Cat Has Bad Aim at the Litter Tray

I adopted a tortie from the cat shelter a week ago. She's settled in
fine and seems very happy.

When she uses the litter tray to poop, she seems to prefer to sit in one
half of the tray and point her rear at the edge. This means most of it
goes over the edge onto the newspaper. It's a normal sized tray that's
plenty big enough to accommodate her. There's plenty of litter, about
1-2 inches deep.

I think she doesn't mind the litter itself, since she seems quite happy
to walk on it when she's getting ready for her business. It's just
that she points her backside so it's near the edge of the tray.

I tried heaping the litter into a pile in the middle to encourage her to
stay in the middle, but that didn't work either.

Any clues on what is going on?

Thanks

Jack wrote:

I adopted a tortie from the cat shelter a week ago. She's settled
in fine and seems very happy.
When she uses the litter tray to poop, she seems to prefer to sit
in one half of the tray and point her rear at the edge. This means
most of it goes over the edge onto the newspaper. It's a normal
sized tray that's plenty big enough to accommodate her. There's
plenty of litter, about 1-2 inches deep.
I think she doesn't mind the litter itself, since she seems quite
happy to walk on it when she's getting ready for her business.
It's just that she points her backside so it's near the edge of the
tray.
I tried heaping the litter into a pile in the middle to encourage
her to stay in the middle, but that didn't work either.
Any clues on what is going on?

Thanks for adopting. I'm glad you considered litter box size.

Here are a few tips for what it's worth.

Go to the hardware store and buy some of the vinyl used to put on
hallways or door entryways, it is at least 3 feet wide I think. Put
a section of that under the litter box.

Occasionally, like when the problem arises, clean the sides of the
litter box with glass cleaner and paper towels. Maybe the sides
being dirty contributes to overshoot. Dirty sides might also
contribute to pushing the litter over the edge of the box. Tipping
the box to clean farther down the sides is easier when the litter is
shallower. I usually apply the glass cleaner and then dry it before
tipping it back the other way. I not saying that is the problem, but
apparently sometimes it has been the problem here.

Good luck.

in article , Jack at
wrote on 3/5/05 2:16AM:


I adopted a tortie from the cat shelter a week ago. She's settled in
fine and seems very happy.

When she uses the litter tray to poop, she seems to prefer to sit in one
half of the tray and point her rear at the edge. This means most of it
goes over the edge onto the newspaper. It's a normal sized tray that's
plenty big enough to accommodate her. There's plenty of litter, about
1-2 inches deep.

I think she doesn't mind the litter itself, since she seems quite happy
to walk on it when she's getting ready for her business. It's just
that she points her backside so it's near the edge of the tray.

I tried heaping the litter into a pile in the middle to encourage her to
stay in the middle, but that didn't work either.

Any clues on what is going on?

Thanks

I have an "edge" pee'er. She seems to want to feel the side of the tray
(maybe as a "spotter" for where her butt is?) It hasn't been a problem
because I used a rubbermaid storage bin insteadof a regular catbox because
it is roomier and my boy who just passed on was a loooooong cat and needed a
bigger space than most litter boxes. The bonus is that the sides are also
higher than a standard litter box. You might think about getting something
like that instead of a regular box. They are the kind of bin that comes with
a lid to store sweaters and stuff under the bed. I have a friend that uses a
*really* high sided box (like 12 inches, where as mine is probably 8 inches
high.) I suggest a higher sided box.

My one cat will not stand in the litter to do his business at all. He will
dig himself a spot then balance on the edge of the box while he goes. Most
often it goes inside but occasionally he misses. I found the solution was
to take the box and sit it inside of an old unused dog kennel that I have.
This way when he misses or kicks cat litter all over the place the kennel
catches the mess. You could do the same thing by putting box you have
inside another larger box. If the sides are to high I would cut an opening
in the one end to allow easy access in an out.

Celeste


"Jack" wrote in message
...

I adopted a tortie from the cat shelter a week ago. She's settled in
fine and seems very happy.

When she uses the litter tray to poop, she seems to prefer to sit in one
half of the tray and point her rear at the edge. This means most of it
goes over the edge onto the newspaper. It's a normal sized tray that's
plenty big enough to accommodate her. There's plenty of litter, about
1-2 inches deep.

I think she doesn't mind the litter itself, since she seems quite happy
to walk on it when she's getting ready for her business. It's just
that she points her backside so it's near the edge of the tray.

I tried heaping the litter into a pile in the middle to encourage her to
stay in the middle, but that didn't work either.

