Litter tray problem

[mandyb]

hello All
I've got a new problem with one of my cats and the litter tray. Its only just started and i'm not sure why 2 of my cats cheetah and jake go out side to the loo. But tiffany and roxy are house cats this weather anyway. I always clean out there litter tray when they have used it i'm not using a new litter or anything like that. Whats been happening is when i get up in the morning one of them has been outside the tray. I was just wondering if anyone could tell me why this might be happening. :(

[kado]

It happens quiet a lt with mine. how many litter tray do you have as well. I also find some like it clean straight away and will never go where another cat has been and other arnt bothered at all. I was just about to change one of mine the other day when i saw one sniffing in it she just couldnt wait and went on the floor because it was dirty in the tray. The outdoor cats could be putting there scent in the tray and the indoor ones dont like it and its there only way of telling you.

[Mags]

How many litter trays do you have in the house? The general rule is one litter tray per cat plus one extra. Some cats just dont like to poop and pee in the same tray.

Has the tray been moved to another location at all?

Hopefully someone here who has had the same problem with their cats will be able to offer you more advice.

[mandyb]

:? :? Cheetah sleeps in the kitchen at night so i know its not her. The thing i can't understand its only just started happening I've not moved the tray and its always clean. maybe its just a fad and will stop as quick as it started.

[HappyKatz]

What kind of litterboxes do you have? Short ones? Tall ones?
Sometimes our cats accidently poo out of the short litterboxes.
Thats why we got them all taller litterboxes, seemed to work :)

Do they always just go to the bathroom right outside the litterbox?
Not in any other rooms or anything?

[Shelley123]

Like HK i have seen cats perched in the litter tray with the business end overhanging so it goes on the floor.
Could you perhaps place newspaper around the tray

[dandysmom]

Some cats who are meticulous at using the tray do occasionally face the wrong way and it lands outside; I keep a car mat in front of the box, as Misty, after she was blind, did position herself wrongly sometimes.

[mandyb]

Hi I've got one of those trays with a lid on. But they dont wee on the floor they just do the other. They always do it in the same place and not anywhere else in the house. But i'll put some paper down and try that thanks.

[Catkin]

It might be there is a scent left on the floor, what type of flooring is it that they poo on? If you can I suggest a mild bleach mix on the floor as this usually will get rid of any scent left behind.

If it still continues I would suggest its a litter tray problem, it could be that adding another litter tray would stop the problem. It could also be that the cat has become very fussy about the state of the litter. What we found with one of ours that suddenly got this problem is always make sure one litter tray has totally fresh litter in (e.g clean and put new litter in). We are a multicat household so have many litters around, we don't change them all every day as that really isn't needed but we just make sure one is and it really has helped. Our cat no longer does poo's outside his litter tray, we also use hooded litter trays (without the door on as some cats refuse to use it with them on).

I hope the above advice helps, oh and when the cat does poo in the litter tray positive reinforcement might help also (just praise him/her, basically giving the cat attention so they feel good).

Good luck and let us know if any of our advice has helped!

[Andrewd]

It might be there is a scent left on the floor, what type of flooring is it that they poo on? If you can I suggest a mild bleach mix on the floor as this usually will get rid of any scent left behind.

This sounds like a viable option to solve the issue. A friend had a similar problem and used kitchen floor cleaner to remove the scent.

[Aquatic]

Thankfully this hasn't happened to us yet. ((touch wood))
:lol:

[farthing]

Are they older cats, I've found if they become a bit arthritic they can have problems positioning themselves properly.
Our Mustard, who is blind and has neurological issues struggles to get into even a shallow tray and has started to toilet regularly beside it, I'm thinking about getting puppy training pads to place beside the tray and soak up the liquid.

[dandysmom]

Good point by farthing! Misty was a bit arthritic as well as blind.