How can train my cat to ask outside to use the bathroom vs. litter box?

My cat will spend hours outside. Once he comes inside he goes directly to the litterbox. How can I train him to prefer to go outside vs. inside?

Also, other cats I have previously had were strays and learned to go outside first, but this cat was an indoor cat when he was litter trained. Do you think this makes a difference?

here’s a few ideas.
if you have a certain spot outside where you want the cat to go to the bathroom outside, then try dumping a pan of it’s own used litter in that area, that way your cat’s scent is already there. whether you decide to use the used litter or not, try to create an area where the ground is similar to it’s cat litter. or if needed, switch to a litter that is more like sand/dirt. if needed, spread fresh litter in a certain area outside and mix it a little with the natural dirt/sand that is outside. your cat will recognize the smell of the cat litter and it could help attract your cat to go there.

my brother and sister pair of cats that i currently have were born and raised inside. they have never been outside. the mother had been killed by a dog when they were about 2-3 weeks old and so they were hand raised. we had trouble litter training our female. she kept going to the bathroom in the house where ever she wanted, but not the box. i finally had to move the box to the location she most frequented and once she started using it there, we slowly moved the box back to the location where we wanted it to be and we have had no trouble since. with this idea in mind, try moving your cat’s litter box closer and closer to the door and if possible, eventually move it outside to see if that makes a difference.

overall, its really just a matter of your cat being accustomed to going inside. you have to retrain your cat. hope one of these ideas help.

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