Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

The litter tray

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

Outdoor cat refusing to use Litter Tray - help!

7 replies

Ditsy79 · 21/05/2019 18:14

My poor cat was in a fight last week, and has had to have the resulting leg abscess drained under sedation at the vets yesterday. The vet has advised to keep her in for a few days, which is not going down well with said cat, but we can manage that okay. She usually goes to the toilet outside, and we got rid of her litter tray a year or so ago. Obviously she uses litter trays when she goes to the cattery, so knows what they are. We have got a new litter tray for her to use, but she has now been home for 24 hours and has not used the tray at all, won't go anywhere near it. Should I be worried? I think it may be a ploy on her part to get me to let her out, kind of a battle of wills. Obviously I don't want her to get a UTI from not going to the toilet, but equally don't want her leg wound to get infected until it has healed over... Any advice appreciated!

OP posts:
viccat · 21/05/2019 18:31

Put some soil/leaves etc. from the garden into the tray, this usually helps outdoor cats associate it with somewhere to go.

Ditsy79 · 21/05/2019 20:17

viccat Thanks for the tip - I'll give it a try

OP posts:
Lellochip · 21/05/2019 22:15

Mine lasted 3 days on litter test strike once, vet just said they can be stubborn! 24 hours, I wouldn't worry yet, she'll probably break before you do Grin

Ditsy79 · 21/05/2019 22:30

Lellochip I'm actually a bit intrigued about how long she can hold it for. She is trying to get her own back on me though - was sick on my bed! Grim

OP posts:
madcatladyforever · 21/05/2019 22:38

My cat shits under my bed whether she stays in or goes out! But then she is 18 now. Bless them.

Singleandproud · 21/05/2019 22:43

Could you get a bag of compost if its a covers tray and use that as litter. I wouldn’t put it on a white carpet etc for muddy footprints.

CanYouHearThePeopleSing · 23/05/2019 17:44

Mine is the same - won't use the litter tray until she absolutely has to. Once she's realised that's her only option, then she uses it. As soon as outside becomes available again, she won't go near the tray.

It amazes me how long they can go for - but then most cats don't actually drink that much, so maybe it's not really an issue.

New posts on this thread. Refresh page