cat pooing indoors

[Moggy2006]

Hi,
We moved house 2½ yrs ago, and our cat, Moggy, who was 6½ years old when we moved, had to take to a new environment. She loves the house, but will not willingly, at all, go out through the flap to the back garden to 'do her business', or much else. In response we've put a box, with cat litter, in a suitable corner, reasonably out of the way. Problem since then (last autumn/winter), is that she seems to sometimes go to her box for a pee and then she does not, later, want to use the same box & litter for her poo! (Sorry, not very edifying this!). She's gotten afraid of neighbouring cats and some foxes, and, as she did not grow up here, has not really adopted the outdoors at all.
Anyway, we've tried to keep her box 'refreshed' often but, the odd time, she'll do her 'drop' on the floor somewhere beside the box. Not very nice. We've boxes of hygiene gloves and cleaning spray, and large rolls of rough paper towels, to hand, to rescue the situation whenever we need to.
We tried, since March/April, to wean her off the box - as it smells a bit during the day when we're out at work, and teach her that the back garden is actually safe, by sitting out there with her for extended periods. And she'd get the idea (after a while!). To explain, we have a sort of town house, living quarters on the 1st floor, bedrooms on the 2nd, and we've a lodger on the ground floor, at the back, his room right beside the back door with the flap - so we would not normally use our modest back garden very much (our lodger doesn't either, but the garden is sort of his space, as his window looks on to it). The back door has locks, bottom & top as well as in the middle of the door. It's awkward to open/shut, quietly.
Anyway, she will now whine a bit when she wants to 'go' and she does seem to 'go', outside, in the back garden, without our seeing her do it. But, alas, twice in the last week, she has 'dropped it' again just on the floor. We're a bit bothered about it now. We took a 2nd lodger, just for the summer, someone we actually knew, but she does not like cats, and has unfortunately seen the mess at least once. She's moving, a week after arrival, closer to central London to do her English language course, as we are a bit far out (in Bexley). I fear Moggy has chased her off as well.
How can we constructively cure Moggy of treating the indoors, and not the outdoors, as the place for answering calls of nature? Hope readers were able to follow this smelly tale (!). We love the little critter very much, but would like to get a few better ideas into her head. Thanks for any good advice.

[Lilith]

Well, I confess I'm one of the tribe who prefers the cats to use a tray. Even when they used to roam, I'd rather they came in and used their tray, but every area's different and where I live is very built up, nowhere for cats to dig but small back gardens (which is not appreciated, understandably, by neighbours, especially when the digging place is a flowerpot or just the pavement.)

So I do tend to think a cat needs a tray. I have a cat like your Moggy - my youngest cat Molly, who hates a tray with even one wee in it and has been known to use the bath!

I call her my little duchess! All I can do is keep a vigilant eye on the trays (one bathroom, one kitchen) And keep, as you say, refreshing the litter and putting a load of new litter in, even when they have the run of the (secured) garden in fine weather.

I think once you have a cat, you do need a tray - I know it's a chore, and smelly, but it can have its advantages, such as picking up on any early symptoms of illness, and also, in bad weather, the cat isn't desperate to go outside.

If Moggy doesn't want to go outside, I wouldn't try to force her. I have one cat who stays inside; she was a feral kitten but she makes it plain she likes to live indoors, and that is that. When she first arrived she used to have accidents through panic but now she's generally a good girl - unlike my naughty Molly and your naughty Moggy. I know if you're out during the day you can't check the tray all the time, but to me the way forward does seem, when you're in, keep checking the tray, and praising her when she uses it...

I'm sorry I can't offer any better advice than this, but do wish you good luck and lots of love to Moggy x

[Crewella]

Cats do feel particularly vulnerable when doing their 'business', and you might well find that trying to encourage her to go outside if she doesn't feel too happy about it could cause more problems than it solves. I'm afraid I'm another one that thinks a litter box is part and parcel of having a cat, and who prefers it that way. Good luck, whatever you decide.

