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Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

The litter tray

anyone trying to keep an unwilling cat inside over hallowe'en/bonfire night?

19 replies

BeingBooyhoo · 21/10/2012 13:36

i have two and they both like to be outside everyday. the older one even stays out some nights too. the problem is we have alot of trouble with arsonists here and i lost a cat in june due to some piece of shit taking their anger out on him . i dont want to risk some asshole thinking my cat looks like a fun firework holder. the problem is both mine start going crazy when they cant get out and they wont go in the litter tray. i was going to get some of the plug in thinsg for calming them down but dont know which or how many to get? also, is there anything else i can do to make this easier on them? they really hate being kept in.

OP posts:

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Lonecatwithkitten · 21/10/2012 14:01

The one for cats is Feliway plug it in in the room they spend most of their time one should do a three bed house. If they are really anxious it might be worth asking your vet about some zylkene too to help them chilax Feliway and Zylkene may have a symbiotic realtionship.

BeingBooyhoo · 21/10/2012 14:02

thank you. is zylkene a medication?

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SchrodingersMew · 21/10/2012 21:17

It says on the Feliway website it can take up to a month to work.

Fluffycloudland77 · 21/10/2012 21:24

I gave zylkene to our highly strung bengal and he was off his furry face within about an hour.

You can get it off the online pet pharmacies, its about 30p a tablet and you just open the capsule and sprinkle it on the food.

It might give them runny tummies but thats not the worst thing compared to the alternative of being a firework holder.

People are scum.

BeingBooyhoo · 21/10/2012 22:10

thanks for that schroedinger. i didn't realise it was that long. i thought a few days.

fluffy when you say off his face, do you mean calmed down or running round declaring his love for everyone while searching for an imaginary fly inside his mouth?

any ideas how to encourage them to use the litter tray? i had to let them both out this evening to toilet as they have refused to use the tray and were mewing like mad. they are both back in now but i cant risk them not coming in everynight.

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SchrodingersMew · 21/10/2012 22:41

I thought it would be a few days too, I was going to buy one aswell. It says some cats you can see results in the first week but I don't know that I would chance it if they are expensive.

Maybe find where they are peeing and put some of the peed on grass in the litter tray? Just to get the scent on it? I have no idea.

BeingBooyhoo · 21/10/2012 23:02

hmm, they dont seem to use our garden to toilet. not sure if they use the neighbours' (haven't had any complaints but there are lots of cats round here so maybe neighbours dont mind) either so might be difficult to get some pee grass

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SchrodingersMew · 21/10/2012 23:08

I really have no idea. Fill a litter tray with a patch of grass? :o

BeingBooyhoo · 21/10/2012 23:11

i think i will actually do that. in the morning though, there are loads of slugs on it now

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SchrodingersMew · 21/10/2012 23:16

I wasn't being serious much, I really am not sure if that will work! Maybe though. :o

BeingBooyhoo · 21/10/2012 23:20

well it's the onlybest idea i've heard yet so i'll give it a go.

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Fluffycloudland77 · 22/10/2012 08:19

I think soil in a tray would work, it's what they are used to anyway.

I meant rolling over on his back totally chilled. I'd be tempted tomkeep them in from school run to the next day, just in case any kids have got fireworks.

They should ban them. Why do we need access to things likenthis when every year animals and children get hurt?.

BeingBooyhoo · 22/10/2012 09:59

i agree fluffy. i think they should be banned too. my friend posted on FB yesterday that she had just heard her neighbours' dcs running in screaming that other children were throwing fireworks at them.

i've let them both out this morning and i think they'll come back in for a kip in a bit so i'll just keep them in then and get some soil for the tray.

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SecretSquirrels · 23/10/2012 16:29

Won't they just come running in the minute they hear the first bang?
Mine is quite timid and hops in through the cat flap at the slightest strange noise.
I hadn't thought about this as our cat is just a year old and wasn't going out last November.

cozietoesie · 23/10/2012 16:35

It's a real difficult one. My animals have never wanted to stay out once the bangs started but the problem that I've found is that it's never been just one night. If Bonfire Night falls on a Friday or Saturday and it's not raining, you have a reasonable chance of nearly all the bonfire parties going off on one evening. Sadly, it still seems to stretch into a week these days - and you're still faced with the possibility of fireworks going off at odd times all month. Especially if you live near a park or open space.

I've always been pretty Draconian with keeping the outside-going animals in at night during late November for those reasons. Soon as dusk falls and that's it. Some friends of mine lost a dearly loved dog who was spooked by some kids letting off fireworks when he was out for his evening walk. Just took off and was never seen again.

BeingBooyhoo · 23/10/2012 18:58

one of my cats has a limp (she had a dislocated toe that wouldn't stay in place after surgery) and struggles to run fast, even from my toddler. she has just had to have part of her tail amputated after coming home with the top of it missing and just the bone poking through. i have no idea what caused it, the vet didn't either, but it wouldn't surprise me if she got it trapped in something due to not being able to run fast enough. i fear that someone with evil intentions would be able to get hold of her with little trouble so i want to keep her in. she will be anyway due to the bandages risk of infection but even if she wasn't recovering i'd want to keep them both in. so far i have just been letting them out in the morning and evening and they've both been coming back within an hour which is good and they both have settled down and seem to be happier to snooze upstairs all day long. still not using the tray though.

we have had fireworks going off for the past week already and we live right opposite a children's paly park that attracts alot of antisocial behaviour and arson attacks at night, even without hallowe'en approaching. the elderly residents are terrified of going in the front rooms of their homes.

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SchrodingersMew · 23/10/2012 19:09

Was in Asda yesterday and they've started selling fireworks already.

BeingBooyhoo · 23/10/2012 19:17

that'll be why we've had them already then. asda is 5 minutes walk away.

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SchrodingersMew · 24/10/2012 13:33

I really don't think they should sell them this early, yeah people want to have fun but there are lots of very irresponsible people who will cause havoc. I've had fireworks thrown at me a few times. :( It's normally been by little kids too!

I don't think they should be sold to under 21's.

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