Answer: In some cats the training to go outdoors or use a litter tray breaks down and they began to pass urine and motions elsewhere indoors. Sometimes it is due to poor control of the bowel or bladder, due either to old age or illness, but fortunately this is relatively uncommon. Often the behavior is due to dislike of the small of an imperfectly or infrequently cleaned tray, of a deodorized litter, or of some disinfectant used in cleaning. It can also arise where there is overcrowding (too many cats in the household), or simply if one cat objects to using the same box as another (often a newcomer).
At time, the problem follows household changes, such as moving house, the arrival of new pets or children, or simply altering the position of the litter tray. And sometimes it is just that the cat doesn’t care to go outside in wet weather. It could even be that he has become tired of being caught when using the litter tray-t be played with or given medication.
In all these instances the corrective measure are fairly obvious, but there remains the problem of the re-training the cat to use the tray or not some other area in the house. Firstly, the solid area should be thoroughly cleaned, ideally, with bleach or with white vinegar. Then its further use for elimination may be discouraged by one of the following.
1 Prohibiting accesses to the area.
2 Feeding the cat at the spot, since most animals will not eliminate in feeding areas.
3 Covering the area with aluminum foil or plastic sheeting. If, as is hoped, the cat prefers not to
walk on this, it should be left down and only gradually removed, a piece at a time, over several weeks.
If persuading a cat to use the litter tray becomes a real problem, the animal should be confined with the tray to a small room with an easily cleaned floor, e.g. the bathroom or cloakroom, and only allowed out into other areas of the house when the tray is being used regularly.
Alternatively, an extra litter box can be placed at the spot where the cat has been in the habit of urinating. When it has begun to use this new box, it can be removed little (a few inches a day) back to the original site, and the cat fed in the place where previously it had been urinating.
Some cats insist upon using a plant pot as a litter tray; this can be countered by covering its surface with gravel or spraying the plant and the soil surface with white vinegar or cat repellant.
