does my cat need a litter tray?

does my cat need a litter tray?

We think of the litter tray as somewhere for our cat to go to the toilet.

Our cats see it as something different.

Ginger's ancestor found a patch of sandy soil. He dug. He toileted. He covered. He left.

The litter tray is our attempt to recreate that moment inside a modern home.

The list of things we need to provide for our cats is short:

• a substrate that mimics the soil — that feels, smells, and acts like what they know
• a tray in a position that is protected, quiet and safe
• a tray that stays clean, and poo free as much as possible

A cat already knows how to go to the toilet — we are providing somewhere for that behaviour to happen.

When it works, the tray should disappear.

And having a litter tray provides information about how our cats are tracking.

Hesitation, a change in digging, scratching around the tray, or not using it at all tell us something has changed.

The litter tray is where an ancient instinct meets a modern environment, every single day.

And it provides us with insight into our cats.

Stuart Ralph BVSc
Veterinarian and founder of WellCat