How can I litter train older cat?

[shotgunannie]

Hi. I took in a stray cat almost two years ago. I'm pretty sure Simone has always been an outside cat, although she likes to come in. She is getting to where she wants to come in and stay inside more often, and I'd love for her too, but she won't use the litter box. I've tried showing her the litter box and putting her down in it, but she just won't use it. What can I do?

[14+kitties]

Thanks for helping this little one.
You need to put kitty in one room with a litter box. A room with no carpet is best. Do not allow her the run of the entire house until she has figured out that the litter box is where she is supposed to do her business.
Start feeding her on a regular schedule. Then you can sort of judge when she will have to use the box. Once she has praise her, give her lots of pets, even a treat. It should not take long before she realizes the box is what she use. As disgusting as it may sound, you can also find one of her BM's from outside and place it in the box. It may help her to realize that is what you want her to do.
If she seems to be resistant to using the box try filling it with whatever she is using outside. Garden dirt, gravel, etc. Something familiar may be the trick. Once she is fully trained you can start doing a gradual switch to plain litter.
Hopefully she won't take long to train and can start enjoying a wonderful indoor life soon. Good luck.

[momcat]

You can also try putting the same substrate she is using outside in a litter box and see if she would be willing to eliminate on that. If she is, you can slowly and carefully (starting with a very small amount) try switching over to regular cat litter. Choose one that has a very fine texture and is unscented. Do not use a scented product.

Also, do not use a covered litter box. The box you give her should be large and comfortable, and have very low sides.

[cpietra16]

I now have a feral cat under my bed. She learned in 3 days how to use the litter box. Every time she pooped outside the litter box I picked up her poop and put it in the litter box myself..without covering. At first she just covered it and on the third day she uses the litter box....good luck. I hope it works for you