Guarding litter trays - what to do

[Leanne]

Jess doesn't always cover what he has done, Milo goes in and does it.

I thought it showed dominance but I'm not sure.

[tiga]

Hi

Thanks for the comments.

At the moment I have 5 litter trays and 3 cats. There are 3 different litters. I do have them in all different rooms and have moved them so they are more private. There is one in 'her' room (hidden from view from the door), 1 in upstairs bathroom, 1 in downstairs bathroom, 1 under the stairs and 1 in the living room. The boys seem to follow her about though, and they will pee in every tray,, even just a bit to leave their scent I think.

Also she doesn't cover up her business, but the boys go in and cover it up. Does that mean anything in cat behaviour?

I have got 2 Feliways plugged in although I need to replace one with a  refill that came in the post today.

I will keep perservering. I am hoping that as she gets more confident she will just stop letting them push her about. I might try a few more different litters - maybe I can find one only she likes!

[Leanne]

Milo used to guard the trays when Jess wanted to go, he would also sit on top of the tray and try to bat at Jess when he was in the tray.

The behaviouist suggested different litter that wasn't as noisy(!) this has worked, but equally Milo has just grown out of it.

We have 3 trays and 2 cats.

[Mark]

It would be good if there is one placed somewhere she doesn't have to cross their path to get to it. If she is "holding it in" until she is desperate, it could cause all kinds of health problems, not to mention discomfort and distress.

[Debsymiller (Rufus' mum)]

Also, try and make sure the trays are in different places so she will always have somewhere private to go.

[Dawn F]

I know that one tray per cat plus one is recommended - its a pain I know but it is probably the only solution

[Debsymiller (Rufus' mum)]

I think perhaps you need more trays. It's not ideal I know but we hav 3 cats and 6 trays for exactly this reason as Layla doesn't like any other cat even remotely near her when she uses the tray. I would also get a feliway difuser as it honestly does help to keep them relaxed. Good luck!

[tiga]

I have been introducing a new cat, Poppy, to my boys Riley and Digby and it has been 1 month now. They are still separated when I am not home and at night but the introductions were going well. Not much hissing and no fights. But now the boys are using Poppy's litter tray and intimidating her from her trays. Now she is not using the litter trays even when she has the place to herself.

They also seem to want to keep her in her room, but she comes out and just ignores them mostly. Sometimes they will chase her back upstairs but she is increasingly standing her ground and the boys then ignore her. She is kept in her room in the day when I am at work, they are all roaming when I am around and overnight I have the boys in my room and Poppy has the house to roam.

I think there are two issues: the boys are being intimidating and I think she also doesn't like using a tray that the boys have used, even if it has been cleaned out.
So i"m not sure what to do with the intimidation issue. She is getting more confident and will stand up to the boys and make them back off, but they will watch her for ages and walk to the litter tray if she is going to it. Should I start introductions all over again? Let them sort it out?

How can I get her to use a tray that other cats use? Unless I keep them separated permanently which isn't an option, I can't stop the boys using her tray. Apart from washing it out as soon as one of the boys uses it, I can't see what to do.

Any advice appreciated.

Thanks