Advice Please - Re Neighbourhood Cat "visiting"! Grrr!

[Tornado Tammy]

I need some advice please. I have a standard lockable cat door in the laundry, where my young cat Tammy sleeps! I leave the cat door unlocked at night, so she can get outside! Up until I had the cat door installed, she was using a litter tray in the laundry, and she always used it! Since then she's always gone outside, and not used the tray at all. Never a mishap, but I've left the litter tray in there for her just in case. The door from the laundry into the kitchen is also closed at night!

Recently there has been another cat coming in through the existing car door, which is not microchip friendly! I will get one soon (when I win the lottery as they're very expensive), I've been trying to encourage my Tammy use the tray in the meantime, so I can lock the cat door, particularly at night, but no, she's not having a bar of that at the moment! Maybe she's forgotten how, now that she's a big girl! When the other cat comes in, I hear a ruckus going on in the laundry, bumping and yowling, occasionally sometimes during the day, but usually late at night, or when I am in bed asleep myself, it wakes me up. It's a nuisance that I have to get up and try to get the other cat back outside without upsetting it too much. I kid it along a bit, and try to calm it down, before taking it back outside. Then I'm back inside to calm Tammy back down, and move her from the high shelf she's chosen for her refuge. Then I check her out to make sure she's OK!
She's had a few little wounds, and scratches, but they don't seem to have bothered her much.
Now, my question is - has anyone got any suggestions as to how best I can encourage Tammy to use her litter tray again! If she's using that at night in the meantime, at least until I get the new door, that means I can lock the existing cat door until I get the microchip one!

I'd be very grateful for any thoughts and suggestions! No mad hurry, as it's now 2.27am here in NZ, and as I have the cat settled back down, it's back to bed for me!

Thank You
Jeanne

 

[Kieka]

Has she had an accidents in the laundry room? My cats are locked in at night but we've only had one accident in three years. Even when we have a litter box set up it very rarely gets used. I would lock the cat door and leave a litter box in the room. She should use it if she needs to assuming it is set up and in a good spot. Try Cat Attract litter if you can find it to try to encourage her. But in my opinion, cleaning up some accidents is a better option then cat fights and stress. If she has accidents remember to use a cat enzyme cleaner to help reduce the chance of further accidents.

I have a microchip PetDoor and it does work well. Mine has a curfew feature that allows me to schedule the time it unlocks in the morning.

Keep an eye on the scratches. It is very easy for cats to get infections from cuts. Clean them and apply a thin layer (very thin) of Neosporian. If they start to swell or get red you do need to see a vet.

 

[Brian007]

I also recommend you try some type of cat litter attractant. And try a different litter tray as she might have been 'bounced' whilst using this one and so associates it with scary things.

Where in the room is her litter tray in relation to the cat door? Locate it as far away as possible from the door whilst it still being in an open access area. Tammy may be scared to use it for fear of ambush, whether realistic or imagined (she doesn't know that the door is locked and that it's safe to go).

Do you know who owns the visiting cat? If not, then maybe try putting a collar on it with a note attached with your number, asking its owners to please contact you. You'll be wanting to know if it's neutered, what sex it is, and whether the owners could please keep it in for a short while whilst Tammy gets used to the new litter tray, location, and cat litter attractant. Also, you should tell its owners that it's been fighting with poor wee Tammy. It might be that it is a stray and could be trapped, neutered, and rehoused.

 

[Brian007]

And it might be an idea to put a cat tree in there and/or extra cat shelves.