I do not want to see, touch or smell cat wee for a long time!

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

I have a meter of carpet protector under tray and taped to tiles and mostly the wetness stays there!

High sides are a problem for the birmans cos they are small but long and Ducha needs to balance his front paws on a side to get tail end off thetray and now blooming Franta is copying him and at the best has front paws out and back paws in but cos of his length tail out.......sigh.

The tray is already a large one which means they always stand across the tray, if they would just use it back to front instaed of side to side it would be fine!

They have been using the gtray fine ever since they came here but its only in last year they have been doing this .

[Susanne (urbantigers)]

I have changed tack now.   I have the simple solution floor protectors and initially I put them underneath (needed 2 of them - why do they make these things so damn small?!) but finally saw sense and have removed the computer base unit standing beside the tray (needs be got rid of but I don't know how or where so it's stood in the bathroom!) so that there is nothing at the side of the tray in the hope that the only place he will spray is the back where the tray is pushed up against the tiled wall.  So I have one puppy pad sellotaped to the wall and going partway under the tray in the hope that if he sprays it can't get underneath the pad.  I do find it soaks through a tad though even with these ones, although they're better than the other ones I was using.  If it's just the back he sprays against, then I should be ok with a storage box cut down at the sides and front but high at the back.

Would a larger tray help with Franta, Gill?  Such as a large storage box cut so that the sides are ok for him to get in and out etc.  but maybe with one or two high sides?

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

That doesnt sound very good at all to be honest.

I now have a pair of piddlepants, both birmans grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Ducha sat on the carpet protector in front of me last night and didnt even bother trying to get in the tray, and someone did that while I was out today. Just cleaned it up and Franta comes along and just about gets in the tray and misses, gave him a little push. He is going right in a corner or so close to side that he missses.................I know they are 17 but this is newish and feel they are just having a bloomin laugh at me!

[Susanne (urbantigers)]

Well I watched Pet Shame last night and it was a bit disappointing.  The cat (a 10 yr old devon rex and an indoor cat) was weeing all over the place so they looked at that as a general problem and didn't comment on the sight of him inside the tray but weeing out of the entrance.  The solution seemed a bit glib to me - get more litter trays and let him outisde.  Sensible advice re the litter trays and the outside bit was because the vet seemed to think that he was competing with his sister and that letting him outside would help.  It probably will, and I don't want to turn this into an indoor/outdoor debate, but the cat was 10 years old, had never been outside and was a devon rex (not the most sensible of breeds!).  The owner was very reluctant to let him out and bottled it first time, but eventually let him into the garden for short periods.   I'd have thought he could have advised re environmental enrichment first (combined with the extra litter trays) or asked whether it was possible to provide an outdoor run or something, given the fact that the cat had been an indoor cat for so long.  Also, nothing was mentioned about cleaning the places he'd used properly to make sure he doesn't return there.   In terms of educating the viewer, I'd have thought that was important to mention.

[Susanne (urbantigers)]

This would be perfect for Jaffa, although I'd like the sides a tad higher (but not as high as the back)

http://www.freyacat.co.uk/2009/07/home-made-perfect-litter-tray.html

Still not found a suitable storage box but I've only had time to look in B&Q and Ikea so far.

[Susanne (urbantigers)]

I watched the repeat of last week's programme on saturday.   The weeing cat seems to be weeing everywhere but they showed a clip of him inside his tray (covered one) but weeing outside of it!  He looked to be completely within the tray, but spraying out of the opening    I'll be interested to see what they say about that.

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

I dont have sky so please let me know what it says.

Caught Franta last night standing in the tray and he had gone over the top in part!

The short sside of the tray is against a wall but he is not a big cat and both birmans stand parallel to the wall lol..........sigh

[Susanne (urbantigers)]

At the end of this weeks 'Pet Shame' (pet problems with solutions given by vets/animal behaviouralists) it showed a clip of next weeks programme which included a cat weeing over the edge of the litter tray. Might be worth watching - Weds 28th, Sky1 @ 20:00.

