Cats not using litter tray

Fairenuff · 5 January 2019 at 9:31AM

I have 6 indoor cats ,4 are 10 + and 2 youngsters who are 3. Since I had the 2 younger ones they were not properly litter trained and would use anything lying on floor to do their business in ,things did get better with the odd slip up . Fast forward the last 6 months they are back to kitten hood ,they will poo outside the tray ( I have 8 trays 4covered and 4open) and wee in the corners of a room :mad: I have started to put puppy’s pads down to save the carpets they are changed as soon as wet, so far I have changed the litter I use ,they are on wood based at the moment trays are cleaned of soils at least 4 times a day it’s driving me mad .When I see them mooching to go I quietly pick them up and put them in a tray ,which they use and then praise them Am I missing something obvious? They all get on well and play interact with each other very well I just don’t get it with them
Any advice would be greatly appreciated x

Trina90 · 5 January 2019 at 10:33AM

I feel your frustrations as I have been there with one of my cats (peeing outside but not poo). I now know that he started doing it because he was suffering from a urine infection - have you taken samples to the vet to rule this out? As you say they also poo outside the tray it is probably unlikely but something you may want to check out anyway. I don't know what sex your cats are but males quite commonly get urine infections.

You could try a litter attractant. It smells appealing to cats and encourages them to 'go' where you sprinkle it.

You say they weren't properly litter trained? I don't think kittens really get trained. From a very young age they see mum doing it and copy but apart from that it's natural for them to go to a litter tray as it has material in there for them to bury. They don't really get trained as such, like puppies do.

Fairenuff · 5 January 2019 at 12:44PM

Thank you for your reply . It’s a male and female I’m having trouble with litter siblings ..... they have both been to vet to rule out infections.... going to try them in new trays see if that helps .... it’s so frustrating

Fairenuff · 5 January 2019 at 12:46PM

I will also try the litter attractant (never heard of this ) I think judging by the smell in house I bought them from that the mum and other cats went wherever they wanted !!!x

Savvy_Sue · 6 January 2019 at 12:37AM

how are you cleaning the corners they pee in? I'm no expert, but don't some cleaners leave a faint trace of ammonia, which then smells like cat wee to the cats, so they think that's the place to go? Other threads have covered this ...

Red-Squirrel_2 · 6 January 2019 at 9:19AM

With 6 indoor cats, unless you have an enormous house I would have thought that would be quite stressful for the youngsters. That could be a factor as outlined here:

https://www.pdsa.org.uk/taking-care-of-your-pet/looking-after-your-pet/kittens-cats/do-cats-need-company

SensibleSarah · 7 January 2019 at 2:18PM

Are the trays in various different places throughout the house or all in one area? In my multi-cat household (4 cats, all of which have outside access but some still use trays) there is quite a lot of resource blocking that goes on, with one of my cats (the youngest) blocking another (the oldest) from the flap to outside, food area and litter trays if she gets chance. So I have several different feeding stations, litter trays in 3 locations, choice of 4 water bowls etc and things are much less stressful for all now.

Fairenuff · 7 January 2019 at 9:53PM

Thanks for your replies ,
We have a large farmhouse the cats have run of the house
The litters trays are in different rooms throughout the house and the cats are not fed near the trays,
I had a chat with my vet today (again) about the problem ,he is going to come out to check them all again on Wednesday to rule out any UTIs.
I will report back once he’s been x

Vet · 8 January 2019 at 2:24PM

Fairenuff wrote: »

I have 6 indoor cats ,4 are 10 + and 2 youngsters who are 3. Since I had the 2 younger ones they were not properly litter trained and would use anything lying on floor to do their business in ,things did get better with the odd slip up . Fast forward the last 6 months they are back to kitten hood ,they will poo outside the tray ( I have 8 trays 4covered and 4open) and wee in the corners of a room :mad: I have started to put puppy’s pads down to save the carpets they are changed as soon as wet, so far I have changed the litter I use ,they are on wood based at the moment trays are cleaned of soils at least 4 times a day it’s driving me mad .When I see them mooching to go I quietly pick them up and put them in a tray ,which they use and then praise them Am I missing something obvious? They all get on well and play interact with each other very well I just don’t get it with them
Any advice would be greatly appreciated x

Hello,

Commonly, this can be a sign of stress in cats.
Useful things to try initially after a veterinary clinical exam:

More litter trays - the minimum is the number of cats in the household + 1
The use of a de-stressing spray, such as Pet Remedy or Feliway (The former being my spray of choice)
The use of nutritional supplements added to the diet e.g. Calmex Cat liquid can be added to the food
Spray surgical spirit over the areas which have been urinated on in order to discourage further urination by eliminating the smell
Allow for plenty of hiding places in your house for the cats
Seek Further veterinary advice if there's no improvement, perhaps even a behaviouralist

I suspect given your household situation that this will be stress induced. Hopefully you find some useful information with this list!

Fire_Fox · 21 January 2019 at 11:28AM

Any update after the vet visit?

Cats not using litter tray

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