Do not move the beloved tray on guest day
If your cat reliably uses a tray in the spare bathroom, that bathroom is part of her toilet territory, and moving the box the morning guests arrive teaches her that her toilet can vanish without warning. Leave the bathroom tray exactly where it is, with the same litter and the same depth, and solve the guest problem around it instead. The real risks are access and calm: a closed door during a long shower, a guest who shuts the door at night, extra noise and scented products, and a hallway full of suitcases that changes the route she knows. Each of those has a practical fix that does not involve relocating a settled cat.
Add the backup tray before anyone arrives
Set up a second tray a few days before the visit in a quiet spot your cat already passes, such as a bedroom corner or a laundry area away from guest traffic, and let her discover it while the house is still calm. A cat who has already used the backup once will treat it as a real option when the bathroom is occupied, whereas a tray that appears on the busiest day reads as strange furniture. Keep the total count at one tray per cat plus one extra across the house, scoop the backup even when it looks untouched so it never smells stale, and leave it in place for a day or two after guests leave before deciding whether to remove it.
Brief guests with one simple rule
Most guests are happy to help if the ask is small and clear, so keep it to this: please leave the bathroom door ajar when you are not inside, and never shut the cat in or out on purpose. Show them where the tray is so nobody is startled, keep the scoop and a small lidded bin handy so a helpful guest does not have to improvise, and move strong air fresheners and scented sprays out for the visit because a heavily perfumed bathroom is a common reason cats reject a familiar tray. If a guest is allergic or genuinely uncomfortable, lean harder on the backup tray for that stay and keep the bathroom door routine consistent rather than swapping the cat's setup daily.
Manage the busy-house effects
Guest weeks are louder, doors open and close at new times, and cleaning routines slip, so scoop both trays a little more often and check water and tray access last thing at night when doors are most likely to be shut. Watch for a cat who waits outside the bathroom, pees near the door, or starts using the backup tray exclusively, because each pattern tells you which part of the plan needs strengthening. A sudden change in toileting, straining, or crying in either tray is not a guest problem to wait out, so contact your veterinarian promptly if you see those signs even while visitors are in the house.
Recording the temporary plan for the household
Guest stays scramble who does what, so write the temporary arrangement down: where the backup tray is, who scoops which tray, and when the backup comes up after the visit. Adding those short-term duties to KinsLe Care Teams keeps the bathroom tray and the backup tray tended on schedule even when the house is full and everyone assumes someone else has done it.