Help with training adult cats to toilet outside please!

[ShutUpAlex]

My SIL has gone away for the week, she’s pregnant and when she gets back my brother is going to be working long, 12 hour shifts.
She wants the litter tarts gone as she can’t deal with them being pregnant and after 12 hours they absolutely stink. My cats were trained to go outside but we did this from when they were kittens, brothers cats are 3+.
I said I’d help him over the next week. He is useless, probably should t have the cats in the first place but he is too soft and has taken them all in off other people. 6 cats altogether.

Does anyone have experience with this?

Cats do what they want. For 10 years both happily used the litter tray, but now one has decided he likes the ‘outdoor’ experience and shits in my flower bed.

Keeping the trays outside is really the best solution. I pop ours outside on dry days and then just bring them in at night as they cats like to stay in at night.

Though this is definitely more of a relationship problem than a specific cat problem. The fighting is concerning as it means they are unhappy - possibly not enough space? Cats are territorial and even if they generally get on they like their ‘own’ spaces too.

6 cats is way too many cats for a normal size house. It's ok if you've got a smallholding or a farm or live in a detached house in the country. I've had 4 some years ago and it was too many. I only ever have one now because of the expense.

That entirely depends on your home, whether they're indoor/outdoor cats, how much outdoor space you have and the breed/age/personality of the cats involved.

Expense is all relative, too. What is a fortune to one person is a drop in the ocean to others. We have three cats and the cost isn't much different two having two, really. You can buy food and litter in bulk, for example, and pay for wellness plans at the vets which help spread the costs.

Nothing wrong with 6 cats as long as their needs are being met and as long as the owners are aware of any problems and work to alleviate them.

I know someone who has 11 cats. 6 is nothing in comparison

Keep them using the litter trays and keep better relationships with the neighbours.

Don’t have cats they are pointless well to me I will stick to my lovely dog who poops and pees in the same corner of the garden so easy to pick up and dd can play out safely

I think if you take the trays away you risk the cats weeing and pooing where the trays were.

I'm not sure if you will ever be able to go without a tray at all indoors.
Nor do I really think she should- if there is no tray the cat will go somewhere else which would be worse!!

Agree with changing type of litter, maybe a change in diet if it is that smelly. Didn't see if you said the trays were the ones with lids?

3 litter trays isn't enough for 6 cats - they need a litter tray each (and preferably plus 1), and non-stinky litter. Catsan is good, and worth the money, but I am on a budget, so wood pellets are fine.

I have 3 cats, so 4 litter trays. They go outside, so don't really use their trays except at night and when I am working on-call overnight, which means I am away for 36 hours - they are not allowed out at night so I keep them in from the start of my 1st day shift to the end of my 2nd. Yup, the house smells when I get in then - but opening the windows and cleaning out the trays sorts it out.

But it sounds like there's way more going on than cat problems, tbh.

No, cats should only go in your house, not other peoples gardens.
Makes me sick how selfish cat owners are.
Clean up after them in your own homes, don't piss your neighbours off. They may send the mess back to you.

Mine will only use a tray, not outside
He's on good quality grain free food though and it doesn't smell
I'm not nose blind, recently had a cat that was fed absolute crap food and my god, I was gagging when he went!

A dim brother with 6 cats and about to become a dad.

She's a lucky girl.

Crystal litter is great, scoop turds out and it's really odor neutralizing.
No idea why you'd get 6 bloody cats. Sounds like hell on earth. Absolutely terrible.
Then they all go out with the rest of the streets cats to shit in a field. How exquisite.

I have nothing useful to suggest because 6 cats and a newborn isn't going to work at all.

No, cats should only go in your house, not other peoples gardens.
Makes me sick how selfish cat owners are.

I don't think my nearest neighbour cares whether our cat toilets in or out. He's not likely to traipse over to her garden for a poo.

Little update, no accidents overnight!

