How do you make your cat use the litter tray??

Seanie M

Hi folks,
I have a ginger shorthair. Great cat, super friend to us, and a lovely companion, even at night - he sleeps on the bed with us!
He is an indoor cat really, but we do let him out almost every day. But this is where the problem is starting from.

Sometimes, I will go out and get him to come in - from the rain, or been out too long. He always comes, like a puppy, and walks with me back to the house. The routine usually starts when we let him out in the morning when we get up. He is neutered.

Yesterday, I spotted him a little further from his usual 'playground' than I would be happy with. It is bordering a main road. So, NOT as punishment, I have decided to keep him in with me (I work from home) for today.

Beenz just won't stop pestering me though! To get out! I am probably correctly assuming it is to use the toilet, as the last time he has used his litter tray indoors is over 2 weeks ago. It has been cleaned since and fresh litter put in.

But I just can't seem to get him to use it! It normally has a hood on it, for the odour protection, but I have removed this, as he is quite a tall/big cat.

I have sat him in it 3 times this morning, but he just gets up and leaves it once I take my hands off him!

Is there a way of getting your cat used to using the litter tray again? With the bad weather approaching, we will be reluctant to let him out on the bad days.

Thanks for your suggestions,

Seanie.


how Beenz sleeps in his basket if not on our bed!

tk123

did you scrape his paw in it - sit him in and then take his paw and scrape the litter. Thats all i had to do with my cat - i got him a new box a few months ago(the lid off the other one cracked) and did this and he used it straight away - he's 3 now. I left the lid off the first few times as well.
EDIT - also he mightn't like the litter - we used to get the Tesco one and they changed it so my cat wouldn't use it. We get the Thomas one now..

Seanie M

Thanks tk123. I changed the old litter (Aldi's own) to Thomas litter ourselves, which was used before, so he is no stranger to it.

I'll the paw trick a go and see how he reacts.

So far, 4 hours after posting it originally, there's no smell in the house, if you know what I mean, so fingers crossed!

Seanie.

Seanie M

Well I succumbed to his whining on both Thursday and Friday and let him out for an hour when it wasn't raining. Th real test will be the past 2 days - We came to stay with friends last night (Saturday), and are still here now, heading home in a couple of hours. We left yesterday morning, but my parents checked on him last night for us. I'll find out when we get home later on today what he has been up to while the masters have been away!

Seanie.