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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

Cats living mostly outdoors?

37 replies

ERN79 · 29/04/2024 21:54

I'm at the end of my tether with one of our cats.
She constantly poo's outside the litter tray. This has been going on since we got her as a kitten 4 years ago.
We've tried different litter types, different trays, we've had upto 5 trays at one point. Calming plug in, calming spot ons.
Had her to the vets & there's nothing physically wrong with her.

I've got home tonight to poo all through my downstairs as the robot hoover has gone through it & spread it all over. Thankfully it's laminate not carpet.
After cleaning all that up I've come up to bed to another poo on my bedroom carpet.
I've had enough.

I'm thinking of making her an area in the shed with a bed & having her mostly outside.
AIBU?!

OP posts:
AltitudeCheck · 30/04/2024 08:24

@ERN79 one of ours is standard cat, sleeps a lot, she eats anything, never messes, rarely ill, comes for a cuddle on her terms etc ... her brother on the other hand is a diva!! He has to sleep in our bed (under the covers and in-between us), he won't eat unless you're standing next to him telling him what a good boy he is, has to have grain free single protein source food as he has IBD, frequently has to be 'rescued' from noisy stand offs in the garden with the neighbours cats, wakes us up at 5.30am 🤣 an absolute dick of a cat (but we love him!)

MrsPelligrinoPetrichor · 30/04/2024 08:32

ERN79 · 30/04/2024 08:01

I have thought about this, I'm assuming it's not particularly cheap either?

Show quote history

Husband did it, it was expensive as we fitted a microchip flap but you just need a specific drill bit.

AltitudeCheck · 30/04/2024 08:34

Perhaps a bit of a reset is needed?
Do you have a quiet room that you could keep the cat in on its own for a week or two? Similar to how you would treat a bringing home a new cat, giving it it's own quiet space where it knows there's no other cats / threats and a litter tray that is their's alone and safe might work?

Original poster
ERN79 · 30/04/2024 08:45

@MrsPelligrinoPetrichor I don't know why I'd assumed I'd need to get someone in to do it & it would be expensive 🤦‍♀️🤷🏼‍♀️

OP posts:
Original poster
ERN79 · 30/04/2024 08:46

AltitudeCheck · 30/04/2024 08:34

Perhaps a bit of a reset is needed?
Do you have a quiet room that you could keep the cat in on its own for a week or two? Similar to how you would treat a bringing home a new cat, giving it it's own quiet space where it knows there's no other cats / threats and a litter tray that is their's alone and safe might work?

Not really no. Our downstairs is open plan & upstairs is just 3 bedrooms, one for each of my 2 children & then us. So wouldn't be easy as all used daily. 🤷🏼‍♀️

OP posts:
Aixellency · 30/04/2024 08:51

won't eat unless you're standing next to him telling him what a good boy

One of ours bolts in the middle of eating if a butterfly sneezes in Timbuktu - and has to be coaxed back with all our ingratiation skills. Hmm

I don’t know, @ERN79 - your cat is doing something beyond my experience. @AltitudeCheck’s isolation cure sounds good but clearly wouldn’t work for you.

(I’d be inclined to keep the poor cat outside - with shelter - and maybe try the vet again.)

fieldsofbutterflies · 30/04/2024 09:01

AltitudeCheck · 30/04/2024 08:34

Perhaps a bit of a reset is needed?
Do you have a quiet room that you could keep the cat in on its own for a week or two? Similar to how you would treat a bringing home a new cat, giving it it's own quiet space where it knows there's no other cats / threats and a litter tray that is their's alone and safe might work?

This isn't a bad idea actually and is often recommended for dogs who are struggling with house training.

Original poster
ERN79 · 30/04/2024 09:04

Aixellency · 30/04/2024 08:51

won't eat unless you're standing next to him telling him what a good boy

One of ours bolts in the middle of eating if a butterfly sneezes in Timbuktu - and has to be coaxed back with all our ingratiation skills. Hmm

I don’t know, @ERN79 - your cat is doing something beyond my experience. @AltitudeCheck’s isolation cure sounds good but clearly wouldn’t work for you.

(I’d be inclined to keep the poor cat outside - with shelter - and maybe try the vet again.)

Edited

Thank you for trying!
I've messaged a friend about a large drill, so will see if he can help.
In the meantime I'll be getting her comfy in the shed! 😂

OP posts:
caringcarer · 30/04/2024 09:09

Alternativetolove · 30/04/2024 08:24

Putting a cat flap in a wall is the cost of a cat flap plus drilling a hole.

DH put one in our back door. Very cheap to do. He recently put one in a wall for my ds in his new home again very cheap to do.

FormerlyPathologicallyHappy · 30/04/2024 21:51

You can’t lock her out she’ll be distressed. A happy cat doesn’t do things like this. Can you send the sister to a relatives for a couple of weeks to see how she gets on?

Cat relationships are very complex, our neighbours boys were brothers who spent a lot of time together and seemed to get on well but when one died the other one was practically skipping for weeks. He definitely didn’t have the black arm band out.

Autumn1990 · 30/04/2024 21:59

I have two very friendly young cats that came from a feral/farm cat group. They weed and pooed all over a bed once it was horrific. I’d only just starting leaving them loose in the house. Anyway they were back in the dog crate when I wasn’t around to supervise.
Theyre quite happy now sleeping in a dog crate and I think I’d upset them if I removed it. So you could try a large dog crate.
My parents cats always slept in the garage at night. It is a well insulated, dry warm space with the boiler and a choice of beds and food for cats. If you have garage that would work and you can buy heated car beds

RumNotRun · 30/04/2024 22:11

Favourite Cat used to go outside all day but always come into poo. The vet said he probably is insecure and scared so, as when they poo they are vulnerable, he comes home where he is safe. Maybe there's something outside frightening your cat (although that doesn't explain not using a tray I know).

You can get disposable trays on Amazon, they're made from recycled cardboard, maybe she'd be happier with those? I used them for my tribe purely because I hate cleaning out the trays 🤢

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