new here, lots of questions!

Hello, I am Gems Mum!

Gem is about 2 years old, we got her from a rescue home in August and she is a beautiful grey almost tabby. I won't bore you with how lovely she is!

I have a few questions, I hope you can give me some advice.

How can we get her to go potty outside more often? She has a litter tray which she uses happily, but we would prefer to get rid of it and only use it on the odd occasion we are away for the night. We don't have a cat flap, we just open the door when she asks. We tried taking the tray away one night and came down to find she had not been able to wait. She had piddled on the floor and pooed in her bed, most unusual for a cat. Needless to say, we put the tray back down! How do we get her to hold on till we let her out? Would she then still use the litter tray if we were away?

Also, why does she dig for ever when she is in the garden, but not at all in her tray?

Thanks!

Howdy! I would leave the litter box as an option for the kitty regardless of whether I got a cat door or let her go outside. Scoop it out daily and put it somewhere out of the way. Don't make the cat hold it till you let her out. Make her comfortable and let her be able to potty when she needs to.

Thanks Jason.

I understand what you are saying, but it would be nice to get rid of it. No-one else we know with cats have a tray down, their cats seem to be able to wait to be let out. She does prefer to potty outside, when we first got her she held on for 24 hours and we had to buy a kitty lead and take her out - she peed for ages!

Your cats are gorgeous, your pictures have reminded me - why does Gem sometimes sit with her mouth open while she is being loved? It almost looks like she is going to sneeze!

I've heard some cats do that to show affection. I just happened to catch my cats during a yawn and snapped the pictures before their mouths closed.

But if you really must get rid of the box you must first get a cat flap. After it is installed gradually move the cat box closer to the door. The box should only be moved about 12 inches every three days. She may just go outside once the flap is installed. I personally never let my kitties out... they wouldn't last 10 minutes without getting into trouble! he he he I hope this helps.

I grew up with indoor/outdoor cats. We started by having the litter box and letting the cat go in and out as she pleases...eventually the cat will start going outside all of the time and the litter box is unnecessary unless it is a special occasion.

Basicly, you just have to be patient and let the cat develop this habit on it's own. I have to tell you that one of my mother's indoor/outdoor cats got run over by a car and almost died. He lived the rest of his life with some pretty bad health problems- including having no bladder control. So if you can, watch your kitties when they are outside- kitties are WAY too curious for their own good!


charlottiek, Ninikitty, Lila

Dragon Lady is right. You need to install a cat door. They are not all that expensive. Then you just gradually move the litterbox across the floor towards the flap. Once it is near the flap and the kitty is using it then you open the door during the day time and put the box right near the door outside. After that, the kitty will go outside to potty. But you want to leave the box there for a few days at least till she gets the idea.

If you don't install a cat door, and you don't leave a litter box down 24/7 it is a bit unfair for the kitty and you will have lots of accidents and a worse urine smell in the house then you would with just a dirty cat box. All my cats are indoor/outdoor, but I still have 6 litter boxes inside and no cat smell when you hit my front door. I scoop at least 5 times a day, scrub them out every night and use FeBreeze in the meantime!