cat not using tray.

tfak85

we got our cat pickle about 4months ago, he was 10weeks when we got him. from the day we got him home he has used his litter tray perfectly.
he went to a cat hotel over christmas because we were away and had a runny tummy when he got back, a few days later, despite us scooping his tray every day and changing it regularly he pooped on the bed in the spare room:mad: then the following day he did it again in the same spot!:mad::mad:
we deduced he was unhappy with his tray and stopped allowing him into any bedroom..
i came home from work last night to find my boyfriend cleaning pee in the hall and then found a poop upstairs on one of the landings!
now, his litter tray was cleaned last night but before it was my OH had the bag of litter in the hall (this is when the cat peed)...
he used his tray today and last night but as we are sitting here in the sitting room he climbed onto the coal bucket (it's big) and went to pee - with us beside him!!! we think this may be because my OH (foolishly) swept up litter with the dustpan and brush sitting in the top of it...

ok, i'm sorry this is such a long post, i'm trying to explain the situation and it's proving hard....
what should we do if the cat stops using his tray?
help please! thank you!

Whispered

I just wanted to post and say that that's probably one of the best cat names I've ever heard! I love it.

Maybe he needs a bigger tray, or he could have had a fright while using the tray (is that possible?). I would suggest a new tray in another part of the house as well as your original one left where he is used to it. He might have an issue with the location or even the tray itself. Finikty things sometimes.

Also make sure that his water bowl/food bowl and bed is well away from his tray. He might not want to use it if it's too close.

Magenta

Also don't use bleach on his old accident spots, the ammonia in it encourages him to use that spot again because his wee has ammonia in it too, so the smell of the bleach reminds him of it! You can get special pet cleaning products in pet stores.

You could try setting up a new tray for him, if he has an accident put it in the tray so he sees this is where poop goes. If you see him looking to go, put him in the tray and give him a lot of praise when he goes there.

The Sweeper

Clean up everywhere that he's gone to the loo outside the tray - you need a bucket of hot, soapy water and really, really get all remains of pee or poo or the smells of same out of the areas he's gone.

The problem with some cats is that a urinary tract infection or a dose of the runs can create a painful association with the litter tray - e.g. 'every time I try to go in that, it hurts me'. You need to start over, and limit his access to the house until he uses the tray again. Try changing the litter to some other brand so it's not quite the same thing, see if that breaks the association. (Though I woudn't be shifting from, for instance, wood pellets to white crystals, that's a little dramatic). Put the tray in a different spot in the same room as it used to be in.

If you catch him scratching or squatting elsewhere in the house, carry him to the litter tray and praise him mightily while he's on it.

Also see about going to the vet to get him checked out to ensure he doesn't have an illness that's giving him the trots or a urinary tract infection - they can pick up different things at kennels etc. Does he strain a lot when he goes to the toilet? Are his stools still runny, or solid now? Does he spend a lot of time squatting to pee, but no pee happens? Any yowls or grumbles when trying to go to the loo? These are all indications that something's wrong and he needs to see the vet.

tfak85

thank you so much guys...
when i was in the shower this morning he pooped outside my bedroom door - my OH was delighted! i was in work all day my the OH caught him going to poop elsewhere and moved him to his tray and praised him for using it...
hoping for the best over the next couple of days!