River Cottage

have you tried putting her poo into the litter tray? I found this worked with our cat. I only had to do it once and after that she used it with no problems.

The most common problem with not using a litter tray is the food being too nearby. People do like to keep their cats 'tidy' but they wont eat and poo in the same area , and they have to eat ! Secondly its the type of litter, I know many a cat that wont use fullers earth types but love the more granular ones such as Sophisticat. Some cats also find a tray too open and prefer a lidded one, try putting the tray into a upsided cardboard box . Cats are fussy but as Shan said she will be OK outside if she prefers, they are night creatures.

Stop keeping her in at night. She will cope perfectly well.

You can try confining her to a smaller room with the tray till she gets the hang of it. The laundry or bathroom are a good choice as they do not offer much in the way of alternatives. Also try different cat litters. Some cats can be choosy about texture and odour.

It's probably because cat litter doesn't smell like earth....which is her 'outdoor toilet' smell so you could try mixing in a little earth, with your cat litter. That's what we do when we have young cats which get a tad confused .