How can I remedy this please?!

Thanks Nonogran I’ll take a look.
I did think about forcing her outside but she’s never been the sort of cat you can just pick up. It takes two of us to grab her, and hold her down just to deflea/worm her!
She doesn’t really play either. Her little play mouse and balls rarely move and if I try and get her to play with the a toy at the end of a long stick, she looks at me, and walks away!
She is a bit of a princess
She won’t eat her food unless it’s chicken flavour and been mashed up to a pulp.
DP finds her most amusing after two laid back, eat anything boys!
We are definitely going to try leaving the door open when we are in to see if that encourages her outside.

Years ago cats didn’t have litter trays or cat flaps. They were just put outside to get on with life & sat on the windowsill when they wanted to come in. Harsh but true.
I appreciate yr cat has been poorly & I know cats hate cold weather but maybe she needs more time outside forced on her?
Alternatively, could she be stressed or not have enough outlets for her energy if she’s inside all the time? Do you play with her until she pants?
There’s an excellent cat psychology tv program “My cat from hell” (Ch39 Quest Red) in the earlier mornings. It’s on tomorrow at 0800. You might find it helpful? Jackson Galaxy the presenter deals with all sorts of cat issues like this.

shysal
None of the cats had litter trays before I moved in. The only reason we introduced one was because we kept my cat in when I moved in to get her used to her surroundings and before we introduced her to DP’s cats.

So we went from no tray, to all three of them using it!!
I might try Feliway diffuser - thanks for the suggestion

Thanks for your replies.
Hithere This isn’t a new problem as such. She was unwell but after lots of tests etc, she is now stable. It’s been difficult to get her to go out again since being unwell.
However, I think I might seek advice from the vets.

I know it’s her soiling, as DP’s two cats are around 17 now (brothers, both neutered years ago) and spend most of their time asleep. They were asleep on the bed with me and had been for hours, when the latest ‘bath poo’ was discovered by DP.
grandtanteJE65 - one of DP’s cats has started showing signs of dementia
Apart from the downstairs rooms, the upstairs living area is open plan.
Short of locking her back up in the bedroom, there’s nowhere for her to have a ‘private’ litter tray.
We really want to encourage her outside as we would prefer to get rid of the tray. She never had a litter tray when I lived alone with her.
septimia - we do suspect something spooked her. She was just getting used to going out (before she became unwell) but she’s so reluctant to go out now. There are around 7 cats living in this building (it’s a converted very old building with 6 dwellings)
I don’t think DP’s cats are guarding the cat flap. They sleep so much and are really not too bothered about her.
She would love the vast amount of space there is to explore, if only she would go out. She spent so much time outdoors before we moved here.

She seems really settled in the house now, but we just cannot overcome this soiling business

I think I’ll take her back to the vets again soon but in the meantime we have decided to brave the cold when we are in, and keep the front door open. At least we ‘live’ on the first floor so it shouldn’t be too bad!

I am sorry you are having problems, cats are such complex creatures!

I have read that in a multi-cat household you need one litter tray per cat plus one.

I have had trouble with inappropriate weeing from one of my cats and found using a Feliway diffuser for calming may have helped, as well as a deterrant spray.

Good luck!

Have you taken your cat to the vet?

Changes in her behaviour may indicate health issues

It may be that your cat is scared to go through the cat flap because the others have been "guarding" it. A friend told me years ago that free range chickens don't always range freely because bossy hens don't let them out of the doors, so it might be something like that.

Can't think of anything helpful other than what you're doing at the moment, but maybe as the weather gets warmer you could leave the door open sometimes so that she can get out more easily.

Some cats refuse to share their litter tray with others, while others don't give a hoot.

Unfortunately, your cat doesn't want to share her tray, while the others in the household think "Any potty will do."

The only way to solve this is to give your cat her own tray somewhere the others can't or won't go.

I frankly don't know how you persuade them not to use her tray,

Are you certain which cat it is that is using the floors, bath etc? I am asking because a cat who suddenly starts using odd places instead of the tray may be trying to tell you that something is wrong and not just that she is cross about others using her tray.

To be on the safe side, you might want to collect a urine sample and a sample of her faeces and have the vet analyze them if you can be positive they are her samples.

If you are not certain which cat is actually responsible for the soiling that is going on, then I am afraid you will need to keep them all apart from each other for a couple of days to get the necessary samples.

How old are the other cats? Could there be a health problem with one of them? Are they all neutered and if so are the two other cats male and neutered after puberty? If so, they may be reacting to the presence of a female in the house. Or if one is female she may be offended at the introduction of another female whom she sees as competing either for the tom's attention or her human's. Female cats can be very possessive about their masters! We had one who was s´daddy's girl, while her brother chaparoned me when we had workmen in the house!

I hope when the weather gets warmer, they will all start going out and using the garden instead of the tray - but start with separate trays and go on from there.