If only I could speak cat, it would have saved me several years of stress and aggravation.

My cat, (actually Kate my daughter’s,  from a broken relationship during her youth, which I took under my wing and she never took back) has always refused to use a litter tray. 

A charming trait in her youth, and no real bother as we have always had a small cat door and just in case a litter tray in the utility room for the myriad other cats that we have had over the years.

Now there is only Tess, about 16 years old and queen of all she surveys, or so she thinks!  But now that she is getting on in years, she is less and less keen on going outside in the winter to do her duty. 

And over the last couple of years we have tried everything from friendly pheromones, to mink lined cat trays and the final straw came with the snow and ice two weeks ago.  Walking into the spare bedroom a terrible wall of smell assaulted me!    She had been using under the bed as a litter tray.  The little darling!!!

I spent a day scrubbing, shampooing etc.  Which she watched with great interest and apparently no remorse.  She is now shut out of the unused rooms, and across the door of that particular one I spread newspaper and put her litter tray to sort of underline that I knew and didn’t approve.

She has used that box ever since, and stands on the landing and announces at the top of her voice to all and sundry,  that it now needs cleaning out.  A good thing I suppose, but unfortunately she does this at any time that she has performed, be it morning, noon or the middle of the night.

It is better than standing in the middle of the garden encouraging her in the middle of winter, but only marginally! 

 And if only we could communicate, she could have told me that she wanted an upstairs loo, and I could have told her not to shout in the middle of the night.  It would be so simple.

I read somewhere that keeping pets is a  good thing for the aged, helps keep their blood pressure under control etc, I can’t see it myself and am feeling more than a little stressed!