Expert: Ali - 12/12/2011

Question
QUESTION: Hi Ali,
Really hope you can advise. I have 3 cats, one has always gone outside and is not causing any problems ( a rescue moggie). The other two cats (pixie bob and a BSH) were indoors for a couple of years, as I got them as kittens and was worried about them going near the road (I had moved house and the older cat had road sense already when I moved.) All 3 have access to a litter tray.
I spent a lot of money and time cat proofing the garden so that all 4 cats could go outside safely and they cannopt leave the garden .The cats' beds, food and water is in a utility room which has access to the garden through a cat flap. They also access the house in the evenings through an internal cat flap.
The older cat comes indoors to go to the toilet in thr litter tray, and at first so did the younger two. However, now the younger 2 have started defecating on the lawn. The pixie started it and the BSH copied her. I bought an outdoor litter tray, which I put inside originally to try to get them to use it when they are shut indoors at night but they won't use it.
Have had the cats checked at the vet and they have no health issues.
Not sure how to stop them using the lawn, it's a large area to spread coffee/cirtus on. I need to solve this though, I have a 2 year old child who uses the garden and I don't want her coming into contact with faeces. I pick it up several times a week at present in 'dog bags', but because the lawn is large I often miss one or two.
Can you please give me any advice of what to try?
Carolyn

ANSWER: Carolyn,

This has the potential to be a difficult situation and I'm not sure which of the following options you will like, if any. These options are varied in terms of cost and difficulty. The way that I see it you have some basic options as follows:

- You could try building a kitty run out of chicken wire and wood that still allows the cats access to parts of the yard while keeping the remainder of the yard clean for your child.

- Another option would be to gradually decrease the amount that your cats are allowed outdoors each day until they're strictly indoor cats.

- You could also consider training the cats to go outside on a harness and leash - that way they aren't outdoors unsupervised meaning that you will know immediately if they have defecated which makes it easier to know where all of the feces in the yard is located.

- You could also try replacing the grass in your yard with some other substance that would be less appealing to your cats as far as their toileting goes, but I realize that this could potentially create safety issues for your toddler while she's playing if you were to choose a substrate such as gravel. You could try wood chips, specifically cedar as they have a strong odor which may cause your cats to want to avoid the area entirely.

I hope you found these suggestions helpful. If you have any further questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact me again at any time - I'm more than happy to help in any way that I can.

Kind regards,

Ali

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Ali,
Thank you for your reply. Is there no other approach that would work to change the behaviour rather than excluding the cats from the garden? The garden is too large to replace the grass.

Answer
Carolyn,

Unfortunately I'm not aware of any training techniques that would specifically stop the cats from using the yard as a litter box - if they were soiling outside of their litterbox inside of your home there would actually be more options simply because training aids wouldn't be subjected to the elements. Your best option that would still allow the cats access to a specified area of your yard would be to either buy or build a kitty run that contains them to a specific area meaning that your daughter won't have access to any poop that they choose to deposit outdoors.

Unfortunately I don't think that I was completely clear when I suggested replacing the grass - I meant specifically around the areas where your daughter plays, not the entire yard so I do apologize for the misunderstanding.

Hopefully this information was helpful. If you have any further cat related questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me again at any time - I'm more than happy to help in any way that I can.

Kind regards,

Ali