To think about getting a cat but not wanting to do a litter box?

[Nolitterbox]

We had a cat that died about 8 years ago, she was not an indoor cat - but hardly ever went outside. Really only to sunbathe! The good thing was: no dead wildlife. The bad thing was: litter box. I hated it. It was a bane of my life the whole time.

I have a really strong sense of smell and can always smell them when I go to people’s houses who have them and I really dislike them. Also, our house is very small - there’s nowhere “tucked away” it could go.

I told DH we could get a cat and not do the litter box thing. He isn’t so sure. It’s a dealbreaker for me!

So:
if you have a cat and a litter box, vote YABU
If you have a cat and no litter box YANBU

But that's a different thing to "cat proof your garden", isn't it? That's "build a catio".

What about the smell of cat food? Does that upset you too? Best not to get a cat incase that offends your delicate little nosey too.

We have 2 cats, and although we have a litter tray, they pretty much never use it as unless it's snowing or blowing a gale they prefer to go outside. We could probably get by without one but it's an insurance policy.

There are several cat proofing systems, this is the one we use.

https://www.secur-a-cat.com/

Whatever the term is as long as they’re not crapping in my garden

My cat comes in at night and stays in after he's had his dinner. I wouldn't like to have no toilet access from dinnertime until morning.

My new kitten won't be going out until he's vaccinated and neutered so of course he's got a litter tray.

If you get a cat you'll have to keep it indoors at first anyway.

If you're not prepared to provide a litter tray don't get a cat.

Or get a cat, feed it good quality food and use a good quality clumping cat litter, scooped out every day, in a covered tray. Shouldn't be any smell then.

My cat is 11 and only had one when he was a kitten. Very rarely has an accident

I have a cat and he doesn’t have a litter box. I haven’t voted though, because I don’t think you can escape having a litter box altogether, whether you get a kitten or an older cat.

I have 3 they all go outside, I also use the wood chips litter if I am going away which usually is good with smell, it kind of smells like sawdust when they pee.

As an aside, if you want a younger cat it’s worth looking at animal shelters in August and September. The staff at the RSPCA one I got my cat from said they get lots dumped on them at the start of the long summer holidays as people get kittens early in the year then realise that have to pay for cat care when they go away.

I used to have cats and always had litter trays. Cleaned frequently so no smell.

I think it's antisocial not to have litter trays as cats will often then shit in the neighbours' gardens.

Hi Op, I get it.

I've been researching sand pits for cats. It means that their toileting is contained and outside. One I saw had a privacy hedge, to help the cat feel more secure.You can easily self build them, apparently. Obviously this sand pit facility is only for the cat, not DCs!

I also like the suggestion of outside the back door, either hooded or in a kennel.

I agree with previous poster that an elderly cat is probably going to need an indoor/close to door litter tray.

Mine doesn’t have a hitter tray. The nearest neighbour is over a quarter of a mile away so I think the danger of him pooing in their garden is negligible.

Our ragdolls are fed on extremely good quality food (98% meat content) and their mess only smells slightly for a minute or two. They're very good at burying their mess and we're quick to scoop and bin it. Our house doesn't smell of cat tray at all - have asked many friends and family who aren't afraid to be honest!

I was going to say exactly that.

Can't quote on the app but YABU. If you have a pet then clean up after it instead of letting it shit all over your neighbours gardens.

I'm in the US and we had an automatic litter box. It 'self-scooped' and dumped the poo & wee clumps into a little plastic disposable bin liner with a lid and then shut the lid each time after the cat used the box. There was even a little charcoal 'deodorizer' that you could stick to the inside. Minimum smell and no scooping. All we had to do was pop the plastic bin out & seal it with the lid, replace the liner and lid, and take the 'full' one to the outside bin. Easy peasy.

Unfortunately I can't remember the name of it, so I can't check to see if they have the same in the UK. But I'd think they'd have something similar.

This! Sorry you are being ridiculous

Hiya

If your cat doesn’t have a litter tray, where would it shit, please?

My cat prefers to go behind the bushes at the end of the street (they are against a wall, so literally no one ever goes there) but he still uses his tray if it’s raining or I’m not here to let him out.

We always have one but she hasn't used it for about a year when she was poorly and couldn't go outside. She goes in a spot in our garden which is very convenient. I wouldn't take it away though, just in case.

We have a very long garden which backs onto field - so I’m not expecting that the cat would poop in other people’s gardens. Also I thought cats liked to bury their poo?

I’ve only noticed cat poo in my own garden once in all these years (it was on the patio - while that probably should have been gross, I was actually fairly glad as it seemed to scare off the garden rats for a while so I left it there!).

Fox poo on the other hand…

But - fair point - I don’t want to get a cat and make their poo someone else’s problem! I naively hoped it would bury its poo in my garden unnoticed!

When I was a child we had one cat after another, and never once had a litter box and I also never noticed cat poo anywhere. But we lived in the countryside so, on the other hand, we did have dead wildlife to deal with.

Ahh maybe at a cat impasse. I don’t want a killer cat, but I also don’t want an indoor litterbox!

Where do you think the cat will crap if you don't have a litter tray...more than likely other people's gardens.
Very unfair

Sand pits for cats - this is interesting! I will look this up too.