8 year old ginger tabby with litter box problems, please help

[Tae-]

My cat has frequent issues with using the litter box and I have no idea why. She's in perfect health, the only cat in the house, has two litter boxes with Kitten Attract litter that are cleaned regularly and she does use them, but just as often she'll make a mess outside the box, sometimes shortly after using it. This has been a problem for a few years now and I'm frustrated to the point of tears, please advise.

[Lilith]

Hi Tae and welcome

I too have a ginger girl of almost 6, and I too have had problems like this with her, the little horror.

They cleared up by accident when I switched from a 'fragranced' litter (Sainsbury's ultra clumping) to an ordinary fuller's earth unscented one. In between I also tried a paper-based litter but she still made mistakes and I don't think my other two were very enthused about it. It had a rather dismal grey wet smell to it. As with the ultra clumping, she wouldn't use it even if there was so much as one wee clump in it.

I've just switched from the fuller's earth (Sainsbury's clumping) to World's Best because I wanted a flushable litter (though WB is expensive) and she's using that ok too. So I'm assuming that it was the 'fragrance' in the ultra-clumping, that, once wet, put my girl off.

So this is what has seemed to work for us.

I see that Kitten Attract has a herbal additive - is it possible that your girl dislikes this?

Hopefully other people will be along with more advice, but hope this helps for now - good luck and please let us know how you go on.

[Antonio]

Just as Lilith said, the scent added to the basic litter might put her off.
You must consider that what smells good to us can be a terrible stink to them and the other way round.
I'm feeling ashamed to ask you this but, are the boxes regularly cleaned and washed? Could it be that the litter is not what she likes? Have you tried different brands and kinds?
Are the boxes in an easily accessible and quiet spot? Are they covered or simple trays? In the case they have a cover, do they have a flap door? Could it be that the door is deterrent?
Some elder cats have problems stepping into trays with high sides. Eight years is not that old, but some slight issues with her joints might explain some behaviours?

[Guinevere]

I use the wood pellet cat litter. It just fluffs up after using it and is unscented and there is minimal smell after the cat has been. Perhaps give it a go. You only need a small amount in the bottom of the cat tray as it fluffs up to about 4 times the size. You can buy it in most supermarkets.