Getting cats to go to toilet outside

[Leicesterpiggott]

We have 3 cats which we had since kittens. They're now going through cat flap and spending the day coming in and out but still use the litter tray inside. How an we encourage them to do their buisiness outside so we don't have to keep having a tray inside?

You could put the tray in the garden, for a few days, then sprinkle some of the litter in a bush or something so they get the scent and then take the tray away after a while. With my cat we just took the tray away as she was doing the same thing and we never had a problem, might be more difficult to do that with 3 though.

You could make them an outdoor toilet area, if you keep an area of freshly dug soil clear of plants and remove the poo regularly that may well do the trick, but it is important to make the effort to make your garden more attractive to them than those of your neighbours (unless you have a vast garden or are in the middle of nowhere). There are a lot of benefits to keeping trays though, you can tell if a cat has an upset stomach, you can keep them in at night which is safer for them and means no "gifts" brought in overnight, your neighbours will be happier.