Cat Latrines

Introduction

Feral cats do not share latrine locations, and they use separate latrine sites for urine and faeces. A single cat will have numerous latrines located throughout its peripheral territory, so that it can conveniently access somewhere to eliminate during a hunting trip or whilst territorialising. Latrine sites are located away from hunting, feeding and resting areas.

In a domestic setting, the natural preferences of cats are often compromised:

• A single litter tray for urine and faeces
• No outdoor latrine sites (e.g. paved garden)
• Several cats using shared latrines
• Latrine locations that are too close to other resources, such as food and water, or where there is no privacy for the cat.

The ideal number of latrines in a multi-cat household would be one per cat plus one extra. It may not be possible for cat owners to accommodate this, even if inappropriate elimination indicates that there is a problem with latrine provision.

Even cats that do have outdoor access and suitable latrine sites in their own garden may show seasonal problems of housesoiling problems; outdoor latrines may become waterlogged or the ground frozen during winter, making them unusable.

Outdoor Latrines

House-soiling problems tend to be worse in the winter, probably because the cat’s natural/incidental outdoor toilets start to become difficult to use. Hard, frozen ground is difficult to dig and water logged soil is messy and unpleasant for the cat. Cats are evolved from desert living ancestors so they naturally prefer to dig dry, light and sandy soil. Sand latrines do not get wet or frozen and they give the cat an easily accessible toilet close to the house. This stops the cat from needing to travel away from the garden, and reduces the nuisance to neighbours.

There are often concerns that other cats will come into the territory to use the outdoor latrines. This is a possibility but rarely causes a problem. In fact, the presence of nearby latrines tends to strengthen the boundary of the resident cat’s own territory.

If the cat is provided with an outdoor toilet close to the house, it will reduce its need to have an indoor litter tray and can help to reduce the number of indoor litter trays needed if there are several cats living in the same house. Outdoor toilets are easy to make and maintain and the cat can use them all year round. These outdoor toilets should be hidden in flowerbeds behind shrubs and tall plants to give the cat privacy. These latrines are essentially self-cleaning but it is sensible to regularly use a litter scoop to remove faeces in the same way as with a conventional litter tray. The sandy part of the latrine should be dug out and replaced every six months. One outdoor latrine is unlikely to be enough, and different cats will have different preferences for location. At least two latrines should be provided.

Simple outdoor toilet:

• Find a suitable location for the latrine, preferably at the edge of the garden, obscured by flowerbeds and bushes to give the cat some privacy.
• Dig a hole that is approximately 90 cm deep, and 90cm square.
• Fill the bottom 60cm of the hole with pea-sized gravel, to create drainage.
• Top up the hole with soft, white sand like that used in playgrounds. Don’t use the orange sand used for building (also known as sharp sand).
• Once the cat is using the latrine regularly, you can scatter a little earth over the top to help disguise it.
• Use a litter scoop to remove any faeces every couple of days, as you would with an indoor tray.
• Dig out and replace the sand every few months to refresh the latrine.

Indoor Latrines

Indoor latrines should be made as appealing as possible. They should be positioned in quiet locations and deep filled with a scent free mineral based litter. In some cases, soft sand or a mixture of soft sand and litter is attractive to cats, and the sand content can be reduced gradually once the cat has shifted its location preference to the designated litter tray.

Cats do vary in their preferences, but here is a general indication of what cats would regard as an ideal litter tray:

• Deep sided and large enough for the cat to turn around in.
• Filled to a depth of at least 3 cm with a dry, soft mineral based litter (not wood chips, or litter made from wood pulp or scented). You may try using soft white sand or a 50% mixture of litter + sand as this is more attractive to some cats.
• Position the tray in a quiet place where the cat will not be disturbed.
• Try having litter trays open and covered to see which the cat prefers. To test this, cover one tray with a large cardboard box with a hole in the side.

Inappropriate facilities may be at the root of inappropriate toileting problems and it is important to consider the type of litter used in the tray, the sort of tray that is being offered and also the location of that tray. The cleaning regime may also be relevant since most cats are reluctant to use trays that are dirty and some others will fail to bond successfully to their latrine if it is cleaned too frequently. Other potential causes of a breakdown in house training include challenges to security in nervous individuals, overcrowding within a small-sized territory where there is competition over the resource of the latrines or access to the trays is controlled and manipulated by one individual within the household. There is also the issue of old age and debilitation.

Deterrent Methods for Inappropriate Latrine Locations

Once the cat is regularly using the appropriate latrines, deterrent methods ca be used to stop the cat from using the wrong places.

Here are some suggestions:

• Cover the location with thick polythene: urine will then drain towards the cat’s feet when it is standing on the sheet.
• Cover the location with a large sheet of silver foil: some cats do not like to stand on this.
• Apply strips of double-sided sticky tape to either of the above to make them even more repellent.
• Place small bowls of food on top of the latrine sites, so that they become feeding stations. Cats are usually reluctant to urinate near sources of food.
• Illuminate dark corners with a bright spot lamp so that any privacy is taken away. The same effect can be achieved using a small, battery powered infra-red activated lamp, which will turn on each time the cat approaches.