of behaviour problems,” says the animal behaviourist.

All in all, the study was overwhelmingly conclusive. Overall, there was a 95% improvement in using the litter in just a week to 10 days. In six of the nine cases, there was a 100% conversion to the all-natural litter, and even in the other three, the cats began using the litter more than 80% of the time.

Even in the worst case scenario, Borchelt says it took a few weeks for the cats to convert to the new litter, but, as he points out, “I’ve found that cats without severe litter aversion make the shift much more quickly.”

What does Borchelt’s study provide cat owners as evidence? Most notably, LAS can be altered. As he points outs, avoiding litter isn’t a desired behaviour of cats; it’s a symptom that your pet may be trying to tell you something about its preferences.

Until we are able to emulate Dr. Doolittle and his amazing abilities to talk to the animals, perhaps we’d best rely on renowned animal behaviour specialists such as Borchelt.

“Our pets are communicating,” he says. “You just simply watch their behaviour and the clues they provide. If it’s not right, then something is bothering the animals we love so much. It’s up to us to discover what that is, and make every effort to bring happiness and contentment back into our pets’ lives.”

As all cat owners know, when it comes to litter aversion, sometimes those clues our little friends leave us simply aren’t very subtle. Perhaps, it’s the equivalent of a human cry of frustration.

[yola]

Most interesting!!!! Ferdy used to stand on the edge of the box when using the litter tray - regularly used to overbalance it as he was a hefty old cat
. . . Balie will always shake his paws AND never buries his jobs!!!

I will copy and paste this into a word doc and keep for reference as this is useful indeed!

[CJK]

ALL my cats shake thier apws when coming out, I didn't realise how much they were ebing affected by the litter, thought it was natural behaviour!!

I know it a stinky subject (pun intended lol) but i learnt a lot from reading htat

[Mags]

That's very interesting CJ......looking forward to your verdict on it....

[dinahsmum]

Interesting stuff! LAS eh?

[CJK]

I think I have children aversion syndrome
oh and
man aversion syndrome lol

[dandysmom]

Fascinating article!! Is it just me, or are male cats worse about covering up after defecating? My Dandy used to hop out of the box!!...Misty when she went to use it would give a glare at the remnants, look at me as if to say "MEN!!!" and then proceed to cover it..the look on her face was priceless

[CJK]

MR D doesnt always cover his up I noticed. Princess mostly jsut does hers on newspaper, gives a quick scrape at the paper and off she goes.

[dinahsmum]

Originally Posted by dandysmom

Fascinating article!! Is it just me, or are male cats worse about covering up after defecating? My Dandy used to hop out of the box!!...Misty when she went to use it would give a glare at the remnants, look at me as if to say "MEN!!!" and then proceed to cover it..the look on her face was priceless

Beautiful mental picture there Elaine! Bit like the battle of the toilet seat!

[Julie84]

Thomas never scratches in the litter tray. Sometimes he will have a scratch at the floor after he has done his business and got out of the tray but (thinking about it now) I think he must dislike touching the litter. His brother Murphy takes great pleasure in covering Tom's business up. His rather exuberant digging and covering means that there is often more litter (and sometimes poos!) over the floor than there is in the tray! He also gets rather overexcited when he sees the bag of cat litter - he knows it means new fresh litter to dig in!!

I had a look at the World's Best Cat Litter, but it seemed really expensive. I couldn't work out how much cat litter was in the £9.99 bag as looking at all the other cat litters I have used they are all measured in litres. Can anyone compare it sizewise to other bags of litter?

At the moment I use Biocatolet which I like but is fairly expensive (12l for £4.80). I also use Yesterday's News when I can get hold of it (but it's a bit hit or miss whether the pet shop has it) and that costs £11.90 for 30l. I have also used Bob Martins Paper cat litter (Green bag, I bought it in Asda) which cost only £1.96 for 10l but was very light so went absolutely everywhere and didn't seem very good at odour control! I don't like using clay based litters or heavily perfumed ones and the clumping action of the World's Best Cat Litter concerns me slightly as I know my boys don't like things getting stuck to their paws.

Who would have thought cat litter would cause so many worries!