The tray becomes a vet topic at the first accident from a cat who was reliable for years, because that change is rarely about the tray alone. Swap to a tray with one low entry side, or cut a wide, smoothed entrance into her existing tray, so stepping in no longer means lifting stiff hips over a high wall. Keep the same litter, depth and location at first so the tray is the only new thing, and consider a second tray on the other floor. New accidents in a cat who was reliable for years deserve a vet conversation, because pain and illness are common causes. Your vet can check for stiffness, pain, dental trouble or other age-related causes before you reorganise her routine around a problem that may be treatable.
The Basics First
A high-sided tray asks a surprising amount of an aging cat: stiff hips lifted over a wall, balance held on one side, several times a day. A low-sided tray, or one with a wide, smoothed entrance cut into her existing tray, removes that effort while keeping everything else about her toilet — the litter, the depth, the location — comfortingly the same. For many seniors, that single change is the difference between a tray used reliably and a tray quietly dreaded.
The accidents that prompt the swap are the part your vet most needs to hear. A cat who was reliable for years and has begun missing, waiting too long, or going beside the tray may be avoiding a painful climb, but pain and illness are both common causes of new accidents, and either deserves a check before the tray gets the whole blame. Raise the change at her next routine visit, sooner if accidents have appeared suddenly or she is straining, and say when the misses began and where they happen.
A Workable Routine
Details that help your vet separate a tray problem from a cat problem:
- Note when the first accident happened and how often misses occur now
- Write down where accidents happen — beside the tray, on the way, or elsewhere entirely
- Record whether she still climbs into the high-sided tray sometimes, and how she manages it
- Note any straining, crying, or change in what she produces in the tray
- Bring the timeline to her next senior check rather than a summary from memory
Change only the entry at first: same litter, same depth, same location, so the lower side is the one new thing she has to accept. A second tray on the other floor is a sensible addition for a cat whose trips are becoming urgent, and both trays should be scooped as reliably as the original was, since a senior put off by a dirty tray will not tell you which of her reasons kept her out of it.
Making It Part of Everyday Life
In the weeks after the swap, her reliability is the verdict. A cat back to using the tray every time has told you the climb was the problem; accidents that continue despite the easy entry are the signal to stop adjusting equipment and book the vet conversation in earnest. Either way, a dated record of accidents, the swap, and the result turns a frustrating patch into clear information at that appointment. Her litter notes belong in the KinsLe Pet Passport too, so the dates and vet history behind them stay together when she travels, boards, or changes hands.