simple cat & the litter tray

[marzipanned]

Hello,

First time posting here so sorry if this has been done to death.

We have two much loved boys, one of whom is rather simple. E.g... sometimes when he's eating, he forgets about it and wanders off and I have to rattle his bowl at which point he comes trotting eagerly back.

He's always had difficulties with the litter tray but it's been getting worse lately. He very often goes either on the rim or outside (I lay down newspaper so I don't really mind outside, but cleaning the rim is never fun) and if he does get it in, he struggles with covering it up. I've watched him and he does try, but just ends up chucking litter everywhere rather than covering the actual poo.

His sense of smell is fine as far as I can tell - if I get fish out of the fridge he comes flying into the kitchen.

Just wondering if anyone else has had a problem with this and what they did about it?

Thanks! :)

[thecatneuterer]

Just to be clear:

So he gets in the tray but then sticks his bum on the rim? Or he stands outside the litter tray and sticks his bum on the rim or doesn't even bother aiming for the tray at all - just points his bum somewhere in the general direction?

[marzipanned]

Yes, he does get in, but sits with his bum near/over the outside.

There have been a couple of occasions when he's gone in the vicinity of the tray but clearly wasn't sitting in it, but that's quite rare. He's also gone in the shower a couple of times, but that's another story..

[thecatneuterer]

In that case a hooded tray (something like this: www.petsathome.com/shop/hooded-cat-litter-tray-by-comfy-cat-15212) would probably be the answer. If he doesn't like the door you can always take it off.

[Iseeall]

It is recommended that you have one litter tray per cat and a spare, so in theory you should have three.
Buy the largest trays available, we had to do this for our big boy cat, like your cat he would get in the tray but whatever way he went his big bottom seemed to be over the edge. The biggest litter tray cured that, we looked at the enclosed sort but our cat stretches upwards when he goes(iyswim) and we thought he would be too big for a closed in litter tray.
Your simple cat sounds like a lovely boy though.

[marzipanned]

Thanks for the advice - he's quite little so should be alright in the hooded tray.

Our other cat doesn't use the tray, he goes outside (even in snow - in fact I think he's quite fond of it), which is why we've always only had one tray, but perhaps we should have a spare anyway.

He is such a lovely boy, he had been living on the street before he found us and when he first moved in he lived in a bookcase for about a week because he was so terrified of humans. Now he loves cuddles, headbutts and being carried around in a sling like a baby

[sashh]

He sounds so sweet. Living in a book case.

When I was a kid our cat had her second set of kittens and according to my mom all but one died the following day. I know damn well they went to the vet's.

Anyway mommy cat decided she and remaining kitten were going to live in the wardrobe.

My mum kept putting them in a nice cosy bed and mommy cat would pick up her kitten, run upstairs and put him in the bottom of the wardrobe.

[marzipanned]

Oh, sweet Mommy cat. They always know best.

[cozietoesie]

Reminds me of Cheekie and her kittens many years ago. (And that cat is truly worth a whole thread of her own.) She was parked by my parents in the greenhouse but decided that she wanted her kittens to be in the top left space of my father's old Victorian bookcase.

We found her there and left her. (Pater was yelled at by the womenfolk.) She must have taken four kits, one by one, up and across the ridgeway of the back (slated) premises, in to Dad's study via a 6 inch gap at the top of the window and up to the top left bookcase slot which was a good 9 foot off the ground.

All hail Cheekie. The progenitrix of most of the cats on the Isle of Arran i suspect.

[QueenStromba]

We've got this one and are pretty impressed with it. It's huge so would be good for even a large cat. It seems to do a good job of keeping the litter actually in the tray too.