RHRQuality Cat Litter Tray "Flower" with hood XXL - Invisible Cat Litter Tray with Lid 51 Diameter x 55 cm (Grey)

Product Information

Gunn-Moore, D. A. (2003), ‘Feline lower urinary tract disease,’ Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery, 5, 133-138.

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. You have to work your way through ALL of these possibilities since you can’t ask the cat what is wrong with the existing set up. So try the most likely and if this doesn’t work, try the unlikely. What is unlikely to you may make perfect sense to your cat.Neilson, J. C. (2004), ‘Feline House Soiling: Elimination and Marking Behaviours’, Clinical Techniques in Small Animal Practice, 33, 287-301. There are certain smells that are very off-putting to cats, and these can be used to discourage your pet from eliminating in your plant pots. Unpleasant scents that fall into this category include citrus smells such as lemon. DOES YOUR CAT DISLIKE USING THE SAME TRAY FOR BOTH PEE AND POO? Add a new tray so that it can urinate in one and defecate in the other. Odd but some cats definitely prefer this. Some cats that were OK about peeing and pooing in the same place change their minds about it. Just putting two trays side by side may not work. Cats may need two separate locations.

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. HAS YOUR CAT HAD AN UNHAPPY EXPERIENCE WHILE ON THE TRAY? Has your cat experienced ambush by a companion cat, ambush by a dog, pain, stomach pains while eliminating (from diarrhoea?), human interference while using the tray, a sudden loud noise while on the tray, pain from cystitis, recent illness of any kind, recent trip to vet for something which seems unconnected with litter tray pain but might be. If so, the cat may mistakenly decide that the tray isn’t safe any more or the tray caused the pain. Therefore, experiment with a new (yes, new- don’t be mean – you can use a baking dish if you don’t want to shell out) tray. 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. All that said, the entrance is quite small at 20cm high and 16.5cm wide. This makes it better suited for smaller cats.DOES YOUR CAT HAVE CYSTITIS OR SOME OTHER ILLNESS? As many as one in three cats who uronate outside the tray may have cystitus or bladder problems (Ramos et al 2019). Cystitis symptoms include straining, pain when urinating, blood in urine, frequent urination, urinating in the wrong place, lots of tiny urinations instead of several large ones. The pain may make the cat dislike the litter tray or the need to go so often means it cannot get to the tray in time (Gunn-Moore 2002). Sometimes cats with cystitis go in multiple places because they use a place, experience pain there, and feel they must find a new place. More common in long haired, overweight, neutered males. Diabetes, kidney problems or any illness which involves lots of drinking may also result in urine outside the litter tray. Geriatric confusion can also lead to litter tray difficulties (Bowen 2010). Heath, S. E., ‘Behaviour Problems and Welfare’, ed Rochlitz, I., The Welfare of Cats, Dordrecht, Netherlands, 91-118 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. IS IT THE RIGHT LITTER? Offer several types of litter and see which is used. Then slowly change once the tray is being used (see above). In general cats prefer thin-grained litter to large grained (Neilson 2004). I use fine grained litter which is expensive. But it clumps well and works out not too costly because you can lift out the soiled area.

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). His owner also stated that it helped keep the kids away from the litter box too which is an added bonus. Once you add a plant, the whole thing blends into the room very well. You don’t even know it’s there. Especially when you turn the entrance away from view.

Encouraging Your Cat to Use the Litter Tray

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. 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.

Putting aluminum foil around the plant pot(s) can act as a strong deterrent for approaching it again in the future, especially if it is combined with an unpleasant smell as well. Encouraging Your Cat to Use the Litter Tray Sometimes a cat who has been happy with the existing set up changes his mind. For example a cat that has been happy to share a litter tray with his companion cat now refuses to share. Or a cat that was happy to pee and poo in the same tray changes his mind. Do not assume that because yesterday’s set up was OK, it still is!To stop this behaviour, you’ll need to find ways to make the offending plant pots become an unattractive prospect that is best avoided, while also encouraging them to start using the litter tray instead. Using Unpleasant Smells Building it is easy enough. That said, we did find the instructions a little more difficult to understand than our first offering. Have you noticed that your cat would rather use a plant pot to urinate or defecate, rather than their litter tray? Many cats like to eliminate in soft places, and it’s not particularly uncommon for them to shun the litter tray in favour of their preferred place(s). This can extend to bedding, clothing and furniture, as well as soil.