Outdoor litter tray?

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Has anyone been able to establish an outdoor litter tray that can be managed? After we moved last year the cats used an indoor litter tray, but now the weather has improved(!) they poo outside. For various reasons I am reasonably sure they use my garden - and a specific area in the garden. My garden isn't large and at the moment I am picking up poo when I spot it, but this is challenging as the poo is the same colour as the soil. Is it possible to train them in some way to use some sort of litter tray outdoors?? How would it work? Thanks.

I have outdoor litter trays for my cats. They have an enclosed garden so I provided specific toileting places for them - two large litter trays, and I also cleared a section of the flowerbed for them to use. So I know where they will 'go' rather than having to seek it out.

I don't use cat litter outdoors as I thought once it got rained on it'd just be a big soggy mess. So I use a mixture of old compost and sharp sand in the trays.

However you could just use sand on its own, cats love digging in sand. Use sharp sand as it is free draining and doesn't get too soggy. You can buy it from places like B&Q or any builders merchant. I also put the litter tray next to the house wall so it gets some rain protection.

We have this one outside https://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/cats/cat_litter_litter_boxes/outdoor_cat_trays/588901?
it's very sturdy and protected from the elements.

Thanks @Shellingbynight that's really interesting. Are the litter trays covered? Do they not get wet and messy in the weather we've been having?

This is interesting. I could install this in our garage for a few weeks to get them used to it.

Hi, no they aren't covered. It's effectively like the cat just using the flowerbeds - yes it gets wet, but then it dries out. The sharp sand helps avoid it getting 'claggy'. If you have some shelter that helps (next to the house/under a tree).

It's worth trying the covered tray. I tried them in the past but found them tricky to clean, the inside of the lid can get covered in wee/poo when the cat kicks over their leavings, then you have to unclip the mucky lid and clean off the intricate bits where it attaches onto the bottom. So I'm not a fan.

(Zooplus are great, I buy a lot of stuff there!)

Thanks for explaining!

Surely you will have all the neighbourhood cats using it?

We have a massive wooden planter as an outdoor litter tray, Cat is very fussy about the type of compost mix we use in it. It’s semi covered as in it’s in a fairly sheltered spot. It’s so easy to poop scoop, I scoop regularly and turn the soil over so it doesn’t get compacted. It has horticultural grit mixed in for drainage.

Well... my cats poo outside as it is, and I pick up as much as I can. I'm not going to discriminate between their poo and a neighbouring cat's poo! I guess I just want to regulate things somewhat. (It would be so much easier if my cat's poo were bright pink, not soil colour...)

Hmmm thanks!

I have a huge weeping tree that they go under since young kittens, l also leave large seed trays with compost/soil around garden, my cats do use them to do toilet in, l realised when trying to grow seeds what they were doing so now they have their own, l also leave plenty of space behind my long hedging borders and l often see them digging in my flower borders. I try and make my garden as interesting and inviting as l can for them to stop them going in neighbours.