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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

Picking up our cat that's been 'missing' for years

459 replies

KiffyKiffyKiffy · 03/02/2025 14:57

Well not missing exactly but we lived at our old address and as our cat got older and we had kids and 2 dogs our cat spent more and more time with our elderly neighbour. We would try and coax him home but he always went back.

The neighbour loved him and spoilt him rotton.

2 years ago we moved house and we tried to catch him a few times to bring him with us but he evaded us. So we went to the neighbours house to ask him to catch him for us. The elderly neighbour said he would like him to stay (his wife and dog had passed away) as he was good company

So over time we check in on him, make sure he doesn't need vet care etc.
Neighbour has our number.

We just stopped by to check in and he asked if we could take him.

Of course!

But I'm worried as he's not seen our dogs in years. He's never been to this home and we have somehow adopted a stray cat here who treats it like his home and is basically out unplanned cat too now.

We are picking him up in an hour and I'm just a bit stressed at how to navigate this!!

We never planned to be apart from him but he chose the neighbour over us and at that time the neighbour really needed him.

Any advice please!

OP posts:
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Thatissimplyuntrue · 08/02/2025 07:12

Marinel · 03/02/2025 16:05

What type of 'lifestyle' has the cat had with the neighbour? He's 18 so is he more or less an indoor cat now?

The first thing I'd do is take him for a check up at the vet because at that age he may have various unidentified health problems and it would help to know exactly what's going on.

What is your intention with the crate? He doesn't need one if he's kept in one room away from the other pets. I would do reintroductions very slowly and carefully.

Unless he seems unwell I wouldnt take him to the vet yet. That would be traumatic and reduce trust. I build trust and safety first unless necessary.

Thatissimplyuntrue · 08/02/2025 07:19

Sorry. Late to the thread. Ignore above. So glad he’s back with you and being so well looked after.

oakleaffy · 08/02/2025 07:25

DazzlingCuckoos · 03/02/2025 17:34

I would say not looking up when the dogs barked probably does mean he's a bit deaf now.

As others have said, keep him away from the others and keep him in one room for a while before gradually letting him explore and be introduced to the other pets.

Definitely keep him away until you are sure he doesn't have any infectious diseases with that cough. He's presumably not had any vaccinations for a while?

Finally, are you definitely certain it's your cat? The picture makes him look rather like a tortoiseshell and if it's male then that's a very, very rare cat indeed as about 99.5% of them are female!

I too thought ''Is this a tortoiseshell? But pics can be deceptive with flash, and black cats can look reddish, under flash, especially if older.

oakleaffy · 08/02/2025 07:26

oakleaffy · 08/02/2025 07:25

I too thought ''Is this a tortoiseshell? But pics can be deceptive with flash, and black cats can look reddish, under flash, especially if older.

Show quote history

Edit! @DazzlingCuckoos I have only just seen the extra pics.. These do look very tortoiseshell like.

Maybe he is one of the uber rare Tortoiseshell males.. google says 1: 3,000!

Zonder · 08/02/2025 07:35

He is a tortoiseshell @oakleaffy - OP has said that a couple of times.

He's gorgeous. So glad he's back with you.

autumn1610 · 08/02/2025 07:51

you may have already sorted it but def try two trays no hood and clumping litter. I foster and have found this to be the most accident proof set up I used to put puppy pads under the trays but have actually brought a big mat to sit them on. He’s absolutely gorgeous though hope you enjoy many more years with him 🥰

Caterina99 · 08/02/2025 07:54

Our cat is indoor and always has been.

when we moved house she wasn’t happy with her new litter tray. We decided it was because it had a lid on top. We now have 2 open litter trays, one on each floor (old house only ever had one) and thankfully there have been no issues. so maybe he doesn’t like the lidded tray?

Hes beautiful and definitely doesn’t look 18!

Sal80 · 08/02/2025 07:57

put him in the litter tray and use his leg to scratch the litter. As odd as this sounds it worked with our cat when she was a kitten and she has never weed or pooed in the house. He’s stunning! Make torties are so rare!

AmusedBouched · 08/02/2025 08:17

KiffyKiffyKiffy · 03/02/2025 17:03

He's booked in at vets tomorrow at 3pm

He's just started coughing quite badly :(

Hopefully it's something easily treated.

Oh what a beautiful baby!!!!

Happyearlyretirement · 08/02/2025 08:37

He Is so handsome. Sounds like apart from the pooing issue he has settled in well with you. Please update over the weeks how you get on introducing him to the rest of the household.

Alwaystired2023 · 08/02/2025 08:38

He is such a gorgeous cat OP! You are doing such a good job getting him sorted and settled

Americano75 · 08/02/2025 08:38

How beautiful is he? What a stunner!

Haven't read the full thread, just your updates but take the hood off the litter tray.

Merryoldgoat · 08/02/2025 08:42

He is absolutely beautiful 😻

Imbusytodaysorry · 08/02/2025 08:43

KiffyKiffyKiffy · 03/02/2025 15:30

Thankyou. Outside the room or outside the house?
I think I'm going to try and keep him inside. He's quite old now.

