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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.

Original poster

Cat shat on my bed

38 replies

blubberball · 16/11/2020 06:10

We've had our cat since 2015, when we got her from Cats protection. She goes outside, and doesn't have a litter tray. This morning I woke up to her shitting on my bed, whilst I was in it. This is the first time this has happened. She's always very clean, save for the odd hairball.
I'm going to take her to the vet, as she seems pretty stressed out.
Any tips to help her chill? We are a pretty busy household admittedly, and she always wants to sit on me when I'm in the middle of something. This is very much on her terms that she sits on me, as she's not an affectionate cat. She's pretty wild really. Any one have any experience with this please? X

OP posts:
Original poster
blubberball · 16/11/2020 09:09

Thanks. We do have foxes in the area, so that might not help. She's all booked in at the vets for Wednesday, so hopefully won't have any more accidents between now and then.

OP posts:
nomdeplume2019 · 16/11/2020 09:18

Have you changed cats food or flavours?
This caused our cat to toilet inside to my disgust
I had upgraded to fancier food

Veterinari · 16/11/2020 10:50

Oh apologies @Trickyboy I didn't realise you'd been a cat owner for 54 years. In that case I totally agree that your opinion trumps the wealth of scientific evidence and behavioural research.

What is it exactly about providing a litter tray that is anthropomorphic - (the attribution of human characteristics to an animal)? Maybe I'm doing it wrong, but I don't know any humans who shit in a litter-filled tray so how can this be a human characteristic when litter trays are specifically designed to meet the toileting needs of animals?

Weird isn't it how your personal opinion isn't 'anthropormorphism' but years of combined scientific research is...

Perhaps you could explain? You seem very knowledgeable....

Veterinari · 16/11/2020 10:56

Majority of my cats have lived past 20 and one to 22 so the lack of a tray doesn't seem to be that great a need.

It depends on whether you think running the gauntlet of the neighbourhood cars/fireworks/howling rain in order to relieve yourself is a need?

True it's unlikely to be life threatening, but it certainly can be stressful/painful/uncomfortable. Especially at that advanced age where they would very likely be experiencing arthritic pain (and no, longevity is not an indicator of good welfare).

Why wouldn't you want to provide your cat with a comfortable life? Confused

QueenPaws · 16/11/2020 11:00

Mine won't go outside. He comes back inside if he needs a wee. I wouldn't not have a litter tray for him, he might need it urgently or prefer to be in when it's raining, it's no hardship to have one

cosmo30 · 16/11/2020 11:30

I do agree to have a littler tray as a just in case but saying that some cats are just funny. Our cat goes outside and has a litter tray, but he will not go near the litter tray since he started going outside, he would shit on my bed over the tray !!
Op it was probably a one off, was it raining outside? Was pretty grim here this morning
Or maybe a funny tummy ?

WhoWants2Know · 16/11/2020 16:01

OP, I forgot to ask, do you have a cat flap? If there are foxes or aggressive cats around, they sometimes sniff round the cat flap or try to get in, which is super stressful for a pet. One cat behaviourist (Vicky Hall, maybe?) described it as like having a revolving door into your house and never knowing who might come in.

So if she's over grooming, a litter tray in a quiet space and blocking the cat flap may help her feel more settled.

Original poster
blubberball · 16/11/2020 17:15

Thanks. We do have a cat flap, and foxes are around. She's wanted to be with me today. She's not the kind of cat that I can pick up and cuddle, but she likes to sit on me on her terms.

OP posts:
Original poster
blubberball · 17/11/2020 07:28

We had no accidents last night, so touch wood it was a one off (please God). Still going to take her to get checked over by the vet tomorrow. Thanks for the help everyone.

OP posts:
theconstantinoplegardener · 17/11/2020 11:36

My cat is an outdoor cat, but we have a litter tray because we keep her indoors at night. She pooed on our bed once after being accidentally shut in our room. I think the soft, giving nature of the duvet must have mimicked soil in her mind, because it became a habit and she took to using our bed regularly! We stopped it by keeping the bedroom door shut for a few weeks so she got out of the habit of using it. We also took her right back to kittenhood for a few days and confined her to one room, with her litter tray, food, bed etc so she got back into the habit of toileting in her litter tray again. She hasn't had any accidents for a long time now.

Original poster
blubberball · 17/11/2020 13:11

Glad you got it sorted.

OP posts:
WhoWants2Know · 19/11/2020 08:25

How did she get on at the vets?

Original poster
blubberball · 04/12/2020 10:02

Sorry I didn't update. No underlying health issues, just slightly over weight. 🙈

She hasn't done it since thank goodness. She must have just been upset that day for some reason.

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