How to get your cat to use your new self-cleaning litter tray!
As I have already spoken about in other blogs, Automatic litter trays offer huge benefits to cats and their owners. To recap, cats are instinctively clean animals and like to always have a clean litter tray. If their tray isn't clean, they may choose to go elsewhere. If you have multiple cats and manual trays, the general rule of thumb to prevent competition for resources is one tray per cat, with one surplus. I am sure you can imagine this takes up a significant amount of space ( especially if you have 5 cats like me)!
My interest in self- cleaning litter trays began several years ago, when I was tired of scooping 6 litter trays every day. I would rush around in the morning before work, scooping trays, disposing of the soiled litter ( normally in a plastic bag in a small bin I had in the utility). Then, I would do the same again in the evening. I began raw feeding my cats back in 2020, in a desperate attempt to reduced their faecal output. Although a higher quality diet such as raw is associated with better smelling and reduced faeces, it still didn't negate the tedious task of having to clean multiple trays.. not to mention the unsightly eyesore of multiple hooded units around the home.
The first self cleaning tray I bought was the Pet Kit Pura Max back in 2020. I must admit, when I saw a price tag of around £500, it took me months to eventually make the plunge and invest in my first self-cleaning tray. I would often question ' What if it just doesn't work and I've lost so much money?' or 'What if my pesty fussy bengals won't use it?' .. but after months of research with a tight chest I pressed 'check out' and ordered my first one. Since this point, I became a huge advocate for self cleaning litter trays having tested many of the brands on the market such as the Litter robot 3 and 4, Petit, Neakasa, Airrobo, and ELS to name a few.
The day my petkit Puramax arrived, I set it up with anticipation using the cats best litter I had previously purchased for years from Zooplus. I was the owner of 3 bengals ( for those who are familiar with the breed, they can certainly be a little more challenging than the average moggy), a ragdoll and a moggy. I kept my manual tray nearby. My cats were curious to begin with, and within hours Minnie one of my female bengals hopped in the tray and had a wee. I was thrilled, but this was only one cat out of 5. Later that day, my big ragdoll used the automatic tray for a number 2. After day 1, I was relieved I had 2/5 cats already using it.
After a few days of just leaving the self-cleaning tray where it was, my moggy began using it. At this point, I still had manual trays out but had reduced the number to 3. Flash forwards a few weeks, I had 3/5 cats using the new tray consistently but two bengals that wouldn't go near it of their own accord, so I felt I needed to to try something new.
Maisie one of my bengals is quite nervous and skittish and not true of the breed. I felt the self cleaning aspect of the tray was actually spooking her. I decided to turn off the self clean mode , and have it operate as a manual tray, with me pushing the button to self-clean. This certainly helped as she would get closer to the tray, but it still didn't encourage her to actually use it. As I previously mentioned, I still had my manual trays out and about and Maisie would continually seek preference for them. I tried offering Maisie treats around the Petkit tray and having her in the room when the others were using it to hopefully get her to see it as a 'positive' non scary, item but this didn't work either.
I began letting the manual trays get soiled, in the hope she would seek preference over the clean automatic tray rather than the dirty manual one.. this got her closer to the automatic tray, but she would still then divert and use the dirty one!
In the end, I decided to take the plunge and removed the manual trays. To my suprise, Maisie began using the PetKit machine with no issues at all, it was like she had always been using it.
Since this moment, I've never looked back. I've purchased more trays, of different brands and have had no issues with any of my cats.
I have attached a brief summary below of a few tips and tricks to try after a very long winded story!
- Turn off Self-cleaning function- if your cat isn't using the self-cleaning tray, it may be that they are spooked. Turn off the self-cleaning automatic function, and manually press to clean.
- Add Some soiled litter- Add some cat litter from your cats manual litter tray that will have their scent on to try to encourage them to use the new self-cleaning tray.
- Positive reinforcement- Play with your cat around the new self-cleaning tray and offer treats, this will assist with creating that positive association for your cat, and reducing fear.
- Allow other litters to become soiled- Where possible allow your other manual trays to become dirtier. Cats instinctively don't like dirty trays, so this should encourage your cats to use the clean automatic litter box.
- Check position and move if required- cats generally like quiet areas to go to the toilet. If they have a favourite manual tray, put the new automatic litter box in this same place where they like to use their manual tray.
- Remove manual trays altogether- Sometimes removing the manual trays is what will eventually push your cats to just use the new self-cleaning tray. Do be wary of doing this too soon, and watch your cat- as it may force them to find a new place altogether!
If you would like any further assistance, please feel free to contact us on support@smart-pet.co.uk
