Kitten used bath as litter tray!

[Strawberrytraveller]

We have two 4 month old kittens. Both arrived littler tray trained and have been here around 6 weeks now.

Ginger kittens uses tray all the time no problem. Tabby kitten, uses the tray half the time, the other half she tries to go in the bath! usually we hear scratching in bath and quickyl remove her into a tray before she actually goes. But overnight she goes in the bath every other night i would say.

Things we have tried:

1. we have three litter trays. They are cleaned as soon as used or we see have been used

2)two trays are in downstairs bathroom. this is where the bath is, and only place downstairs suitable really so ideally need to stay there. Its where they have always been. Third litter tray is in upstairs ensuite, they never use it.

3. tried putting water in the bath so she couldn't go in there. She peed on a pillow instead, and then in the sink a week later when we tried the same method!

4)tried leaving one of her wees in a tray for scent.

5. they are using cats best eco litter. we need to be able to flush waste and then compost remaining as no main bin collection here.

6. when put in tray she uses straight away. and goes an finds it and uses alone 50% of the time

7. have cleaned the bath with 101 different fragrances cats are supposed to hate, but she ignores. used bicarb, and some cat odour cleaner etc

She is vaccineted, wormed etc. isnt spayed yet.

Any ideas?

Put a litter tray in the bath?

I agree, put the tray in the bath. I would have suggested shutting the door but that's where the trays are

One of mine does this occasionally. I just clean the bath well afterwards: I'd rather he did it there than on a rug or something!

We had this and put a litter tray for that cat in the bath. She went there and it was no trouble at all. My cat wasn’t a great cover-upper so it didn’t bother her to go in the bath or shower tray. She’s just neatly hop out when she had finished.

I’d grab her poo with some loo roll and flush it. Wee washed down the drain.

I miss that little cat! She’d also go when I went to the loo... like some big communal loo family.
She’d hop up onto the back of the loo whenever anyone was there, or try and sit in your lap when you were doing your own business!

I’d say the ginger has more pungent wee and she likes a cleaner place to go.

The up side is that your girl cat might be trainable to go in the loo.
Plenty of treats and encouragement.
Look up “litter quitter” and save hundreds on litter and mess.

She might have reached sexual maturity and need spaying ASAP - 4 months is the recommended age anyway. I've heard of quite a few young female kittens/cats doing this before they were neutered.

Defintely put the litter tray in the bath. A bit of a hassle moving it when you want to use the bath, but at least the rest of the time it's less likely to get kicked over. Sometimes there is no logic in a cat's brain and you just have to run with what they decide. As a pp has said, I would rather the odd wee in the bath than on any soft furnishings.

Thank you.
I think we will try moving one tray into the bath for now. Once they can go outside maybe she will change habits. We live in the countryside so plenty of land outside when they eventually go out.

They seem to use one tray each so i dont think its the smell of the other one. Plus the tray can have been freshly emptied, washed and filled and she will still do the same.

We don't live in the UK, and here the very earliest they will spay and neuter is 6 months. The vet has said they can do female at 6 months if we really want, but would prefer we left male until later. We will try and get both done around 6 months. This was the third vet we tried, the others don't do until 8-12 months.

Also its freezing here with lots of snow in winter, so i doubt by the time they are neutered and able to go out, that they will want to go out much until spring, hence wanting a solution if possible rather than waking up to a wee in the bath the next 6 months

My cat likes a wee in the bath, and she is four and knows very well how to use the litter tray. If she’s ever sick, she will go in the bath too. We tried an extra tray in the bath but she wasn’t for it, and she will actually go outside 99% of the time unless the weather is terrible, sometimes not using the tray for months on end. Tbh I would rather she went in the bath than anywhere else in the house - I just rinse it down with the shower, then give it a good clean. Last year the little madam weed behind the Christmas tree (maybe because her usual spot in the garden is behind a big fir?) which was not at all festive.

That's frustrating re: vet's. Leaving a girl/boy pair unneutered that long you definitely risk them breeding with each other. Are there any cat rescue charities near you, they might know a vet who will do it earlier?

Yes like you say, I would rather she used the bath than anywhere else. But obviously, the tray would be better.

Have moved a tray into the bath, so will see if she uses, or just goes the other end!

Viccat - we got both kittens from the local cat rescue place. They rehome them after first vaccinations, and with a microchip already in place that we then had to register our details to. But they also don't advocate early spay/neuter as when we said we would take them at 4-5 months they were surprised and said dont go too early...
Im hoping the vet will let us do a few weeks earlier if I just book in. I know that have to be minimum 2kg here, which ours aren't at the moment , but they might be by October.

That is utterly bizarre. I am not sure how you will stop them breeding together. My childhood cat had kittens at only 10 months old so she must have been impregnated at 8 months.

I spoke to the vets, the very earliest they will spay female is 6 months, so she is booked in for the end of October.

We tried a litter tray in the bath, she managed to use the other end and avoid it completely!

Tried leaving orange pieces and squeezed yesterday and today, and she has avoided so far, but that could be pure coincidence.

I had to go to an alternative vet to get my boys done at 4 months as mine also said 6 months. Up to date advice is to do it at 4 months. There is a kitten neutering database that tells you the nearest vet that will do it at 4 months

Sorry, just saw you're not in the UK so database will be no use

My 4 year old cat does this, I've just accepted it now, putting a litter tray in the bath and he didn't use it. Think he just prefers to do it out in the open and on a clear surface than litter, just means I have to religiously clean my bathroom more often, but like PP has said I'd rather that than him going on the floor, carpet etc