Should Inget him elderly cat food? He's 18

Show quote history

Yes purina dry food and also and good brand wet food . My cat is 14 and the vet says has the blood results that would be amazing for a 5yr old . (With the help of decent food) the dry food will be senior. 11plus

The stress may cause him problems though.
check for a lump appearing in time .

Do as pp said . Put cat in a room not just a closed crate . If you have a busy house and doors won’t stay closed I’d def keep in the room as long as possible although that may cause stress too .

Let the cat explore the house when it’s ready .
If you live in a safe area not road busy . Then I’d let the cat out in time but due to the circumstances I’d give it about 6 weeks

when moving in the past I’ve kept my cat in for around 4 . The cat will tell you when it’s ready once it’s comfortable in the house it will start to be curious of the main door. I don’t mean two days in running around trying to escape style though .

Hope it all goes well.

CousinBob · 08/02/2025 08:49

Oh what a lovely cat! Reminds me of my old girl. She went deaf too.

GlomOfNit · 08/02/2025 09:26

Wow, the number of posters on the last page of a really short (and lovely!) thread who haven't RTT! Grin

OP, this is SUCH a beautiful thread to read on a gloomy Saturday morning. You've done so well for him, and I wouldn't beat yourself up about leaving him initially. That must have been a wrench but sometimes cats are just dicks and decide they want to live with someone else! I think the lovely thing about this story is that it seems like he remembers you and is so happy to be back with his people. I'm sure he had a nice enough life with the elderly neighbour - he got to a ripe age and was in good enough condition (apart from the fleas) so something must have worked.

For the poos in the wrong place, can I suggest this enzyme spray? MNers recommended it to me when I was losing my mind with two kittens who were over-fastidious about their trays and were peeing on jumpers, bags, coats etc if on the floor, or rugs ... The enzymes seem to break the connection the cats make with a particular place to toilet. I also use it after we've cleared up cat sick, as just a clean with an antibacterial spray seems not to shift the residual smell (I can't smell it but they can) as they were scratching at the floor where it was.

Check the litter too - maybe in his old age he's become fussy and doesn't like whatever litter is available to him. I'm loathe to suggest World's Best Cat Litter to you as it's freaking extortionate, but someone on here suggested it to me and I've never looked back. The odour control is phenomenal and he might be fussier about that, assuming his sense of smell is still good.

What a lovely old boy he is, and you named him after my favourite Lord of the Sith, too! Grin

researchers3 · 08/02/2025 09:27

What a lovely boy. Glad he's back with you op.

Ohnobackagain · 08/02/2025 09:32

@KiffyKiffyKiffy maybe the son’s dog gave the cat fleas? Although cat and dog fleas are slightly different they aren’t fussy and swap hosts. Glad he is settling in. It might be stress causing him to poop in odd places, my neighbour’s cat would go anywhere but the tray when she went on holiday!

FabulousFryingpan · 08/02/2025 10:02

@KiffyKiffyKiffy Put the poo in his litter tray, then he knows that's where it goes and it should be better. Or previous 13 y o learned to use the tray like that, had been outdoor before.

user1492757084 · 08/02/2025 10:12

Good luck to Vader, he must be feeling so much better.

Your dear old Vader might enjoy an indoor outdoor cat enclosure. I think you can get them in kits.
My extremely elderly cat used to poop in all sorts of places near the end of her life. It was easier to make her space larger but still enclosed so that a couple of kitty litter trays were accessable. She only drank running water, so she had a fountain.

Marinel · 08/02/2025 10:16

Lovely to see the new photos OP. He is very cute, and such a small guy! He's getting on so well now.

I hope the new tray and litter sorts out the poo problem. I usually use World's Best litter, but I sometimes switch to a corn based litter too. Corn based smells sort of sweet, I don't mind the smell but some people hate it.

Lookuptotheskies · 08/02/2025 10:19

Oh he's just so cute OP. I'm glad he's being pampered and purring. It sounds like your old neighbour and him both needed some extra help now, him from his son and your cat from you. It's nice they kept each other company though. He's a very lucky lad.

Danceswithweasels · 08/02/2025 10:49

What a lovely story and what a lovely cat mum you are. I lost my elderly girl last summer. She started pooing beside the tray, the vet recommended a fine litter as the wood pellets I was using would be like the cat equivalent of walking on a stony beach to her old paws. I swapped to the Amazon equivalent of Worlds best Cat litter recommended by another poster and a huge litter tray as she wanted to face the wall which meant her bottom was overhanging! ... and problem was solved.

Original poster
KiffyKiffyKiffy · 08/02/2025 10:56

Danceswithweasels · 08/02/2025 10:49

What a lovely story and what a lovely cat mum you are. I lost my elderly girl last summer. She started pooing beside the tray, the vet recommended a fine litter as the wood pellets I was using would be like the cat equivalent of walking on a stony beach to her old paws. I swapped to the Amazon equivalent of Worlds best Cat litter recommended by another poster and a huge litter tray as she wanted to face the wall which meant her bottom was overhanging! ... and problem was solved.

The thing is though he doesn't mind the tray to wee.

Several times a day he is going in there and peeing with no issue. He's just always gone outside to poo according to the old fella, so I think he just doesn't want to poo inside. I'm not sure the tray or the litter is the issue because he's happy to piss in there?

OP posts: