Litter tray in a cupboard?

[theSnuffster]

We are having a new kitchen fitted and there won't be space for the litter tray. Does anyone have their litter tray in a cupboard? I'm thinking of putting a cat flap in the door to the cupboard under the stairs, put the tray in there, and build a wooden box around it so the cats can only get to the litter tray and not to everything else in the cupboard. Is there any reason this wouldn't work? Apart from the fact that we would have to train them to use a cat flap first!

It depends on your cats... The gold standard is a litter tray per cat + 1 extra, so they may not be happy to share especially if it's in such an enclosed space. Many cats also prefer a more open tray as they feel more secure in it (they don't like to be cornered with no escape route).

Is there nowhere else in the house, such as the bathroom, or a hallway, or a corner somewhere else?

With most other things I'd say give it a try and see how your cats take to it but litter tray problems tend to be very difficult to resolve once they start so it's a bit more risky... (I used to volunteer in the rehoming team at a cat charity and we had so many people wanting to give up their cat because they had started weeing around the house!)

Not all cats need separate trays. My unrelated cats happily share. Which is a good job as there is nowhere else to put one. If your cat has more than one brain cell it's worth a try!

Sorry should've said we do have two trays. One upstairs and one in the kitchen, but once the new kitchen is fitted the litter tray won't fit anymore. Downstairs toilet is too small for the litter tray to go in there, no space anywhere in the hallway and definitely don't want it in the living room.

Also both cats prefer covered trays and won't use them if the 'lids' aren't on.

My cats like covered trays too. Their favourite is the XXL one - we have 2 standard & 1 XXL & they only use the standard ones when they have to (eg one is in the hall so if they're shut out of other litter tray room they'll use it). If you've space under the stairs it might be worth getting the bigger one to make it more appealing.

Could you initially leave the door open for a while, so they get used to the tray being in there, before introducing the flap?

Yes we could probably leave it open for a while- I could put one of those rubber stoppers on it that you use to stop toddlers trapping their fingers. Otherwise we would all keep shutting it without thinking!

The trays we have are quite big but I'll definitely look in to getting something bigger.