Thread: Bad litter tray habits - help needed!

OK, so we are now 5 weeks in to using litter kwitter. There have been some highs, and some lows, which I will explain. Basically he took to it very fast, within 2 days he seemed completely at home using it. After 2 weeks (maybe I was jumping the gun slightly) I moved onto the orange stage with the hole in the middle of the tray. This really confused him, but with some guidance from me he got the hang of it. Or so I thought. Since starting to use the orange tray, I have been waking up to find that that he has gone number 2 on the floor. Not every time, but a lot of the time. Luckily for me, the bathroom floor is tiled and so very easy to clean, and he seems to know that the bathroom, at least, is the correct place to go, and not in any other room. I thought at first that he was doing it because he will pee first, and then not want to use his soiled litter. But more recently, he has become very good at peeing, gets it through the hole every time, so the litter is always clean and dry. But he still insists on crapping on the floor, just in front of the toilet.

When I am lucky enough to be awake when he needs to go, I can keep an eye on him. He will take a pee, scratch around a bit, squat down as if to go, then suddenly change his mind and jump down onto the floor. I just have to keep putting him back up until he eventually goes where he is supposed to. So I KNOW he can do it. And now, every time he pees its through the hole and so the litter is always fresh, I have no idea why he would think the floor is a better idea!

If anyone has any experience or ideas please let me know!

Mark

Back to the red tray then... at least to see if that helps. With the LK the "secret" seems to be take is very slowly, even if your cat(s) appear to "get it". They need to build habits over a very long time. Mine are not going to the green stage until some time in October - two months on orange or so.

Latest update - I gave litter kwitter up. It became obvious that he had learned what to do, but would only ever use it when prompted (which meant I had to be there...). The rest of the time he just used the bath. So, to avoid stressing him and myself out any more, he has his litter tray back. Amazingly during this time he seems to have learned not to stand in his mess any more - problem solved

Sorry to hear the LK didn't work for you, but it's wonderful he isn't messy anymore!

When our Whiskey turned 6 months old we closed the door to the room with his litter box in it and installed a pet-door for access. We put the flap on and showed him to go in & out by pushing on the flap. He knows how to use the flap when a treat or toy is on the otherside. When it comes to doing his business in the morning he goes in, does his business & comes out. Sometime later the same day he sits in front of the door meowing because he can't figure out how to get to his litter box. Again put a treat or toy on the otherside, no worries. When it comes to doing business in there, forget it. So the door now remains open. Can't fix stupid.

Whiskey is also another one that gets his poo all over the place. When he's in his litter box we always hear a lot of banging and rattling of the lid. He'll be in there banging around forever. We think he's building sandcastles in his litter box. We expect to see an exquisite sculpture afterwards, but find nothing but his uncovered poo in there. How it remains uncovered after all the digging he does is another Houdini mystery.

Well, my experiences are slightly ahead of yours Mark but not by much. The real key is still patience. I thought we had all got to the end of the green stage by Xmas and so removed the LK altogether and went for the toilet seat. One of my "little angels" (Dicky) got it straight away and had zero problems. Bertie got the idea but was a little hesitant and Leo, well Leo. Hmm. We are now back on the green stage and a few instances of poo in the bath from both Bertie and leo. I think it's the absence of any litter for Leo that confuses him and bertie is just being pain.

I am going to continue with green and even more slowly than before reduce the amount of litter around the edge until Leo is OK. He got the idea of the cat flap last after a few weeks, so he will get there the little dear.

I should also say that my three boys would prefer me to be around when they do go to the loo, but when left alone in the house during the day they will proceed to fill the toilet up quite happily on their own. Yummy.

The thing is, I got the impression it was stressing him out. He COULD do it, but never really seemed happy about the idea. My house is a happier place now that I don't have to worry about coming home, or waking up, to find the bath smeared and full of crap... I'm pretty sure he loves scratching around for minutes on end in his tray anyway. Just like with anything I think some cats will take to it and not find it a big issue, whereas some will be stubborn and rebel forever!

Originally Posted by MarkJDMcQuade

Latest update - I gave litter kwitter up.

No doubt the sensible thing to do. Let cats be cats and scratch in the tray to their hearts' desire. Mine do... the space around the trays often looks like beach front property. But that is why I have a broom and dust pan.

ah yes, MC-puberty (growin' too big for the box). We had a heckuva time with Dakota. As I recall, that's when the "poo-skids" started too! We weren't very successful in keeping the britches trimmed either -- used the vet a couple of times.

Like others, we got bigger boxes and keep them very clean. If the box has been used (by brother Blue, who thinks it's a big sandbox to play in), Dakota seems to pace & circle more. We also keep wipes handy in case there are any skids left on the side of the box. We've found that the cleaner and larger the box, the less mess he makes. Of course, some of the problem seems to be growing pains - as now that he's 5, we hardly have any problems (fingers crossed). The digging and circling has never stopped - we don't call him "Diggin' McSquiggin" for nothing.

Good luck!