Litter tray issues!

[Kay and Penny]

the litter scoop I use came with a Litter Champ - I got rid of the Champ yonks ago but have hung on to the scoop

this one is metal and ought to be up to getting deposits off the bottom of the tray http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/cats/cat_litter_litter_boxes/deo_accessoires/litter_box_scoops/227938#more

[Rick]

Can't even begin to say how grateful I am for all the replies guys, thank you.

@Tan and Kay - Where would I get cleaners like that from? Can't see them in my local supermarket or pet shop. Are they a mail order job?

@Alison and lolly - I'm less bothered about it going on the laminate to be honest as that's easy to clean, it's the fact that when he goes outside of the tray, he doesn't bury it, so it stinks!

@Kay - thanks, I always thought I was meant to keep it reasonably shallow to avoid offputting them, so maybe I've not been helping myself!

@Susanne - Yes, tried that, also tried covering the whole area with trays! He'll do one of two things - either he'll just poo somewhere close to it, or he'll try to "dig" through the laminate floor (moving the trays in the process), and then just poo there anyways!

I think this weekend is going to herald some new trays, new litter (I'll probably try Sainsburys basic clumping as it's cheap, and I always like to start from the cheapest!), and a cleaning solution. Oh, and maybe a nosepeg for me from now on! 

[Susanne (urbantigers)]

I agree with keeping clumping litter deep.  If it's shallow the clumps tend to stick to the bottom, or they dig so that they are essentially peeing on the tray!  If it's deep there's more chance of the clump being kept away from the actual tray and being scooped out completely. 

Have you tried putting a tray in the exact spot where he is pooing?  Does then just poo outside that tray?

[Kay and Penny]

the secret with clumping litter is to keep it really deep, so most wee clumps before it hits the bottom of the tray

the fallback, if the cat has dug so much that it does reach the tray bottom, is a heavy duty non-bendy litter scoop, which will lever up the clump from the bottom - those thin flexible ones are useless

like most jobs around the house, having the right tools makes all the difference

[lollycat]

How about getting some puppy training pads and then leaving one next to his tray? If he's doing it there at least it won't be on your floor?

[Mymblesdaughter]

I use cats best oko cat litter or chick crumb Hodson and Dorrell (chicken food). It's quite expensive but really good. The cats like it and it clumps so easy to clean out. Plus you can flush the solids.   

[alisonandarchie]

Archie has issues with peeing out of his tray so tried a few litters. Funnily enough the best one seems to be Sainsbury's basic cat litter. Now clean the tray out with  Ecover washing up liquid.

Does it help to put newspaper round the tray to stop the poo going on the laminate

Wishing you all the best

[Tan]

With the cleaners it has to something that doesn't have ammonia in it or it still mells like wee.  Have a look at the labels The one Helen mentioned is very good.
Have you tried natural soft sand?  It's the nearest small particle substance that a cat likes to use in the wild.

[Rick]

Thanks Kay. The only thing I tend to find with clumping is that after a week I have to replace most of it, as liquids cause the lower layer to clump into a solid mass? Am I missing a trick here?

Cheers!

[Kay and Penny]

I, and my 3 Ts, are big fans of Golden Grey, an ultra-fine clumping litter, which clumps really well and conceals smells (well, as long as the source of the smell is buried properly!) - very economical too as  I never need to replace all of it, just a weekly top-up is sufficient

most cats do like to dig thoroughly though, so I do find a really deep litter tray, well filled (6" minimum) is the way to go

a lot of people whose cats are litter-tray phobic will take to this very fine litter, as it is kind to paws, and very low dust to boot 

[Rick]

Loads of replies, cheers all!

@Tiggy - Just a variety of kitchen/bathroom/disinfectant cleaners. The thing is though, he doesn't always use the same spot, he just always goes in proximity to the tray.

@lolly - Tried that, no dice.

@CuteCats & Kay - I could try that, just a bit worried about the mess he might make! He refuses to be left outside now - he'll come out in the garden with you, but won't be shut out, so not sure how "familiar" he would be with soil?

Are there any other litters that you guys would recommend? I've tried a fair few, and the Catsan is great for avoiding ammonia smells, but we're both getting pretty sick of coming home to the smell of his offerings being right next to the tray!!!! 

[CuteCats]

have you tried garden soil, which is what he would have used as a stray - it has worked for some where all commercial litters have failed

and if he would use it, you could start mixing in John Innes compost, which has the consistency of garden soil but comes without worms or other creepies

Ours have used soil, being ex-ferals too.

[lollycat]

Could you put a bit of his poo in the 2nd tray? May not work but maybe worth a shot.