Ooh ta - I've seen that programme in the schedules but never watched it.  I will try to remember to set it to record when I get home.  Thing is, when I pull out the covered one from the corner of the living room and take the top off (I sometimes do that if I shut them out there early morning to encourage usage!), he will use it and never misses the tray.  I think that when the tray is against something like a wall, he thinks it's ok to spray the wall.  Unfortunately, it's not possible to have the tray in the middle of the bathroom!

[Tiggy's Mum]

At the end of this weeks 'Pet Shame' (pet problems with solutions given by vets/animal behaviouralists) it showed a clip of next weeks programme which included a cat weeing over the edge of the litter tray. Might be worth watching - Weds 28th, Sky1 @ 20:00.

[purrdy1]

My little girl twiggy has a habit of aiming high when she wees!  i got them two litter trays with lids and high sides, that seemed to 'contain' the problem for a bit, but it was leaking out of the lid and the base!!! so i just put a bit of tissue in there now to soak up any excess....it has cured that little problem......

It sounds as if you have your paws full!..what a handful they both are! bless you for being so kind and patient!

[Susanne (urbantigers)]

Oh dear - after 3 glorious days of him keeping it all in the litter tray, yesterday evenign I found one of the puppy pads soaked.  So I scooped, cleaned and wiped the floor, laid down new pads etc. and it was all rosy.  45  minutes later, Jaffa uses said tray,  misses the back and soaks both the pads under the tray so I have to start over cleaning up at 11pm.  Sigh.  Tbh, it's mainly the back and one side he sprays against and the back is up against the tiled wall in the bathroom, and at the side is an old pc unit so he probably just thinks they are part of the tray and that he's ok to lift his bum!

[maryas]

Susanne have you ever thought about using a child's paddling pool? 

Mary

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

Afraid I having trouble with the piddlepants brothers......sigh

One or both are either not putting their tail ends in the tray or just not bothering at all!

Thanks to the carpet protector mostly its staying on that but like you getting fed up of having to clean during the night.........they only do it at night.

[Susanne (urbantigers)]

I like the look of one of the Van Ness high sided pan on the first link but I think it might be too small, even the giant one.  Also, not sure of height - is it 9 inches at sides or front?  That's the right shape I need (ie high on one of the long sides)  but I think I will need something custom made as I want it high at the back (main spillage area!), a bit lower at the sides but still higher than the front.  I don't think Jaffa would really have a problem with it being high at the sides or fairly high at front, but as this is an alternative to the covered one I'm keen to avoid anything that might stop Jaffa from using it or feels enclosed to him.  Sometimes he stands with his front half out of the tray and his back half in the tray.  I looked in B&Q yesterday on the way home from work but they had no storage boxes suitable size.  Only possibility was an underbed storage one but it wasn't really high enough. 

I dont want to tempt fate, but he's kept it all in the tray for the past couple of days now so my cleaning up chore has been lessened.  He can do it, he's just lazy I think and lifts his bum before he's done!!    Or sometimes I think he deliberately sprays - he's used to being able to spray the sides of the covered box and it's no problem.   I suppose it's better than not using the tray at all.  No weeing or spraying anywhere else either.   

[Leanne]

http://www.pet-supermarket.co.uk/ProductList.asp?ProdPerPage=500&a=resetsearch&Searchstring=&catid=16

http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/cats/cat_litter_litter_boxes/litter_tray_cat_toilet

Some of these are high sided

[Susanne (urbantigers)]

I dont know what to suggest,  do you have a local handyman who could knock something up for you ?

I dont envy you at all,  Teabag is a sprayer,  we call him Teabag Weebag or Norris McSquirter most of the time,   he has calmed down a lot recently,  but he is not allowed upstairs anymore and I am sure he knows why.