[Mrs Kane]

I admit, I am also a huge backer to the litter tray. Our cat loves it so much she interrupts me cleaning her out so she can demonstrate her love for it. (Yep, she pooped and wee'd in the box I was cleaning when I was disinfecting it in the shower. Thank you so much Sofi, the shower is now bleached to high heaven)

I admit I am a little confused by your post Moggy, do you want her to do her business outdoors or indoors? If indoors, perhaps you need to invest in more than one litter tray in the house? If outdoors, perhaps you need to install a place she feels safe, like a cat box tray?

If your litter tray smells during the day then perhaps you need to think about getting the monthly cat litter. It's possible your cat drinks a lot and may use the tray more than you think. Unless the tray is in direct sunlight it shouldn't smell that much when you're at work. If it is in direct sunlight then I think I have found the solution to why your cat doesn't want to use it.

Do you have an open tray or a carrier tray? Our cat is as stupid as anything and doesn't seem to understand the concept of walls (or lack of). We bought her a carrier tray because she just did not seem to understand that even though her paws are in the litter, that doesn't mean her bum is.

[Moggy2006]

Well, the consensus is indoors & trays. That's what we'll do then. Thanks, people, for your comments & suggestions.
Moggy2006

[Lilith]

Hey all the very best with her, hope to hear how you go on

[Moggy2006]

POO POO INDOORS
I've waited a bit about the cat-pooing indoors, not outdoors, topic - not intentional. An observant neighbour pointed out to us that our back door into our garden has a deep step downwards for a cat trying to negotiate a cat flap. So we placed 3 or 4 patio slabs together at the step to ease the journey in or out. Has our Moggy, as a result, gone outside to the loo, rather than stayed inside, more than previously? A bit more, for a while, but the preference seems to still be the tray, so it it still the tray that we make available.

KITTY for COMPANY
Meanwhile, since we got a kitten, Salomé, just under 3 months old, a nice grey-coated little critter, she's made our Moggy (now just 9 yrs old) verrry nervous indeed! Salomé is like a bullet out of a gun, running all over the place, wild, a thing possessed. Moggy was sort of born tired, and has been resting ever since! She does not welcome all this disturbance. That said, in 2 weeks, they've managed to get on with each other fairly well. Salomé purrs like an engine (very loud!), so she's not quite so welcome sleeping on the bed at night - we put her outside the room, and she seems to manage well enough. If we stop paying her attention, she falls asleep, in a little while! But what a contrast! On balance I think Moggy, very indoors as she is (and therefore alone a lot of the days when we're out), benefits from the company, and would be sadder to lose that. If I were to seek advice here, it would be along the lines of how one can persuade a manic kitten to chill! Maybe in time she'll be more 'dignified' and reserved; she'll be very outdoors, I think, and local tough puddies had better watch out...!

[Mrs Kane]

Hey there again Moggy!

Honestly I haven't ever seen a tried and true way to calm down a kitten. The biggest resource you can give is time. Give it a year and she'll be much more relaxed. Having a older "brother" or "sister" tends to help. In time will "tend" to copy their attitudes. Although never completely. All you need is to read on this site for the differences between cats owned.


As for actively doing something; basically it's the same regime as any other overly active or destructive cat of any age. Lots of play can ensure you get a better nights rest, lots of places to explore, a place they can call "mine", lots of toys to preoccupy them. It's also very important when they're young to handle them as much as possible if you ever want them to be a calm and chilled out lap cat. So don your gloves and prepare to get scratched! I've found in my experience that kittens are very much like puppies. The more you pick them up and get them used to you the more they begin to get used to it and even want it!

Also I'd recommend at this young age that you invite as many people as possible to come over. Give them gloves if they're afraid of bites or scratches and ask them to bring a cardigan for little arm scratches. Ask them to bring their children, teens, girlfriends, boyfriends, fiancees, husbands, wives, etc. This way the kitten becomes super used to all kinds of smells and different people holding them and stroking them. I know it sounds anal but it does make a big difference in the long run.