# Litter training 1 year old cat - help



## jen00 (Nov 9, 2011)

Hi ive had my cat since it was a kitten athough he was trained before i got him when he came to mine he seemed to forget it all he would urinate and poo everywhere i kept him locked in the Living Room after a month he started to use the litter tray(fully for pooing) but if there was ever anything soft such as cushions, clothing towels etc he would urinate on these insted so i would always have to make sure nothing was lying around.
Decided he had been locked up for too long (been a good 2 months) so i let him have access to the full house, Somtimes he would go a week with out any accidents and then out of no where he would urinate in my bedding or somewhere soft even. if he had accidents i would deoderise the area/item or if i caught him trying to have a wee id take him to his tray but he just never got it fully!!
I started letting him out (have a cat flap) so he started going to the toilet out side and he comes and goes as he pleases and from then until now goes to the toilet outside in the soil.. So 1 year on and i desprately need to try and train him as i will be moving to a place with in the next 6 months with no catflap for him to go outside at his own will.

Does anyone have any ideas of how i can try and train him? Im i better doing it now before i move or is it better to wait? i was thinking of trying to mix soil in his tray! 

Sorry for the essay guys :scared::scared:


(on bonfire night i brought the litter tray back out as i thought he's be scared to go out - and he DID infact use it to wee in.. so he still remembers what it should be used for)


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## Paws On Your Heart (Aug 2, 2011)

Hi there,

The first thing that I can think of for your situation is that he may dislike the type of litter that you are currently putting in his tray. From the sounds of it, he seems to prefer doing his business on soft surfaces so you could consider making the litter in the tray softer, such as using shredded newspaper, or as you had mentioned, add soil to the litter. 

This may require you to clean the tray more than once a day, but it would be well worth it to ensure the rest of your house is accident free.

There is also a type of litter called "cat attract" that is supposed to attract cats to use the litter tray as opposed to going elsewhere in the house. I think that you can purchase either the litter or an additive to mix with your own litter. I have never used the product myself, but have read positive reviews for it online. 

You may also want to consider purchasing another litter tray, and placing it somewhere else in the house to make sure that he has access to a litter tray at all times. 

Hope you are able to retrain him soon! Good luck.


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## Dragonlady (Jul 5, 2010)

Hi,

Sorry to hear about your problem. From my experience, I know how annoying it can be to have such a cat.:mad2:
I used to have a 3-year-old cat that "only" urinated on my bed, shoes etc. When she peed in my room she was really scared and I knew something was wrong. At the time, as a cat beginner, I didn't think about a possibility of a disease and only one year later it turned out, my poor cat had a serious kidney condition and had to be put to sleep. 
Have you thought about a check up at the vet? Sometimes a cat can associate painful peeing / pooing with the litter tray and later avoid this source of pain.


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## Dragonlady (Jul 5, 2010)

Ok, I read again your post. It looks more as he is used only to the outside toilet. 
Yes, mixing soil could help. 
My cats like a covered litter box and if they have the choice they use the covered one.

Good luck!!!!:thumbup:


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