cats litter tray? how can i get rid?

Question

i have a 4 month old cat and a 16 monthold one. They both use a litter tray and go out regular. What really bugs me is that they can be out 4 hours, and as soon as they come in they use the litter tray. The other day i took the tray away 4 a few hours, and they didnt have any accidents. do you think if i take it away completely they'll be ok. Also, whatever cat litter i buy, it needs changing every 2 days (even though i scoop the poo out, it still stinks), and the expensive stuff that claims to last a month, lasts a week if im lucky! Any1 any tips on taking away the tray as cleanly as possible????

ive given in! left them overnight and they weed and pooes in the wash basket! i think i'll just gradually reduce the time the tray is in the house!

Answer 1

Well, when the cats use the box when they come in they are just marking their territory. About the litter.... Get fresh step, and then get the kitty litter baking soda to sprinkle over it every time you scoop. This will illuminate the stink the cats leave behind. The fresh step also has the baking soda in it, but I recommend that you still put the baking soda in it, just for reinforcements.

You do want to make sure you keep the box clean because the fumes are hard on cats as well as humans, so even though the litter may last a long time, I still do a total change every week in a half to two weeks to assure cleanliness.

Answer 2

well this is the way you trained your cats, to use the litter tray-and that is what they will do. If you take the tray away-they will use any corner that they find, after having to keep it in for ages. Even worse, they can get sick.Imagine not being able to go to toilet because there isn't one- what would you do?You can get cat litter from Tesco, for about £2 for 10litres. It's Tesco's own brand, in a blue bag, eith a cat pictured on it. I use it for my cat. It can last up to 3 days if they do not wee in it, and you can scoop the poo out. but if they wee, you will have to cover it up with more litter, or change it. But at least it's cheaper than all those expensive brands. What I also do- is put newspaper at the bottom of the tray and pooor the litter over it. That way, whatever the litter does not absorb- will be absorbed by the newspaper. But you will still have to wash the tray at least once a week. It's like if you didn't flush the toilet..
I think that's the best option so far. Try it.

Answer 3

I'd wait until your 4 month old kitten is about 8 months old. Then take the litter tray away completely and they will go outside so long as they can get out when they need to.
If you take it away while the 4 month old is still so young you run the risk of them starting the very hard to break habit of finding their own spot in the house.
If you wait patiently until it is 8 months you can be sure that it has enough control to be able to wait to go outside.
No cat litter lasts for a month - doesn't it drive you mad! I just gave in when my cats were kittens and changed the whole lot every day. Use plug in air freshner things to keep the odour at bay. It'll soon all be over!

Answer 4

I had this problem too, what i did was take some of the cat litter and place it in the garden so that they got used to the smell of there own pee and pooh, once they could see that it was used by them they where happy to use it.

Slowly but surely i stopped using the cat litter in the garden and now they just go out and do it as they see that as the norm.

In terms of cat litter, I use morrisons own brand and tend to find it is very good at covering up smells and the like. I also used to place a tray bag at the base that went over the lip of the tray so that I could pick it up and take the dirty litter out to the bin in a sealed bag.

I hope this helps and good luck....!!!!

Answer 5

I used to keep two female cats in a flat for 2 years and as you have found no matter what I used it smelt, if left longer than 2 days. you could try the fullers earth litter it clumps the urine.because that is where the smell comes from and to a point your toilet would start to smell if you did not flush every day.(no offence intended)
any way assuming that you have a garden you can leave the tray outside under cover they should use it outside.the after they have got the right idea you could remove it and your problem should be solved. Mine where after I moved. you do not say if they are male or female. un neutered males will smell more after they are 6 months of age.

Answer 6

I don't see the problem with litter trays myself!I have to change my cats tray every day.

Cats are creature of habit and if they want to use their tray then they obviously do not want to go anywhere outside (maybe it is not private enough for them!)Also if you keep your litter tray then you won't annoy any of your neighbours.

If you do intend to do it though, I would slowly move the tray to the back door then eventually put it outside, and then remove it completely.

It might be worth thinking about what happens if you remove the tray completely and then the cats need to stay inside for some reason (either they are ill or injured) and they have not got anywhere to go.

Good luck!

=^..^=

Answer 7

What kind of litter are you using? Regular clay litter or the smaller granual scooping litter? Buy the scooping litter, it will let you scoop the urine and poo keeping the smell away. My cat's litterbox hasn't been completely emptied in like a month and it doesn't smell at all.

We first tried the regular clay litter and had to empty it after a few days because of the discusting smell. The scooping litter is definitely the way to go.

Answer 8

cats find comfort in their litter tray inside, they go outside by instinct. I have found great ways of hiding litter trays... There is one that looks like a potted plant, the litter is in an entrance hole that can be turned the other way when guests come over. The crystal cat litter is the best. Or you can just totally get rid of the litter box and they will figure it out...

Answer 9

Gradually move the tray closer to the door, then outside the door. They'll get used to it.

And try CatSan - I've got eight cats, and it's brilliant stuff. Don't bother with the supermarkets own ones that claim the same - they tell lies. CatSan hides all the smells, trust me! Anything else just isn't worth the money.

Answer 10

i think this problem is a territorial thing. because you have 2 cats when they come in they will want their own scent to overpower the other so this could be the cause of them still using the litter tray. what i would suggest is if like me your cats dont get out at night, i remove the tray during the day and leave it out for them at night only. when they need toilet during day they will ask to get out and only use during the night although i have found mine tend to sleep all night now and go pee pee outside when i get up. also might try using the sawdust pellets as litter. easy to clean pee and poo from it without so much waste.