Any clues on what is going on?

Thanks

My cat used to have bad aim - I just increased the size of litter tray from
a normal sized one to the largest I could get - and it solved the problem.

sarah

"Jack" wrote in message
...

I adopted a tortie from the cat shelter a week ago. She's settled in
fine and seems very happy.

When she uses the litter tray to poop, she seems to prefer to sit in one
half of the tray and point her rear at the edge. This means most of it
goes over the edge onto the newspaper. It's a normal sized tray that's
plenty big enough to accommodate her. There's plenty of litter, about
1-2 inches deep.

I think she doesn't mind the litter itself, since she seems quite happy
to walk on it when she's getting ready for her business. It's just
that she points her backside so it's near the edge of the tray.

I tried heaping the litter into a pile in the middle to encourage her to
stay in the middle, but that didn't work either.

Any clues on what is going on?

Thanks

Duffy used to do the same thing. That was solved when I bought the *large*
sized covered litterbox (the type with a hood). I discarded the hood, which
left a litterbox with extra-high sides. I know you said that the tray
should be large enough to accomodate her, but I think you would be
pleasantly surprised if you got a box with sides about twice as high as the
"normal" large-size.

MaryL

Suddenly, without warning, Jack exclaimed (3/5/2005 8:16 AM):
I adopted a tortie from the cat shelter a week ago. She's settled in
fine and seems very happy.

When she uses the litter tray to poop, she seems to prefer to sit in one
half of the tray and point her rear at the edge. This means most of it
goes over the edge onto the newspaper. It's a normal sized tray that's
plenty big enough to accommodate her. There's plenty of litter, about
1-2 inches deep.

I think she doesn't mind the litter itself, since she seems quite happy
to walk on it when she's getting ready for her business. It's just
that she points her backside so it's near the edge of the tray.

I tried heaping the litter into a pile in the middle to encourage her to
stay in the middle, but that didn't work either.

Any clues on what is going on?

Thanks

Meep does this sometimes too. What we *were* able to solve was her
tendency to "miss" when peeing. First we had a normal box. She'd
always get in it to go, but pee and sometimes poop over the edge
sometimes. So, we got a bigger, deeper one. Same. So, we got a really
big, multi-cat, covered box. She still managed to pee *through the
crack* between the box and the lid. Vet check - no UTIs or other
issues. So, we decided it was a behavioral problem. Even if I kept the
box really clean, she'd still aim for the corner, making a mess outside
the box. Extremely annoying as she aimed right for the hinge (which
meant wet fingers when I removed the lid). I started trying different
things to block the corners, which started reducing the problem, but
didn't solve it completely - she'd just aim around the obstruction.

Finally, I've hit on the perfect solution. I've taken a big section of
a heavy-duty plastic bag (I use a white one, but it's almost as heavy as
a black plastic garbage bag), cut it so that it fits along the entire
back and around both sides by about 6", and affixed it to the box with
electrical tape. It hangs about 4" above and below the edge of the lid.
She tried peeing against that exactly once, and has never tried it
again. Problem solved. My not-yet-patented Pee Shield has been in
place for around 9 months.

I've seen covered boxes with swinging doors. I wonder if that would
solve your problem? Or perhaps installing some plastic over the doorway?

HTH
jmc

jmc wrote:


Finally, I've hit on the perfect solution. I've taken a big section
of a heavy-duty plastic bag (I use a white one, but it's almost as
heavy as a black plastic garbage bag), cut it so that it fits along
the entire back and around both sides by about 6", and affixed it to
the box with
electrical tape. It hangs about 4" above and below the edge of the
lid.
She tried peeing against that exactly once, and has never tried it
again. Problem solved. My not-yet-patented Pee Shield has been in
place for around 9 months.

That's using the noodle! I'll try that if the problem resurfaces.

Thanks to everyone for the replies. It seems I was contributing...

I was religiously cleaning the tray every day using one of those filter
scoops. I'd dig all through the litter to get every last piece of
solid stuff out. Then I read that cats don't like have the litter
disturbed as it brings the odour of pee to the surface.

So, I changed to just going for the clumped stuff and not raking through
the whole lot. Since then, she hasn't done it. Hooray.

Postnote: I bought a bunch of toys to play with her: a squeezy mouse, a
bouncy ball on elastic hanging from a fixture, a catnip toy and a
rubber 'thing' for her to attack and bite on.

Her favourite? A winecork on a bit of string! Contrary animals, cats.



Nick