Will they not use a covered litter tray ?  as for tracking,  I know a lot of people on here dont rate it,   but Biocatolet or Yesterdays News litter doesnt track at all,  as you probably know from previous threads I am a bit of a OCD cleaner and could never use a grit litter as I woudl be hoovering all day and night,   you should try Biocatolet,  it may work for you and give you a bit of a break xxx

They have been using a covered tray but Jaffa had been spraying in the hall on a daily basis and I did wonder whether he had gone off the idea of a covered tray or was finding it difficult to use it now he's a bit older (he's 13).  I don't want risk him not using the bathroom one by makign the sides too high and his feeling confined.  He seems happy to just jump in and out and do his business but he has always weed standing up.  Not a problem with a covered tray but it is with an open one.  Im aiming for somethign with slightly higher sides but still very open.   I'm just having a moan really!  2 days on the trot now he's kept it all in the tray    and last night was a huge success with him waking in the night.  First time in months he didn't wake me up (I did wake temporarily to the sounds of someone scraping away in the litter tray but I won't count that as I went straight back to sleep).  I was woken by my alarm for a change - and I mean the mechanical one not the feline one.

[Daisymac]

I dont know what to suggest,  do you have a local handyman who could knock something up for you ?

I dont envy you at all,  Teabag is a sprayer,  we call him Teabag Weebag or Norris McSquirter most of the time,   he has calmed down a lot recently,  but he is not allowed upstairs anymore and I am sure he knows why.

Will they not use a covered litter tray ?  as for tracking,  I know a lot of people on here dont rate it,   but Biocatolet or Yesterdays News litter doesnt track at all,  as you probably know from previous threads I am a bit of a OCD cleaner and could never use a grit litter as I woudl be hoovering all day and night,   you should try Biocatolet,  it may work for you and give you a bit of a break xxx

[maryas]

Oh Susanne = poor you - not nice at all 

Maybe you should put the puppy pads on M & J 

Mary

[Susanne (urbantigers)]

Unfortunately for me, living with furries makes that very unlikely, but honestly there are some days when I feel as though all I do is clean up cat wee.  I'm thrilled that Jaffa has taken to the new litter tray in the bathroom, although Mosi has too and they both use that one almost exclusively which means I am constantly cleaning it.  I don't want to risk Jaffa deciding it's too dirty to use after his hall spraying antics, so do tend scoop several times a day to keep it clean.   There are days when Jaffa manages to keep it all in the tray, but more often he doesn't.  Lets just say he has a habit of lifting his bum a bit too high    He also sometimes does "walky wees" where he moves well before he's done and leaves a trail of wee in the tray - nowhere near as easy to scoop as a nice round clump!   On sunday I got in after being out in the afternoon, and noticed "someone" had weed on a gift bag.  It was a large bag that they put my leaving present in at work when I left a few weeks ago - nice thick paper and Mosi has been having a field day playing with it.  I suspect Jaffa did it when I shut the pair of them in the living room early sunday morning and I just didn't notice when I got up.  It hadn't soaked through but a bit had spilt off, so to speak, so I had to drench the carpet thoroughly with Simple odour and stain remover just to be sure.  After I'd done that, I went into the bathroom to clean out the tray there (was due the monthly scrub and disinfect) and found Jaffa had misjudged the size of the tray again    I've put puppy pads under it but it soaks through a bit so still a thorough clean up.  Yesterday was better as Jaffa got it all in the tray but I've decided the attention seeking spraying (the only spraying he does since the new litter tray) has to stop.  So down with the puppy pads by the wardrobe and in with the determination to ignore him if he sprays.   Which he did at about 5am this morning (after a bit of whining which  I ignored).  I did very well and managed to ignore it all until 10  mins later so that he wouldn't associate my getting out of bed with his action.  I would have left it a bit longer if Mosi hadn't come into the bedroom as I didn't want him getting ideas or trampling through it.  I think I need more absorbent puppy pads as it soaks through the ones  I have, although much better than if no pad there.   So more clean up.  I feel as though I spend my whole life cleaning wee or scattered cat litter all over the bathroom.  Oh well, I still wouldn't swap Jaffa for the world but I really do need to get a high sided litter tray sorted for him.  I think a DIY version using a storage box is going to be the best but my DIY skills are not good!