Kitten Litter Tray Help Needed

[bellinique]

I have a 5 month old ragdoll boy who has been neutered.

Ever since we’ve had him he’s had a nasty habit of treading in his own mess in the litter tray and ending up with dirty back paws. This happens immediately after he’s done his business when he’s leaving the tray. I’m at home a lot and typically clean up straight after he’s been, so it’s not that he’s treading in it because of a dirty tray.

He has the largest tray there is and it doesn’t have a hood. I’d prefer one with a hood given the smell but I’m worried that could make the problem even worse.

He poos three or four times a day (is this normal?!) and about 50% of the time I end up having to wash a paw afterwards to stop him walking poo all over the place. I’ve tried gently showing him the mess on his paw in the hope he’ll clean himself up or realise what he’s doing but he just ignores it.

Can anybody offer any advice please? Or reassurance that this is just kitten behaviour which he’ll grow out of? I love him so much but this daily paw patrol isn’t sustainable and I can’t cope with the thought of his poo all over the place Help!

Ooh, that's tough. 5 months is quite old for him not to have grasped how to use the litter tray. Perhaps make the litter deeper or choose a light weight litter that will cover the poo easier. Tesco do one that we always used when our cats were indoors 'premium lightweight'I think it was. The bits were so small that they would cover the poo more easily? Tricky. Does your cat go outside?

I don’t think going that often normal. Are his stools firm?.

Thank you both for the replies! Good idea to try some lighter cat litter and I will see if making it deeper helps. Sometimes he doesn’t bother to cover it at all so maybe he is struggling with the litter.

His stools aren’t as firm as they should be but not too bad. I’ve tried adding pumpkin to his diet but that doesn’t seem to have made a difference. He’s already on grain-free food so I’m not sure what else I can do to help with that. Any ideas would be appreciated!

All in one dry cat food might help? With a water dish obvs and no unusual treats. Ironically milk can upset their tummies.

Thanks @Handbaghag He does have a dry complete kitten food available at all times but only eats it if he has to and mostly ignores it and screams at us for more wet food. I think he’d start eating me if I stopped his beloved wet food! I’ve been told you should feed a kitten as much as they want but I do worry he’s eating too much.

Maybe we should reduce the wet food and try to get him to eat more of the dry. Not relishing the prospect of being stuck in the house with kitten screaming at me for the next few weeks though!

Does any of his food contain cereals or maize protein? It can really upset their digestive system.

Cats can only process meat so don’t give him pumpkin.