ARE TOO MANY CATS USING THE SAME TRAY? There should be one litter tray per cat and one over and trays should not be side by side. Some cats won’t go in the same place with other cats. A tray for each cat and one over makes extra sure. A new cat, which was occasionally urinating upstairs outside the tray, stopped doing this when an upstairs tray was installed, as well as a downstairs one. Always worth trying an extra tray – just in case. Place it in a different location to the others. NOTE. Using Feliway Classic, while appropriate for cats that are marking their territory with urine, can be counter productive if the cat is merely having trouble with its litter tray. Overall, K. l., & Dyer, D., (2005), ‘Enrichment Strategies for Laboratory Animals from the Viewpoint of Clinical Veterinary Behavioral Medicine: Emphasis on Cats and Dogs,’ ILAR Journal, 46, 202-216.

Gunn-Moore, D. A. (2003), ‘Feline lower urinary tract disease,’ Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery, 5, 133-138.This puts us in a unique position to rest and review all kinds of products. With their help we’ve tested and reviewed; If you’re keen to grow your own plants, fruit, and vegetables from scratch, plant trays are the way to go. We have many different types of plant trays to choose from depending on what type and how many seedlings and cuttings you wish to grow. Bowen, J., (2010), ‘Neurological disease and behaviour’, Proceedings of the Southern European Veterinary Conference. Available at: www.ivis.org/proceedings/sevc/2010/lectures/eng/Bowen2.pdf Accessed 12 July 2011. It comes in two pieces and is dead easy to put together. The top half clips to the bottom and and then you just need to add the plant. IS THERE ENOUGH LITTER? There should also be enough litter for a cat to dig properly (Neilson 2009). Some cats will stop using the tray if you are too mean with the litter. Put in more. About two inches of litter is a minimum though some cats like to dig deeper.

Percy, our test cat loved it and needed no encouragement to get in. That said, it’s a good idea to keep the doors open so your cat can find it.You can have the entrance panel at either end and the entrance hole is huge at 30.5cm high and 23.5cm wide. A small dog could get through it. We didn’t think a flower pot would be big enough but this thing is massive. It’s 48cm in diametre and 51cm high. Our test cat, Charlie had no problem hopping in and out of it. Neilson, J. C. (2008). ‘Is bigger better?’ litterbox size preference test.’ Proceedings, ACVLB/AVSAC 2008, Scientific Paper and Poster Session, 46-49.

IS THE CAT FRIGHTENED ON ITS WAY TO THE TRAY? In a multi-cat household a bullied cat may be being ambushed while on the tray. Add trays where the cat can reach them without having to pass through enemy territory. It’s unkind to make a cat run the gauntlet of its enemies to get to the litter tray. That’s why you need a litter tray for each cat and one extra in different locations. Neilson, J. C., (2009), ‘House soiling by cats’, in eds Horwitz, D. F. & Mills, D. S., BSAVA Manual of Canine and Feline Behavioural Medicine, Second Edition, Quedgeley, Gloucestershire, BSAVA, 117-126. If you want something other that a piece of furniture, take a look at the Good Pet Flower Pot Invisible Litter Tray.Despite what some experts say, evidence suggests that cats are OK with covered litter boxes. As long as they’re clean. Why Trust Us? IS YOUR CAT USED TO DOING IT OUT OF DOORS? For an outdoor cat (whom you want to be an indoor going cat) transfer some soil/sand from where they go. The familiar smell may trigger use. Some cats will use potting compost or peat, rather than other litters. Add some soiled material so the tray smells like a latrine. This is worth trying even if your cat has used litter in the past – it doesn’t cost much to put some soil in a tray. Building it is easy enough. That said, we did find the instructions a little more difficult to understand than our first offering. Researchers from Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine studied this. They published their findings in the Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery. The bottom line was that;

It has two front doors and the lifting lid is also a nice feature too. It makes scooping, hoovering and cleaning easier as you can go in through the top instead of having to kneel down. The hinges are quite stiff but that means the lid will stay open while you’re cleaning. It also stops the lid from slamming shut. If you don’t want to use the lid, it looks lovely with a plant on it. Adding the divider also increases the sturdiness and weight limit. Without the divider, the weight limit is 50kg so you can’t sit on it. When you add it’s double the weight limit to 100kg. The medium size has a 50kg weight limit. Ellis, J. J., McGowan, R. T. S., & Martin, F., (2017). ‘Does previous use affect litter box appeal in multi-cat households?,’ Behavioral Processes, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.beproc.2017.02.008 Sometimes out of the blue a cat will stop using the litter tray or litterbox. You may notice early signs of this when your cat doesn’t dig into the litter, or goes into the tray and comes out without using it (Mills et al., 2013). Most owners just think “Oh, an accident!” and clear up. Then it happens again…. And again. Pet cats normally urinate 2-4 times a day and defecate 1-2 times a day (Overall & Dyer 2005). That’s a lot of times if it is not going into the litter tray! Persians seem particularly prone to difficulties in using a litter try (Bamberger, 2006).No one likes the sight of their cats littler tray. Still, hidden cat litter boxes aren’t super common.