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The litter tray

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

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Original poster

So why is my cat pooing next to her litter tray?

14 replies

LaCoccinelle · 21/12/2011 16:58

We have a kitten, she is 15 weeks old and we have had her for 2 weeks, during which time she has used the litter tray with no problems at all. She sleeps in the dining room at night with our older cat. This morning I found that she had done a poo next to the litter tray during the night, I thought maybe big cat had done a wee in the tray in the night and that had put her off using it. It's a tray with a cover so it's not like she was in the tray and 'missed'. I cleaned out the tray and replaced the litter, went out this afternoon and left kitten in the dining room on her own (this is so that she does not destroy the xmas tree or escape from the house when DH leaves the front door open), again she has pooed next to the litter tray (with a wee inside), so what the hell is her issue?

OP posts:

Mcnorton · 21/12/2011 17:55

My cat used to do this but he was just dim I think. He would stand inside the tray but his bottom would be just over the edge. So dim, it bloody awkward!

MrsMagnolia · 21/12/2011 19:24

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

WynkenBlynkenandNod · 21/12/2011 19:27

I've got one who is awful about going in the litter tray. In desperation I have got some stuff you sprinkle in with the litter, Cat attract. Only arrived this morning but she has been in it twice so far, which is good going for her.

mycatsaysach · 21/12/2011 19:28

two of mine have done this - in fact one now does all his wees inside and poos outside on a sep sheet of newspaper

PandaNot · 21/12/2011 19:29

One of mine did this for AGES. Turned out he didn't like the new kind of litter we had been buying - changed the litter again and he was back in the tray, never done it again!

namechangerbat · 21/12/2011 19:31

OOO what is this cat attract stuff? can I put it on my exs door mat?

WynkenBlynkenandNod · 21/12/2011 19:35

It's this. You can't use it with some types of cat litter according to the instructions. It's in with some Tesco value stuff at the moment instead of the ridiculously priced stuff I also ordered from that site as it's made from corn and on the exclusion list.

Original poster

LaCoccinelle · 21/12/2011 20:40

Hmm I did change the litter a few days ago, she had seemed fine with it, I'll change back to the previous one and see if that makes a difference. Bloody awkward animals.

OP posts:

sillymillyb · 21/12/2011 20:56

Mine used to do this too - legs in and bum out! We got a cover to go over the top with a door on (hope that describes it ok!) We only used it for a month or so and he seemed to get used to the new position he needed to be in - the accidents stopped at any rate!

sashh · 22/12/2011 04:25

Your kitten is growing up and wanting her own litter tray - I kid you not - many adult cats will not share a litter tray.

Original poster

LaCoccinelle · 11/01/2012 21:16

I thought I'd update. I have kept big cat away from the litter tray, he has his own and now sleeps in a separate room at night, I have gone back to the old litter and tried new stuff with 'kitten attractant', I have tried the litter tray in different places, including on top of her preferred poo place. None of this has made any difference, she now poos in the bath if she can't get to the dining room floor (ignoring the sparkling fresh litter tray). She had a tray with a roof and cat flap/door and used it for wees but not poos I tried one without and there was no difference.

I thought I had cracked it when I got rid of the plastic bag litter tray liner but no, she was just teasing me . I now put her in a puppy crate at night with a litter tray and a bed (plus food & water) and she will at least use the tray then. For some reason she only seems to poo at night so for now this at least means I don't have to clean poo off the floor every morning. I'm hoping she will eventually realise that it's ok to poo in the tray and I can do away with the crate, she is going to be a house cat so she'd better get the hang of the tray eventually!

OP posts:

suzi2 · 15/01/2012 22:46

have you watched her? Mine has had an accident a couple of times recently because she's gone into her tray head first and stuck her bum out the front! I don't think she realises what she's doing, then tries to drag litter out to cover it and all sorts. Could it be genuine user error due to the positioning of the tray or something?

MrsHankey · 17/01/2012 11:22

My cat does this, this thread has made me LOL,

Mcnorton & MrsMagnolia, think thats what my cat does, she's old & has never been very bright

But changing the litter can help, think sometimes they just don't like the feel of it on their paws (how they don't mind to wee in? don't know, strange animals).

Smurfy1 · 23/01/2012 22:30

It's a cleaniness issue most cats hate using 1 tray for both, I have 3 cats and 5 trays, 2 of these have never been pee'd in and when darling Morph was alive she would attack any of the others that would dare pee in her poo tray and then poo outside it LOL

Pretty sure if you google it they advise 2 trays per cat

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