Hi all,

I apologise if this question is daft or has been asked a million times before...

I recently (last week) rescued a male cat from the local cat rescue centre. He's 3 years old and has lived at the shelter for 3 months, so this is his first home in a while. While he's a very loving cat who's settled in fine, he seems to have issues with his litter trays (I have 2).

On the first night, he used his tray with no issues. The second day, he decided to go on the carpet. After cleaning it up and him fouling there again, I put his second tray there. The cat will use both trays when he feels like it; but lately he's started sneaking upstairs and fouling in my corridor/bathroom areas. I bought some odour removal spray which claims to stop them using the carpet and moved one of the trays upstairs but I'm worried that he'll just move to a new area and start again.

What confuses me most is how he'll use the tray sometimes (so he knows what it's for and where it is), but he seems rather indiscriminate where he fouls at other times. He's got to stay indoors for another 3 weeks before he can go outside and I really don't want to spend the next month clearing up cat mess from all corners of the house. Is there any way I can make him ONLY use the trays?

Thank you!

Try wahing the litter trays out with a weak solution of watered down bleach,and rinse it really well.Some tend to have a thing for the smell of bleach in their litter trays.Sorry i cant help anymore. xxxxx

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Thanks for the reply

By "have a thing" do you mean "like"?

Yes thats right.xxxx

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Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea

Seems like you probably have the answers that would cure the problem - one thing I would also add - is it is possible that the cat prefers to do its toilets on dirt rather then litter?? could try putting earth in the litter tray (not wvery nice I know) we had a cat that would not use litter.
regards
sue

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have you tried using another litter ? different texture? or is there anything that would disturb the kitty to put him off using the tray like a tumble drier or washing machine? is it possible the reign of the house is a bit much for him all at once. he was in a small kennel before at the rescue centre and would be used to his own space. he might just be a bit over whelmed. also what cleaning solutions are you using to 'remove' the smell and where do you have the litter boxes? it's possible they aren't in places that he's comfortable with. a lot of male stray cats have behaviour issues and will when stressed wee on things. maybe trying a Feliway plug for upstairs and down to calm him a bit? or keeping him closed off from some areas in the house until he's used to where his litter boxes are.

Hi there,

I have a kitten - her name is sky and she is completely litter trained - however, on the odd occasion she has had accidents on the carpet - this is usually when her litter gets damp; she doesnt like the feel of it on her paws I dont think, so it might be a good idea to change the litter daily or every other day.

And, as someone else has already pointed out, it might be that your cat is used to going to the loo on gravel, dirt, grass etc - with him being a rescue cat, you can get litter these days thats like wood chip - maybe try that and see how it goes?

Hope this helps!

Bugglet.

x