Litter training a stray cat who really wants to be a house cat

January 10, 2023 9:52 AM

We've been wooing a young stray cat for the last few months, and she's very happily moved in. Miniface appeared as an older kitten in the spring. She was never fully feral, but it took some time to gain her trust beyond petting. But now that she's acclimated to indoor life, she loves it. However. She shows zero interest in the litter box. She's still going outside to do her business. We need to get her litter trained. Help?

We are experienced cat owners, but only with cats raised from kittens. We weren't even sure we wanted another cat, but Miniface chose us, and she's a very sweet girl. I suspect that she's now around a year old. She's started coming into the house in November, and overnights started in mid December. And now... this is her house. When she first started spending time inside, we had a couple of accidents (two poop, one pee). Now I make sure she goes out first thing in the morning, in the afternoon, and in the evening, and we've had no more problems. But we can't keep this up forever. She's getting vetted/spade in the next couple of weeks.

I initially set up an uncovered little box with Tidy Cats that I had from housing a lost kitty for a couple of days. It was scented, so I wasn't surprised she didn't engage. Then I bought Worlds Best Cat Litter unscented, with Dr. Elsey's litter attract. That did catch her attention at first, but she never entered the box. I've tried the box outside on our porch, inside by the front door. No interest. I've tried adding dirt and leaves from where I think she may go. No interest. I did lure her into the box with some treats, which she did begrudgingly, but no interest since. I'd love some advice/ next steps from people who've managed this successfully.

posted by kimdog to Pets & Animals (12 answers total)

I've never had to do this before, but I'd try following her next time she goes outside, and then retrieving a bit of her scent/piss and adding that to the box - it might help if she can actually smell her urine in the box.

Also: she never entered the box

Edit: What kind of box is it? Some cats are picky about the type of box.
posted by coffeecat at 10:05 AM on January 10, 2023 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I had a cat who we adopted who didn’t seem to know what the box was for. I put potting soil in it.

She went in the box almost immediately.

Then we slowly added litter till she started using it.
posted by hilaryjade at 10:28 AM on January 10, 2023 [23 favorites]

If she still has the option to go outside, she will likely keep doing so. Since she is getting spayed soon, what I'd recommend is confining her to one room while she recovers, with a litter box (uncovered, filled with unscented litter & a sprinkling of dirt from outside) available. My guess is she will figure it out pretty quickly, as cats do typically instinctually look for somewhere they can dig & bury in order to do their business.
posted by aecorwin at 10:35 AM on January 10, 2023 [3 favorites]

If you can litter-box train her before the spay surgery, that will reduce the stress on her around the surgery, which could be very helpful.

I haven't tried this, but I've heard that putting the litter box and cat into a confined space with a hard/non-absorbent floor (almost always a bathroom) will lead to the cat using the box.

I love hilaryjade's (why-didn't-I-think-of-this) idea of putting soil in the box. Of course! Setting the box up, initially, with 100% what she'd use outside would be a good way to convince her, then gradually change the composition of the box.

Maybe also try to duplicate the privacy aspects of where she usually goes - if she goes in the open, make sure the box has good views of the surrounding area; if she goes under a bush, maybe find a way to have a table or something the right height overhead, etc. This is probably not necessary -- it sounds like your kitty isn't too stressed -- but it's a perspective worth considering if you are having an extraordinary amount of challenge here.
posted by amtho at 10:51 AM on January 10, 2023

With a kitten I took in once, all it took was catching her starting to pop a squat, and gently picking her up and depositing her in the litterbox. You could almost see the light bulb turn on over her head.

This may not work if it's not easy to tell why exactly Miniface is heading outside.
posted by humbug at 10:52 AM on January 10, 2023 [2 favorites]

Our cat refused to use the litter box for years and demanded to go outside to some secret spots in the back garden or under the house. We had the litter box in the mudroom, which seemed like an ideal spot, but she never used it unless she was locked in for some reason, and then very grudgingly.