[Tiggy's Mum]

What are you cleaning the 'pooing' area with? It could be that it's become such a habit for him and the smell is attracting him back, cats have a much more sensitive smell than us humans so even if you think you have cleaned up effectively he can probably still smell it.

I would highly recommend a product called RX66 made by Xeria - cant do links I'm afraid as on my phone but if you search on here you will find links to it. It's basically an enzyme cleaning product that 'eats' the bacteria thereby eliminating the odour. I have used it for accidents of both kinds and it is amazing at getting rid of both urine and faeces smells.

Good luck!

[Rick]

what kind of litter do you use?  I remember reading some time ago that sometimes cats would pee ok in a tray but refuse to use it for poos because when doing the latter they have to dig their feet in a bit deeper and put more weight through their paws, so if they're not too happy with the litter it can be uncomfortable. 

Does he ever use the tray to poop in?  Even if it's completely clean?  The fact that he's going outside the tray does seem to imply he knows where to go but that something about the tray is offputting.

Evening all, it's the other half of the "Nomad care team" here.

In terms of litter I've tried various clumping and non-clumping supermarket types, and also Catsan (which is what I use at the moment). No change.

Once in a blue moon he'll use his tray for that, but I couldn't put a pattern to it to be honest.

Whenever he goes outside the tray, it gets cleaned up and a wipe over with disinfectant.

He's a daft sod, he tries to dig a hole in the laminate floor, and then does the same afterwards to try and cover it up!

I've tried having all 3 trays in a row, to no avail. He just has two trays at the moment.

Totally baffled!

[Mymblesdaughter]

Yes my two like to perch on the edge like owls. Fortunately they face the right way.  It's really quite a sight! 

[Helen M]

Have you tried putting the litter tray on / in a larger tray? I find  a lot of cats appear to hang their bums over the edge  when the do a poo!!!

[Susanne (urbantigers)]

what kind of litter do you use?  I remember reading some time ago that sometimes cats would pee ok in a tray but refuse to use it for poos because when doing the latter they have to dig their feet in a bit deeper and put more weight through their paws, so if they're not too happy with the litter it can be uncomfortable. 

Does he ever use the tray to poop in?  Even if it's completely clean?  The fact that he's going outside the tray does seem to imply he knows where to go but that something about the tray is offputting.

[minimedicxx]

Suppose it's worth a try to use soil, although he doesn't go to the toilet outside at all, he always comes back in. (We know because he's daft scared of everything and won't ever leave our garden and we've never found any nasty Nomad surprises outside!)

[Kay and Penny]

have you tried garden soil, which is what he would have used as a stray - it has worked for some where all commercial litters have failed

and if he would use it, you could start mixing in John Innes compost, which has the consistency of garden soil but comes without worms or other creepies

[minimedicxx]

He's got two trays, we've tried him with one, two and three (just to check! :D) and yeah, we've used loads of different trays ( big ones, flatter ones, different colour ones...) he pees in both trays anyway. Thanks for the suggestions though

[Mymblesdaughter]

My two cats seem to use one tray to poo and the other to wee. So might be worth setting him up another tray so he has two.

Also once they go in one spot they tend to keeping going there. You can get some special cleaner from pet shops which will neutralise the smell.

Have you tried him with the really big trays that you can get that might help.

[minimedicxx]

Yeah we got him neutered, so it's not that...he's never used his litter tray for pooping since we got him a year and a half or so ago, and he crouches and buries it (he scoops litter out of the tray, makes a right mess...) like he would in the tray, only not in the tray...

[Laurensimm]

If he keeps peeing in the same spot it could be that the spot strongly smells to him and so he is returning time and again to the same spot. You can buy something either off the Internet or in pet shops that neutralises the odour.

Has he been neutered? Rule out spraying his territory. If he will pee but not poo in the tray have you examined his nether regions? One if my cats started doing stand up spraying pees whilst standing in the tray but spraying on the cupboards. I captured him and checked his butt and he had a blade of grass sticking out of his butt which was obv getting aggravated when he crouched. I pulled it out and he went to the toilet like normal.

[minimedicxx]

Our absolute nutcase of a cat won't use his litter tray to poop in, instead he always uses the same spot right next to the tray. We've tried everything, different trays, different litter, moving the trays etc. He's a bit of a clean freak so we tried changing the litter more frequently incase it was that he wouldn't poop in used litter. He wees in the trays absolutely fine. He goes to great lengths to use the same spot, he'll nudge the trays around to use that spot if we put the tray there...any suggestions for why he won't use the trays?

We got him as a stray, and not sure how old he is 'cause he was an adult cat when we got him so not sure if that might have something to do with it.

The main reason we want to do something about it is because it's really smelly and our house is fairly small so the smell kinda hangs around!