Chartreux avoiding litter box? Fix it fast

A Chartreux suddenly urinating outside the box after months on recycled newspaper litter is a pretty clear signal — and the litter itself is almost certainly the issue. Cats are more likely to use the box consistently when the texture and scent match what they actually prefer, and most cats, especially older ones, find newspaper pellets uncomfortable underfoot compared to fine-grained clumping litter. Despite what a lot of packaging implies, unscented and soft-textured wins every time. Before I point you in the right direction: is it just the one cat, have you ruled out a vet issue like a UTI, and are there any practical requirements I should know about — dust levels, tracking, that sort of thing?

Good — a vet sign-off makes this straightforward. So you have a healthy 8-year-old who's telling you pretty clearly he doesn't like the newspaper litter anymore. At his age, paw sensitivity matters more, and the coarse pellet texture of recycled newspaper can genuinely put cats off. What specific litter did you switch to when the newspaper litter started and had it changed recently at all, or was it exactly the same product throughout?

That pattern — working fine then a sudden refusal — is really common with older cats. Their preferences can shift, and once they've decided a texture is wrong, they stick with that decision. The bathmat next to the box is actually useful information: he's not avoiding the box location, just the litter itself. He wants to go in the right place, he just won't step on that surface anymore. For your situation — low-dust essential, fine texture to win him back, unscented — I'd go with Dr. Elsey's Ultra Clumping Cat Litter. It's a very fine-grained, unscented, hard-clumping clay litter that's specifically formulated to be low-dust, and it consistently performs well for cats switching away from paper or pellet litters. It's available on Amazon UK. The fine texture mimics natural soil, which is what most cats instinctively prefer, and at 8 years old your Chartreux is far more likely to accept it quickly than something coarser.

Given that he's already avoiding the current litter, I'd actually go clean break rather than gradual mix here. Thoroughly clean the box to remove any lingering newspaper smell, then fill it with the Dr. Elsey's Ultra fresh. If you have a second box, set that one up with the new litter alongside the old one for the first week — let him self-select. Most cats in his situation will switch immediately once they feel the finer texture. If he's still hesitant after a few days, try sprinkling a small amount of his used litter on top of the new litter to signal it's his territory. You should see a clear improvement within a week.