Wilhemina,

You may recall that we had one of our cats (Ziggy) PTS in April and were left with his pining and withdrawn brother (Tigger) – they are (were) 15 years old.

After a short period of time, we took on board two kittens from Cats Protection – and for a short time all was going well. The kittens were using the litter tray regularly and everything was hunky dory until…………………………

We went to the vets to have their second set of injections and at the same time, they were given a worming tablet. Then our problems started.

I posted here before about the acute diarrhoea problems and the mess that was being made in our utility room as the entire area was being covered in cat excrement.

We have been back and forth from the vets several times now trying to get this problem diagnosed and sorted.

It does appear that at least 1 of the kittens does not (now) be able to cope with eating anything like Felix or Whiskas – although they were fine on it before that fated visit to the vet. Whilst on Hills prescription food from the vet, things do solidify quite well.

We are now feeding them on Hills food exclusively. We have tried both wet and dry and neither is really curing the diarrhoea entirely – its just about holding together !!

The vet is now doing stool tests and we await his findings.

In the meantime, one of the kittens is now not using the tray anymore for No. 2s – just next to the litter tray is the place to go it would seem. Not pleasant !!

Do you have any ideas how we can try and get this kitten back into the tray full time ?

We are tearing our hair out. Many thanks.

Oh dear ~ you have my sympathy but I'm glad to hear that the diarrhoea seems to be getting better. I hope your vet finds out what caused it.

As for one of the kittens not using the litter tray, can I please have some more info?

Does the other kitten use it all the time? If so, try providing another tray for the other kitten. Make sure that both trays are cleaned as soon after they poo as possible.

What sort of litter are you using? It could be that the kitten doesn't like the smell or the texture of the litter. If you've already tried a fine-grained proprietary brand, you could try changing to soft sand. It won't clump together like some cat litters but that's probably the least of your problems right now.

Is the litter tray covered? If so, try taking the lid off.

How big is the tray? The kittens will want to feel that they have enough room to turn round, get comfortable & scratch over their mess afterwards so perhaps try a larger tray?

Most importantly you need to thoroughly clean the area where the kitten has messed before. This means very hot soapy (use biological soap powder) water, rinse, leave to dry & then repeat the washing. If the area is carpeted, you may have to remove the soiled carpet as you need to get rid of every trace of the smell.

Because the kitten is going right next to the litter tray it sounds very much like there is some aversion to actually getting into the tray & using it, rather than the location of the tray. Just watch that the kitten has some peace & quiet when it wants to use the tray as sometimes the presence of another cat, or a noise or something that scared it last time it used the tray, could also lead to an aversion. You say that the tray is in the utility room ~ is the washing machine/tumble dryer/dish washer there too? Could it be possible that a sudden noise from one of these machines has scared the kitten when it was in the middle of performing?

Please let me know how you get on & if there's anything else I can think of, I'll get back to you.

Answering as much as I can from work, yes the tray is shared by both kittens and we do try to keep it as empty as is humanly possible.

This morning for example, when he went outstide the tray, the tray was clean and unused.

They both wee in the tray with no problems.

We have been cleaning the area after is has been soiled, it is a tiled floor so not too bad in that respect.

Dishwasher rarely used, washing machine only at weekends so don't think that is a cause ?

The tray is a normal, full size tray with no lid. It did have a clip on rim that should help retain the litter but we removed this already in the hope that it would help.

Perhaps a different sort of litter is the next step - currently using Asda cheap and cheerful stuff.

Thanks for your help again.

Not suggesting you should not clean the tray but we found ours would only use the tray when we left a little of their dirt in it (not sure why) if we cleaned it completely they ignored it totally.

Okay ~ perhaps try wiping the tiled floor where he has gone with surgical spirit, letting it dry & then washing again with biological powder, paying special attention to any grouted areas between the tiles.

If he's using the tray to wee in, then it may not be an aversion to the litter tray as such, but sometimes they have different "requirements" for weeing & pooing! What depth of litter is in the tray? Cats usually like to cover their poo so there should be at least sufficient depth (perhaps 2 to 3 inches?) to allow him to do this comfortably.

Sometimes the reflective qualities of the area surrounding the litter tray can affect the cat. If your tiles are shiny & reflective, this may put him off. I would usually suggest putting newspaper around the tray but I should warn you that if he may prefer to go on the newspaper! Whilst this would be easier for you to clean & dispose of, it doesn't solve the problem of why he won't use the tray.

It is also possible that he has had a poorly tummy resulting in the diarrhoea & if he's had some pain while pooing in the tray, he could have inadvertently made an association between the upset tum & using the litter tray. If you have the space, I would recommend getting another tray with some soft sand & putting it in a quiet corner. If he starts to use the new tray at least it willcut out some of the reasons.

I hope Tigger & the kittens are getting on okay. Let me know of any developments ~ best of luck.