Litter re-training

[Rosella moggy]

I don't really understand why the kitten still uses it TBH, he is as bold as brass and in/out the cat flap like a jack in the box....but comes back in to use the tray,

Sounds like Groucho's twin 

Oh well, best resign myself to the last stage of crazy cat lady-ness...house smelling of cat wee!  

That so reminds me how appalled I was when I last visited by mom's 89 year old twin sister a few years ago and watched her quickly scoop up a small plastic bowl and pop it under one of the 14 cat's derrières as he assumed the position on the carpet.  She caught most of it    Her house wiffs so badly I'm afraid but with Fred and his peeing probs I'm pretty sure some might say ours isn't that much better atm 

[Fire Fox]

I only have the one large indoor boy  and his aim is pretty good but I find a couple of jumbo, high sided trays deep filled with a clumping litter means less effort cleaning. 

Jumbo so you can fit more cat/ more wees and poops in: one of ours is an underbed storage box and the other a covered tray with the cover removed, but Susanne's system will be far better for those with a poor aim. Deep filled means Noah can dig to Oz poops can be covered still leaving plenty of litter to be weed on, so fewer stinky puddles and fewer manky trays that need a complete clean out. If Noah does hit the side/ bottom when I've recently scrubbed the tray out, all the litter gets tipped to one end and out come cheapo antibacterial wipes. Obviously you can't tip litter to one end without a deep tray or you have to get the vacuum cleaner feline nemesis out.

I am pretty sure my flat doesn't smell as my mother is VERY particular and would say, but an acquaintance's flat often does - they have one indoor cat and one small tray, shallow filled with a cheap clay litter yet clean it out very regularly. TBH they have FAR higher standards of cleanliness generally than I. 

I haven't tried it - happy with OkoPlus - but this stuff claims to be more absorbent than other types of litter - might be worth a try?
http://www.friendshipestates.co.uk/vmchk/friendly-natural-cat-litter/view-all-products.html

[Susanne (urbantigers)]

Some just prefer to use a tray and it does mean you can keep an eye on what's being produced and spot problems earlier.  Mine are indoor cats so obv have to use a tray.  I had problems with Jaffa deciding he didn't want to use the covered tray but an open one didn't work well as he likes to pee standing up a lot of the time.  So I got a large, plastic storage box and cut it so that it has a high back, sloped sides and a low front.  So it feels like an open tray, is very large but can contain his spraying!

[paddypaws101]

Rosella....no, of course I don't take offense!
I know cats do not like using dirty trays and check frequently during the day so I clean it out after each use.
I am well aware that one tray, no matter how clean is no way sufficient for the number of cats in my household, but feel it is kind of a case of 'oh well it is there, and it is cold/dark/snowing/raining so may as well use it' rather than it being their only option.
Last year when it snowed, the oldies were not keen at all on venturing out to the loo, but I resisted steely stares and did not put a tray out...I suppose in some ways I thought they would not want to use it after a life time of al fresco.
I don't really understand why the kitten still uses it TBH, he is as bold as brass and in/out the cat flap like a jack in the box....but comes back in to use the tray, whereas the older kitten naturally graduated to garden use.
Oh well, best resign myself to the last stage of crazy cat lady-ness...house smelling of cat wee!

[CatGirl]

I have 3 cats ranging from almost 17 to about 14,i used to have 2 trays+they sometimes went outside.Since the middle one semed to develop a type of dementia,i put a third tray in the hall for him.I think maybe you ought to use more trays,cats are clean creatures and don't like using dirty trays.

[Rosella moggy]

I pray for the day that ours will use the four indoor trays instead of the carpets, kitchen work surface and floor      Ho hum.  Amazing what you get used to.  Most of em usually use outside except for Groucho kitten who comes in to use the tray (good lad that he is, never any misses) but can't recall last time our Fred (kidney issues so lots of urine) used a tray ..... I lie.... I now recall he used the tray twice in last month or so but didn't last.  I make him up a newspaper area that he seems to prefer along with using outside when weather not too bad. 