I can't remember why, but we moved it upstairs to my office, tucked away in a corner, and within minutes she was using it. In retrospect, my theory is that she found the litter box by the outside door to be too vulnerable from invaders and too visible. So I would try moving the litter box away from any doors leading to the outside and in some way hidden from view and away from any circulation paths. I would also put the lid back on.

In general, the thing I learned about cats is that if they like something, it is almost instantaneous that they will gravitate to it. So if something doesn't take within 24 hours, try a new spot.
posted by nanook at 10:57 AM on January 10, 2023 [3 favorites]

My cat is fully capable of using the litter box, and will use it if he has to, but will always go outside if it's an option, even in the pouring rain. Since you regularly let her out three times a day she probably knows that she can just wait a while and go outside. Have you already tried just keeping her inside for a day or two? There's a good chance she'll figure out the litter box real quick if outside isn't an option. My cat will typically scratch at the window and look at me plaintively when he wants to go, and if I don't let him out (he's not allowed outside after dark) I hear him using the litter box a couple minutes later.
posted by Jawn at 11:19 AM on January 10, 2023 [2 favorites]

Start with actual sand from outside. Then once she gets the idea, on each change mix more and more bentonite clay litter, then gradually switch to whatever litter is convenient for you. (And yes this was with feral cats at five month old who were only just starting to explore the house - once there was actual sand in the sandbox, they got the idea immediately.)
posted by I claim sanctuary at 11:51 AM on January 10, 2023

Have you tried actually putting her in the box? That's what we do with every new cat that comes to live with us. I would go so far as to take her paw with your hand and "dig" with it. She'll figure it out pretty quickly at that point!
posted by LaBellaStella at 12:10 PM on January 10, 2023 [1 favorite]

I had a cat who did not seem to understand the litter box until I gently picked up the cat, set it in the box, and moved it's front paws up and down to knead at the litter.

I happened to have the box in the sitting area under a desk, after reading other comments on here I'm realizing that this might just happen to have been a great spot where the cat could feel protected but also see out well. The desk had side and back panels but these didn't go all the way down to the floor, and it was sort of used as a room divider and the cat could have exited in any direction.

This might not be useful for you, but for anyone else looking for answers to similar questions -- I know someone with a cat who begrudgingly uses the litter box only when there is very bad weather outside. They got their cat a magnetic cat door which has worked well for letting the cat in and out without other animals coming in.
posted by yohko at 12:17 PM on January 10, 2023

Response by poster: Thanks for all of these great suggestions! One of my main concerns is that I didn't want to inadvertently stoke some sort of avoidance of the box. At present, she just doesn't seem to have interest one way or the other. Some other info/answers to questions:

I have picked her up and put her in the box once. She is not a cat that likes to be picked up at all currently. She jumped out immediately... and I didn't want further any negative connotations.

It's an open top box with higher sides, and a lower front. I can get a shallower one to see if that works better.

I forgot that after her first poop accident, I did put that in the box... but that was the scented litter, so probably dissuaded her.

She's not particularly interested in going outside. She seldom signals in an obvious way that she needs or wants to go out. I generally have to coax her or feed her outside. Then she hangs around the porch for a while (and if I'm outside, she will just sit at my feet)... so I've never specifically seen were she actually pees/poops. I've looked around in the directions she emerges from but haven't smelled or seen any signs.

I think I'll start first with the natural material suggestions (soil, sand, dirt from outside). This seems promising. And I'll move the box to a more private place (there's a door she like to hang out behind. I'd love for her to "get it" on her own, but if she doesn't I may try putting her in the bathroom with the box for some period of time (and steel myself against her pitiful crying).
posted by kimdog at 12:41 PM on January 10, 2023 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Potting soil for the win! I did mix in a little earth from outside on the top, used a shallower box, and moved it to a spot where she had popped on the carpet. No interest for 24 hours. Then we went out for a couple of hours, and I came home to a disturbed box... she peed! I left it alone (there was no obvious odor), and she pooped in it this morning! So we are finally on our way. Thanks everyone for the solid advice!
posted by kimdog at 6:21 PM on January 13, 2023 [4 favorites]