Behaviour
Litter tray problems, and what they are telling you
Toileting is one of the most common reasons cats get given up. It is also the problem we most often fix in a phone call, and most of the fixes cost a few pounds or nothing at all.
Here is the thing to hold on to. A cat weeing on your bed is not being spiteful and is not getting back at you. Cats do not think like that. Something is either hurting or frightening, and this is the only way they have of saying so.
Rule out the vet reasons first
Always rule out illness first, because if it is medical, no amount of tray rearranging will help.
Go to a vet today if you see this
- Straining in the tray with little or nothing coming out
- Going in and out of the tray again and again
- Crying out while trying to go
- Licking constantly at the back end
- Blood in the urine
In male cats this can be a blocked bladder, and it kills within a day or two if it is not treated. It is not a wait and see. If it is out of hours, ring the emergency vet anyway. A female cat showing these signs should be seen within 24 hours, sooner if she is also being sick or very flat.
Less dramatic but just as real: cystitis, kidney disease, diabetes, an overactive thyroid, arthritis and constipation all cause accidents. In older cats especially, a cat who was clean for ten years and suddenly is not is telling you something has changed in their body.
Feline idiopathic cystitis causes around 60 to 70 per cent of urinary problems in cats, and it is driven largely by stress. That matters, because it means the medical cause and the emotional cause are often the same cause.
Read what they are doing
Before you change anything, watch what is actually happening. It points you straight at the answer.
If he is spraying, is he neutered?
If what you are seeing is spraying rather than squatting, standing up with the tail quivering and a small squirt against a wall, a door frame or the back of the sofa, then the first question is whether he has been done.
An unneutered tom sprays because that is his job. He is advertising himself and marking out territory, and no amount of extra litter trays will stop it, because it was never about the tray. Neutering removes the hormones driving it, and in most cats the spraying stops or drops away sharply.
Two things worth knowing
It is not instant. Hormone levels take a few weeks to fall, so give it time rather than deciding after a fortnight that it has not worked.
If he has been spraying for a long time it can become a habit that outlasts the hormones, so clean every marked spot properly with biological washing powder at the same time, or he will keep going back to the smell.
Neutered cats can spray too, but far less often, and when they do it is usually stress rather than hormones, which is the next section.
If cost is what has stopped you getting him done, read our piece on why neutering matters, which lists the help available in Bradford, including our own vouchers for Thorpe Edge and Ravenscliffe.
The setup checklist
Nine times out of ten the answer is here, and most of it is free.
- One tray per cat, plus a spare. One cat needs two. Two cats need three. This is the single most common thing people get wrong.
- Bigger than you think. A tray should be about one and a half times the length of your cat from nose to tail base, so they can turn round in it.
- Open, not hooded. Hoods trap smell and leave only one way out, which makes a cat feel cornered. Most cats prefer to see what is coming.
- Fine and unscented. Cats generally prefer a fine, sandy, unscented litter they can dig in properly. Three to four centimetres deep.
- Somewhere quiet, with a way out. Not next to the washing machine, not in a cupboard they can be trapped in, not in a busy hallway.
- Never next to food and water. Cats will not toilet where they eat. Put trays in a different room if you can.
- Scoop at least twice a day, full change weekly. Avoid strong disinfectants, and never anything containing phenols, which are poisonous to cats.
Cheap fixes that actually work
You do not need to spend money to fix this. Some of the best fixes are cheaper than what people are already buying.
A storage box beats a cat tray
A large under bed storage box costs a few pounds, is far bigger than most trays sold for cats, and has higher sides so less gets kicked out. If your cat is old or stiff, cut a doorway down one short side and file the edge smooth.
Skip the things cats do not want
Scented litter, deodorising granules, plastic tray liners and covered trays with flaps are all sold to humans, not cats. Most cats dislike all four. Buying none of them saves money and removes four possible reasons your cat is avoiding the tray.
Wood pellets are the cheapest per week
The RSPCA's own trials found wood pellets performed best overall, and they work out much cheaper than clumping clay. The catch is that some cats find pellets uncomfortable underfoot, particularly older or arthritic cats, who tend to prefer something fine and sandy. Offer both in two trays and let your cat decide rather than guessing.
Biological washing powder instead of pet stain sprays
A weak solution of biological washing powder breaks down the smell far better than most sprays sold for the job, at a fraction of the price. Test a hidden corner of the fabric first, rinse afterwards with cold water, and keep the cat away until it is properly dry.
Clean it up properly
How you clean up decides whether it happens again in the same spot.
- Use a weak biological washing powder solution, then blot dry. It breaks down what is causing the smell.
- Never use bleach or anything with ammonia. Ammonia smells like urine to a cat, so you are marking the spot for them.
- Once dry, make the spot unattractive or unavailable. Put a food bowl there, a bit of foil, or block access for a fortnight while the habit breaks.
What changed?
If the tray setup is right and the vet has given the all clear, look at what changed. Cats are far more sensitive to their surroundings than people expect.
A new baby, building work, a new partner, a house move, a cat flap that lets the neighbour's cat in, or a strange cat sitting outside the window staring in. Any of those can start it, and the last one is more common than people realise. If your cat has started spraying by a particular window or door, go and look at what is on the other side of it.
In a multi cat house, watch for one cat quietly blocking the route to the tray. It looks like nothing. To the other cat it is a locked door.
What never to do
Never rub a cat's nose in it, shout at them, or shut them in a room with the tray as a punishment. It does not teach them anything, because they were never being naughty. What it does teach them is that you are frightening, and stress is one of the main causes of the problem in the first place. You will make it worse.
If the vet bill is the problem
If the reason you have not been to the vet is the cost, please read our piece on where to get help with vet bills in Bradford. The PDSA hospital on Lorne Street can help with neutering, treatment and medication for people on qualifying benefits, and several local independent practices will spread the cost.
A cystitis consultation now is a great deal cheaper than an emergency admission for a blocked bladder in a fortnight.
Before you give up on them
Talk to us first. Most toileting problems have a cause, and most causes have a fix. It costs nothing to ask.
This article is general advice and is not a substitute for seeing a vet. If your cat is straining, in pain, or not passing urine, treat it as an emergency.