How to litter train a stray

[Ariess2113]

Hi all I took in a stray male about a month ago when it started to get cold whare I live right now he's living in my basement and is happy as can be (he is not fixed and I have an unfixed female so he can't live in the "main house" but he gets plenty of human enrichment time). I got him his own litter box and took dirt and leaves from an area of my yard that I knew he had gone potty in and mixed it with fresh litter he seemed to take to the litter box pretty fast but I have noticed while cleaning it that he only poops in it but doesn't seem to pee(I have not found his pee spot yet) My mother fell in love with him and has decided she wants to take him home with her in January when she comes back from visiting my sister out of state. Now I need to train him to pee in the box before that and I'm not sure how to go about that. Like I said he poops no problem but not pees there a reason for this? How do I get him to pee in the box too?

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. You need to find out where he pees so that you know what he is using that is so enticing for him. It should be fairly obvious due to the urine smell, which is usually even stronger in an intact male. In the meantime, try adding a second litter box with nothing but litter.

What other types of stuff'/surfaces are outside that he might have been using?

 

[Ariess2113]

Hi. You need to find out where he pees so that you know what he is using that is so enticing for him. It should be fairly obvious due to the urine smell, which is usually even stronger in an intact male. In the meantime, try adding a second litter box with nothing but litter.

What other types of stuff'/surfaces are outside that he might have been using?

I was thinking about trying a second litter box to see if he just doesn't like to pee the same place he poops. As for other surfaces I really don't know it's all sand and dirt with grass leaves and pine needles

 

[rubysmama]

Thanks for taking in the stray. He's going to have a much happier and safer life thanks to you and your mother.

But him not peeing in the litter box is definitely a huge issue. Some cats don't like to pee in the same litter box they use to poop, so you might want to get a second litter box for him.

You could also try Dr. Elsey’s Cat Attract® Cat Litter - the litter cats love™

Is your basement unfinished? If so, not as big a concern that he's peeing just anywhere in there, but still an unneutered male cat's pee is really stinky, so getting him to use the litter box is a first concern.

After that, though, will you or your mother be able to get him neutered? Having an unneutered cat as a indoor pet is really not an ideal situation. Besides the stinky tomcat pee, there's also the urge he'll always have to get out and search for non-spayed female cats. Plus if he hasn't started already, at some point he's likely to start spraying.

Here's a TCS article which explains Why You Should Spay And Neuter Your Cats - A Complete Guide - TheCatSite