I used to care .......    Very difficult when you have oldies but I suspect things will improve when if weather does and the kittens grow up and cause less havoc 

Hope you don't take offence but one tray for 1 kitten and 2 older cats main use doesn't seem enough 

[paddypaws101]

Yes, I am kind of resigned to this now, and at least I have tiled flooring so the spills can be dealt with easily. Paddy has never really used a tray...he is a big cat, a bad aimer like most boys!! and stands up to pee, so it does make rather a mess. I don't like the idea of a covered tray... concentrated nasty niffs, no visual cue for me to scoop/clean, and I reckoned he would just pee all up the sides anyway. Instead I have gone for a deep box and I line the sides with newspaper to catch splashes and sprays.
The tray is actually in a downstairs cloakroom....about 3 foot from the back door where the flap is!
I have always provided nicely dug over patches of earth in the boarders to encourage them to use those areas rather than a neighbour's garden, and I scoop the poop pretty frequently.
Oh well, visitors will just have to get used to the eyesore of a newspaper covered tray I guess. I can handle the one but REALLY don't want it to escalate into 2 or three or more trays!!

[Kay and Penny]

I have an earth pit set in the patio, a covered outside litter tray very near the back door (Zooplus sell them and they really do stay dr y), and an indoor litter tray just inside the back door

this gives my three cats three options - cats 1 and 2 prefer the pit, and only use the outdoor tray if the pit gets flooded, but cat 3 always uses the indoor tray

I think it only fair to offer these options - you could try, however, preparing an outdoor pit near whichever door you have the flap in, and turning it over regularly - I find it easy to remove the 'lumps' from mine on a daily basis - I put in cheap compost rather than soil

not only might this encourage yours to use it, but will mean no nasty surprises in your or your neighbours' flower beds

I would still keep an indoor tray though - a covered one would make it less messy - even if your cats do revert to going outside again

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

Sorry you should never get rid of the tray cos as you have found when the weather is bad out there cats, especially oldere ones do not want to go outside.

I have two cats that always use the tray.......well ummmmmmmmmmmm used to but now one or both are deliberately in some cases not using it and accidental i n other cases. Both are over 17yrs old and one only has 3 legs.

I know how frustrating keep cleaning up after them is but they need the trays and its all about looking afterr them, its in my bathroom too!

During the really bad weather my other cats didnt want to use outside and were using trays inside which really upset the birmans cos Misa would not use the trya down stairs or the spare tray put down in the bath room but used the birmans tray and that caused more soiling problems.

Its not about retraining for elderly cats its about helping them as much as possible to use facilities which they find comfortable and it also allows you to keep an eye on them and any health problems they could have.

I have a carpet in bathroom and I have bought some carpet protector and its under the tray and taped to the tiles.

Ducha the 3 legged cat thinks its good just to sit on the blooming protector grrrrrrrrrrrr but its made cleaning up a lot easier.........reminds me must get another piece 

[paddypaws101]

A bit of background first...I have 4 elderly cats, all one family group who have always used the garden for toileting. Last June I got a female kitten and as soon a she was allowed ( limited, supervised ) access to the garden, she quickly ceased to use the litter tray in favour of soil. The 2 older males both visited the tray and used it, but more in a marking territory way than necessity I feel. A few months later I got a male kitten, and although he sussed out the cat flap within weeks ( cue much cat proofing of garden ) he has steadfastly stuck to using the  tray so it has stayed.
Over the cold winter months 2 of the OLD cats have now decided that the tray is a great idea, one because I think she is timid and maybe the kittens careering round the garden upset her toilet habits, the second because he has been unwell, kidney issues and therefore LOTS of urine.
Cleaning kitten pee/poop from a tray is easy, cleaning that same tray after buckets of poorly aimed adult cat wee is another matter!
My question is....has anyone reversed this kind of situation successfully?
Obviously I would like to be able to phase out the tray and get them all to use the garden, and am guessing that come spring once the back door is open all day this will be easy-ish to do with the kitten. I DO NOT want to stress my older cats by forcing the issue as I know this may result in messing in the house, so how can I gently persuade them?
So.....do I have hope? Or am I doomed to a litter strewn bathroom forever?