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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

If the cats are not allowed outside at night do they need a litter tray

90 replies

MrsFogi · 05/10/2018 22:34

Our kittens are about 6 months old, I allow them to go in and out during the day but am keeping them in at night. How do people deal with this in relation to the litter try - do you end up having a litter tray overnight forever?

OP posts:

Orlande · 07/10/2018 18:11

Catching - how on earth are you supposed to force a cat to wee inside?

redsummershoes · 07/10/2018 18:14

not really forcing. but training it to use the litter tray properly when young and keeping cat indoors over night (for cat's safety and for the local wildlife)

Orlande · 07/10/2018 19:06

Mine used a litter tray until they were about a year old and then chose to go outside. I can't force a cat to use a tray!

witchy89 · 07/10/2018 19:24

We never had a litter tray for our cat, he'd come in at night, go to sleep, and go out again in the morning. If he was REALLY desperate in the night he would meow and meow to be let out, which he did even when we did have a litter tray for him, which is why we got rid in the end. When he got really old we made sure there was always a tray, and he succumbed to using it. It depends on the cat anyway, they are very proud animals and some just hate using them. I've done cat sitting before and none of those had trays! For all the people who are horrified that someone would not have a litter tray, what do you think dog owners do? I don't know a single dog owner who has a tray for their dog over night?

Wolfiefan · 07/10/2018 20:20

As already stated. Dogs are taken out last thing and first thing at night. My dog is left about 6 hours overnight.
My cats were in today about 3pm. Won’t be allowed out until after 7am as it’s dark. They may well hold it. But it’s cruel to force them to hold on for 16 hours. And I’m not letting them out in the dark.

ferrier · 07/10/2018 21:49

Well here's the rub for all those who think it's cruel not to provide a litter tray and that you can train them to use it. ....
My cats were indoor cats until about nine months old so they had no choice but to use the litter trays which of course they did.
When we started letting them out they started using the garden but still used the litter trays but within a few months they stopped using the litter tray entirely.
So yes, perfectly trained to use it but choosing not to. In what world is that cruel? Would you have me keep them in each day until they'd performed?
As for health issues, there are other ways of identifying most issues. I don't need to see the odd diarrhoea anyway. If I've got a concern then I'll keep the cat in for a while with a litter tray.

StripySocksAndDocs · 07/10/2018 21:57

Mine absolutely won’t use a litter tray. He’d rather hold on and has done, for days, when I’ve had to keep him in. (It’s very stressful for all concerned.)

Have a litter tray and lock your cats in overnight. Try that for at least six months. If they use it you know they need it.

fenneltea · 07/10/2018 22:50

It isn't cruel if they have the option to use the litter tray; it is potentially cruel if they need to use a tray but can't because there isn't one! You'd also probably have no way of spotting cystitis in a cat that toilets outdoors all the time.
All my six cats are happy to use a litter tray, and will even come indoors to do so. If they didn't want to then fair enough, but I would always ensure one was available for a cat that had no access to the outdoors for several hours.

ferrier · 07/10/2018 23:25

There's no guaranteed way of spotting cystitis in a cat that toilets indoors either.
In all likelihood I'd pick it up quicker than you would because my cat would quite likely then toilet indoors which would immediately alert me to there being a problem.

CatchingBabies · 08/10/2018 10:19

When my cat had cystitis he couldn’t wee, so there would have been no wee in the house for you to spot it. Without the emergency vet and being catheterised his bladder would have burst and he’d have died. I spotted it as he kept going the litter tray but there was nothing in there.

Orlande · 08/10/2018 10:36

That's great Catching, but unless you keep cats indoors all the time it isn't possible to force them to use a tray.

CatchingBabies · 08/10/2018 14:24

I don’t mean force them but having one available seems sensible.

Orlande · 08/10/2018 18:11

Yes but having a tray doesn't mean cats use it, so it's no particular use for spotting issues.

Original poster

MrsFogi · 08/10/2018 22:27

Golly - this thread has got heated! Many thanks to the posters who have given helpful responses (both for and against litter trays). It's a pity others decided to pull up their judgey pants based on so little information - I would have posted in AIBU if I had been seeking people's views on whether or not I should have cats or not!

OP posts:

AwaAnBileYeHeid · 08/10/2018 23:12

@MrsFogi I reckon your cats will let you know if they want a litter tray or not.

My girl has just been out for her last wee tonight. It's really stormy and wet and she wasn't looking like she wanted to go out so I did go out to the shed and grab her litter tray but after I went to all that trouble, gave it a scrub (it had been out there a while) and put some cat litter in it she turned her nose up at it and went out into the pouring rain instead for a quick pee.
Cats do like to remind us who's in charge.

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