The smell IME is the litter. I use wood pellet based litter and it never smells as vile as the chemical gravel ones or the paper

They have wood pellets. They’re just stinky cats but looks like we’ve cracked it

Alternatively,

If they stink that badly then they probably need better quality food. Cats should be shut in at night and should have access to a litter tray then.
She needs to get a grip. Wear disposable gloves if it bothers her that much. Or just do what everyone else does and wash their hands after doing the job.
If the litter trays are old then they may smell and may need replacing. I soak mine in Milton and hot water when completely changing the litter.

@ShutUpAlex

They have wood pellets. They’re just stinky cats but looks like we’ve cracked it

If they're "stinky" it's because there's something wrong, imo.

I mean, yes, wee and poo will smell if left to fester but with good quality food, litter and trays that are kept on top of, they shouldn't stink at all.

We use "Cat's Best Original Letter" with three indoor cats and there are no smells at all unless they've just done a poo, which is removed right away.

Anyway, your "plan" to shut them indoors at night with no tray isn't great tbh - if one of them is sick or needs the toilet, they'll just go on the floor or behind the TV and you'll have more issues to deal with. Cats that are shut inside MUST have access to a litter tray of some sort, especially if there are six of them. It's not fair otherwise.

But judging by your posts, I suspect you're not bothered by that.

They’re not being shut indoors, I’ve never said that have I ffs.

i think if they have a cat flap, then id move the litter tray closer to the door for a week or so, and then move it outside for a bit.
Once my cats had regular access to outside, they gradually stopped using the litter tray naturally

I imagine you train them just like you do with kittens. Start moving the litter tray gradually closer to their exit, till eventually it's outside. Then scatter the litter on a bed (garden bed, not sleeping bed) where you want them to use instead.

Cats are generally very clean and bury their poo. If they have a cleaner alternative to a litter tray, they will use it. A healthy cat won't usually go to the toilet all over the house and carpets. In my experience it's a sign of ill health if they do. If there is poo in the litter try, they won't like to use it. I've always had cats and rarely needed a little tray inside - only when they're kittens or very elderly.

@ShutUpAlex

They’re not being shut indoors, I’ve never said that have I ffs.

They should still have access to an indoor litter tray.

There are all sorts of reasons they may not be comfortable going outside - other cats, foxes, bad weather, illness, old age and injury to name a few.

Removing the choice means they may just resort to going on the floor which will be much smellier and harder to clean than a litter tray.

They don’t need an indoor litter tray, they’re fine. It’s just because my lazy brother never bothered to move the trays outside when they were smaller. They’re fine, they’ve been using the trays outdoors all night and all day

A healthy cat won't usually go to the toilet all over the house and carpets. In my experience it's a sign of ill health if they do.

Not necessarily - for example, if a cat is very nervous, they may be too scared to go outside if there are aggressive Toms or foxes in the garden - poor weather is another reason too.

IMO part of being a cat owner is providing your cats with safe, clean and dry place to use the toilet. They may not use it, in which case keeping it in a corner is no bother, but they should always have the option.

A litter tray that's rarely used is hardly hard work to keep.

Of course the house smells. If you had a toddler crap and wee in a potty and just left it for 12 hours, it would soon permeate the house. Everyone I know who has cats have that cat shit smell in the house. Even those who try and mask it with air freshener. It then just smells of shit scented roses.
But saying that, I hate the damage cats do to my garden. I recently dug up my front garden and sowed meadow seed. Fucking cats thought I had built them a new outside loo. Happily digging away. I bought a high powered water pistol and that seems to stop them. Especially when you get them mid shit.

@ShutUpAlex

They don’t need an indoor litter tray, they’re fine. It’s just because my lazy brother never bothered to move the trays outside when they were smaller. They’re fine, they’ve been using the trays outdoors all night and all day

Well, we'll have to agree to disagree.

I think all cats should have the option to go indoors, especially in the winter months when it may be freezing cold, wet, windy and stormy.