So exasperated with our cat right now !

Heavens! I didn't realise how 'perfect' my ageing cat is.

She began life living outdoors all the time with the chickens as her close companions. When the terriers finally allowed her indoors I thought she'd need a litter tray but not a bit of it. Even when she 'goes' in the garden she makes sure it's out of sight and never in the veg patch.

She still goes out every night even in the coldest weather and spends most days lolling on our bed but even when she has accidentally been shut in there she has never made a mess.

Her one and only accident was when DH was rushed into hospital last January and both dogs picked up on the anxiety by refusing to get out of his chair so she weed in the log basket. That shifted 'em.

mY cat goes out early am and returns home around 12 hours later but I am convinced that it is her belly and bladder that bring her home. She has stopped using the great outdoors, preferring her litter tray.

Provided your litter tray is clean because some cats will mess in the house if they think that they need fresh litter-I do think that he needs a trip to the vet.

We have 2 cats who prefer going to the loo outside than using a tray. When I brought them home [I think they would have been around 8 years old - they're brothers] and gave them a tray they stared at me as if I was mad. We had a cat flap installed and they've been no trouble since - though I'd like to know where they do 'go' [we have a field at the back] but they're not out for long. However getting them into their cages to take them to the vet is horrendous. They arrive in a mess which the vet nurses kindly clean up and then they mess again on the way home. Feliway and other products do not seem to work and they are so distressed I've given up taking them as they spend 99% of their time indoors. I would of course take them if anything was wrong but luckily so far they're fine and are now well into their teens. Both had been in bad accidents before I had them so that is probably something to do with it. Perhaps they need some counselling!!!

Nanna/Primrose my chap is like that also there are so many good quality cat litter brands that are all worth while investing in as they gel the mess and make it easy to dispose of leaving no bad smell,I change Olivers every other morning without fail.
Since Olly has been allowed out in the back garden he rarely uses indoors and has been known to use next doors tray when he goes visiting the next garden,I think maybe your cat Washerwoman should have a health check just to make sure he is in good health.

My D has 3 cats and they do use their trays but then go out "to play"
I have told her to get rid of the trays asap.

Annsixty the trouble then is that they go and do it in neighbouring gardens (never their own).
Stick to the litter trays, ansixty's DD!!

My cat is like that too Nanna58. She would sit and call me to clean out the tray before she used it, which drove me mad.
I bought a Cat Genie about 5 years ago and it's been fabulous.

Usually cats are so clean they will not use a dirty tray. With my cats , on the occasions they needed a tray, I found it was worth spending more on litter so it was always pristine , otherwise they would express their displeasure by not using it!

Surely any difference in an elderly cat calls for a check if he’s always been clean for the rest of his life

If he s been an outdoor cat all summer living and sleeping outdoors then surely now bringing him indoors is where the confusion lies and he’s just carrying on ‘as normal’ as he would outdoors
You say this was a problem last year do you mean the crying and wailing you speak off in the previous sentence or do you mean he was pooping around the house last year ...if so then it’s the change over that confuses him and he really can’t be blamed
I don’t really understand why you have a cat if it lives outside half the year or maybe its to catch mice ? Don’t people usually have cats as companions but maybe I ve understood your post wrongly

I've had this problem with one of my cats. She sleeps in the bedroom with me and although there is a tray in the en-suite she would poop under the bed or in the corner of the room. I seem to have solved it by putting an extra tray in the bedroom on a puppy pad and blocking under the bed with storage boxes. She now uses that for p's and the bathroom one for poos. We do have another two downstairs as well as one in another bedroom for my other cat who spends the day upstairs. At 14 even though he looks ok he may be unwell so a visit to the vet might be called for.

My last cat was adorable but SO dirty. We had a green cooker at the time and she would wee on top of the cooker. Shut in any room for a short period of time and she would poo there. It really was horrible. After she died I never had another cat. I'd never had the problem before and I found it very difficult to cope with.

My kittens have always been given a few weeks of in indoor litter tray, which gets sneakily nearer the door each day or two. Then no more litter trays indoors. I have found female cats worse for being wholly reliable.

My D has 3 cats and they do use their trays but then go out "to play"
I have told her to get rid of the trays asap.
She now has a Dog, he is about 10 months old and he has occasionally gone over and used the cats tray for a wee!!

It gets worse Jalima!

My cats always had a clean litter tray too but one of them had a real mean streak when she was vexed with me. She would often come and wee, right by the side of me and often on my feet, whilst I was talking on the phone. She never did it any other time; only when I was on the phone. And she would stare straight at me whilst she was doing it too!

Usually, it's a sign of being unwell but it sounds like he's stressed by the change of routine. His behaviour is stressing you & it ends up in a bit of a vicious circle. Have you tried Feliway? For some stressed moggies it can be a quick and easy cure.

It wasn't funny - it wasn't even my cat!
And we did stay good friends for the remaining 4 years of his life

Jalima sorry for laughing!

It really does stink, doesn't it.
One cat pooed in my slipper years ago - without me realising - and I put the slipper on! Ugh.

In short then; the cat's in the doghouse?
I had a cat who never quite got the hang of toilet training, and she would really pick her places. It really got me down.