Problem with a cat

[SteveQuinn 10]

A friend of ours have a cat that goes in their house all the time and seems to think it lives there with their own, well anyway despite having 2 litter trays with clean litter in it the cat still wee's and poo's outside of the box.

 

He does it in the same spot over and over again and they've tried putting a litter tray over the spots but then he just does it over the top etc so it makes no difference.

 

I have no idea what to suggest to them so thought I would ask here to see if there is a way to stop this?

 

Also the cat is spayed/neutered.

 

Thanks

Edited July 19, 2012 by SteveQuinn

[spats 10]

Seems like your friend maybe ought to try & keep the visiting cat from coming into the house! Is there a cat flap? You can get some very clever ones now that only open from your cats microchip. Or you can get a relatively simple flap that works from magnets on your cats collar.

Other than stopping the visitor from coming in, sometimes it's very difficult finding out why cats wont use a litter tray. I had one cat that weed in her tray, but always did her poo at the side of the tray no matter what we did Poo on the floor cat. I layed lino round the tray area & just used to clean it up.

So..several things to think about. Are the litter trays kept clean? A stinky, unemptied tray can put them off. On the other hand, a litter tray cleaned too much with ultra smelly cleaning solutions can also put them off. What kind of cat litter is used? Most cats like the clumping clay sort. I've known many that refused to use the deodorising highly scented litter & lots hate the recycled pellet stuff. Is the tray big enough? Is it a covered tray? Some cats don't like the hooded sort. Some cats pee with their backside in a high position, so when they wee...it goes up & over the sides. If that's it, you need a high sided or covered litter tray. Is the tray in a quiet location where puss can do his business in private? Is it definately the visitor doing his biz outside the tray? Could it be the home cat doing it? He might dislike the visitor coming into his home more than what you think.

My gut feeling is that it's a territorial/scent marking habit. One cat trying to let the other know he is about & in charge. Try keeping the visiting cat out for a time, give the area a good clean & fresh litter & see how you go. It's always trial & error with these problems. Good luck.

[vwkittie 10]

We had to invest in a Pet Porte cat flap that will only let our own cats in as it scans their microchips - this stopped a local bully cat coming in and spraying/food stealing! I think the best thing to do would be to keep the other cat out completely.

[OwlsChick 10]

My cat used to do that,she would get all 4 paws in the tray but her a**e end would be sticking out...Result....Well out off the tray..So can only suggest a bigger tray...Good luck..

[daffodil 10]

Mine two only like peeing on newspaper. No woodchip. No granuels. Just proper Newspaper. If its not the proper stuff (like a advert paper free throught the letter box type) then they pee next to it!

[SteveQuinn 10]

There is no cat flap, it comes in via open windows.

Cat litter isnt smelly its the wood pellets that turns to dust. They have tried others such as that gravel type but makes no difference.