Cat Issue

Updated on February 16, 2011
E.D. asks from Olympia, WA
7 answers

Good Morning Mamas.

Well. I've run into a problem with one of my cats that I have not been able to resolve. Perhaps one of you have an idea that I haven't come across yet.

About four months ago we adopted two kittens from the shelter. They are now approx. 7months and one year old. My younger kitty will not poo in her litter box. I've been able to solve this problem in the past with other cats and thought it would be a simple fix with Maybelle as well. Ugh. Not so.

She poos a foot from her litter box (tile floor) twice daily. She will, in fact, come in from outside to poo on the floor by her litter box. Fantastic. I scoop their litter daily, have tried different litters, they each have their own box and it's not by their food, water or bedding (my bed). Every time she poos, I clean it up promptly and use a gross cleaner to sanitize and get rid of the smell. Still. Not. Working. This time, I've tried to put a smaller amount of litter into her box thinking she might like to go on a "bare" surface. Not working.

I'm at a loss. Any suggestion?
Thanks in Advance.

As a side note, this is particularly frustrating because for the first time in years, no other person/animal needs me to help them clean up their poo. Just my luck. Potty train the kids and immediately after, I bring home a cat who needs to be potty trained. Kitty diapers? I'm gonna invent some ;)

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So What Happened?

Thank you all very much. There are some good ideas that I will try out.

More Answers

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

C.R.

answers from Dallas on

Don't clean up the poop and trash it, place it in the litter box. Clean the tile where the poop was. She may need to realize that her poop needs to go in there as well. We have a new kitten and had the same problem. I would pick up the poop from the floor and put it in the litter box. After a few days of this I heard her go into the litter box a few minutes after I put poop in there and she covered it with the litter. We haven't had the issue again.

2 moms found this helpful

P.M.

answers from Tampa on

Try getting a third litter box, and placing hers side by side, OVER the spot she normally poops in. Some cats will not step foot in a litter box if there is ANYTHING in it other than clean litter... I should know, I have 12 cats in which 3 are 8 month kittens and another 3 are 2 month kittens. Long story with how I got so many... I started off with 6!

You can also take her in to the vet to be tested for parasites (in stool or urine) or bacteria in the urine.

2 moms found this helpful

K.M.

answers from Chicago on

Ok, so get some of those "puppy pads" from the pet store and place the pad where she likes to go ... then once she has gotten the hang of going there, move the pad closer to the litter box slowly then place it IN the littler box for a few days that should fix the issue.

1 mom found this helpful

N.B.

answers from Minneapolis on

We adopted a very very fat cat last summer and she had piddle issues. I now have new flooring as a result (one of those "unfortunately-fortunately" situations I guess). But maybe some of the vet tips we got could help you?

The best being...give them room to go. Ours is a fat kitty (14 pounds of loving sweetness)..but the vet said even small cats have room issues. Most cats do not like hooded boxes. We never had a clue as our older cat, who we had since a kitten, always had hooded and no issues, ever. Plus the size of it. We got rubbermaid-type low sided boxes...big ones about 18 inches by 24 inches. We tried different litters, let them choose one and scoop daily as well, like you said.

Maybe your kitties, like our fatty-girl, needs more room...wide open space, to turn and turn and turn..then to dig and dig and dig some more? it was amazing how it worked for us. CLICK..and it was all better. Then I got new floors (ours was peeing on carpet, but there was older cat intimidation going on as well..all better now)

I have also decided figuring out the kitty-psyche is what it must be like for men trying to understand us women-folk! LOL

Good luck!

1 mom found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

R.L.

answers from Roanoke on

We had this exact problem last year. My cat was pooping right next to her box, as if she was trying to tell me something. We tried different litters, changing it more often, etc. We went to PetSmart and bought a huge litter box, and put it in a different room--that seemed to do the trick. I watched her closely for the next few days, and when she used the new litterbox she seemed to like lots of room to "dig and cover." And I think I actually saw a smile on her face when she was done. Haven't had a problem since.

1 mom found this helpful

M.L.

answers from Houston on

Put a puppy training pad in front of the litter box... or move the litter box to that spot. Try picking her up when she comes from outside and placing her into the box.

Does the box have a lid on it? If so, take it off.

Also, some cats do this when they have uti/bladder infections.

1 mom found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

A.V.

answers from Washington DC on

Have you talked to your vet about Feliway?

1 mom found this helpful
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