Cat Started Pooping on Carpet

You may have to re litter train her. I have had to do this, I locked my cat in the bathroom with her litterbox until she used it again. And I told her so.

Try putting a remnant piece of carpet.... next to her littler box.... and in a certain room... and maybe put a pee-pad on that carpet remnant... by her litter box.... and LEAVE her in that room. See if she adjusts to that....
as you said, you have her/her stuff in the basement. So do it there.

Or. put the remnant piece of carpet, UNDER her littler box....

all the best,
Susan

Eww, My cat does the same thing only on the bathroom throw rugs. She's also 6. I started watching her it seems to happen about 2 days after each flea treartment and lasts for about 5 days. So now she is confined to the laundry room for 5 days after treatments and knock on wood that has helped. Also when ever we take her to the groomers she will act like this, it's almost seems as if it is her way of showing us she's mad. So again same thing after groomers and no problems. She does require alot more attention when released from the laundry room but she's worth it and so is having clean rugs.

Your Veterinarian didn't give you a complete answer. The answer is that we don't know if your cat will stop but there are options to try. There is Prozac and other behaviour medications for cats that may help but usually needs to be given in conjunction with behaviour modification techniques. There are some great and also not so great animal behaviourists that are out there but it will cost $ to have your cat examined, made sure healthy enough for the meds (some can cause liver or kidney problems in animals with predisposition to that so tests will need to be run) and then will possibly need multiple sessions. There is also a pheromone that is on the market, you can order on-line which is cheaper than at a pet store-Feliway is the one that I've used and recommended the most. Another option that you might not like but might work is to put a litter pan near the area where your cat is pooping and then as your cat gets used to using the pan instead of the floor, slowly, very slowly, inch by inch, move the litter pan out of the room and into an area where you are ok with leaving it. Some cats can't seem to stop once they start or will stop for awhile and then something will upset and they will start again but since she's a member of your family and you love her, I hope you will give her a chance.

We too did the anti-depressant for our cat, She was an adoption the peed and pooped on our brand new sofas. We used tin foil and water guns to no avail. We did use the phermones in her DESIGNATED area, meds and moved her poop from the sofa to the litter box>>UGH<<. We also used cat litter AND litter crystals. It did take about 3 weeks but eventually worked. Hope you will find some relief soon! P.S we did put her on laxatone as well as her poops did have alot of hair in them and the vet thought this could also be a factor

we had the same problem a month ago. I think it was because I switched to a cheaper litter. Even after I switched back she continued to poop on the carpet. I can recommend Urine Gone. It helped with the smell.

My cat (18yrs old) went thru a similar stage not too long ago. With us, we could hear him getting ready to poop, so we would catch him in the middle and carry him to his litterbox. Yes, it was a pain in the butt, but after a few weeks of doing this, he finally stopped. I don't really have any suggestions for you, but maybe, like my cat, this will just be a stage with yours as well.
Good luck!

I quickly read down through all of the responses you rec'd, and there's more than enough advice there for you, but I want to second the notion about the second litter box. The rule goes something like if you have 1 cat, 2 litter boxes. I have 2 cats so I have 3 litter boxes....etc. And the other thing I wanted to mention, is to go back over the thought that there might be some added stress.... It could be a new toy you brought home, a new piece of furniture, you moved an existing piece of furniture to a different place. I had similar trouble with one of my cats and it took forever to figure out what the specific issue he was having. Hope this helps, GOOD LUCK!!

Everyone is going to disagree with this, but give it a try:

In my experience, you CAN discipline a cat. I'm not a huge disciplinarian by nature, so that's not the point. But my male cat was spraying, and I paid a fortune for all the tests, etc. But he kept on spraying, and he seemed to be doing it when he was inconvenienced (e.g. people taking his spot on the sofa, not letting him on their lap, etc.) So the next time he did it I put his nose in it, yelled "no!", spanked him and kicked him out for the night. A few weeks later he did it again and I repeated the process. He's never sprayed since.

So...you could try that...

There's something called "cat attract" or similar that vets sell. It may be at a pet store now as well. It's a powder to sprinkle on the litter that makes them want to use it again. You could do a search for it online and see where you can find it. It may help! If it's psychological, you could try a plug in of feliway or similar. It may calm her down.... Good luck!

My six year old female cat started doing the same thing in my son's carpeted room! I'll be reading your responses...although we just added a baby to the mix so I'm giving her the benefit of the doubt...for now...because after my son was born she peed in his room, under the crib, for about 6 months!

See if you can toilet train her. I have heard of people training the cat to go on the toilet. I know it sounds funny but may be an option if she does not like her litter box. Sometimes cats are wierd and do those kinds of things.May be if you catch her squirt her with a bottle filled with water. May be put the litter box one day in your sons room and see if she may go in there. Spray the carpet with apple cider vinegar to get rid of the smell of the poop so she does not poop again in the same spot. Keep her box clean and clean it everyday. good luck

If she only has one litter box, add another. When I lived in my condo, my cats would poop & pee on the floor at the bottom of the steps. Once I put a litter box down there they only used that.
Another idea (i've never tried this, but it might work) get plastic sheeting (like painting drop cloths) and put it over the carpet that your cat poops on. It might be annoying for a few days, but the cat shouldn't want to walk on it either & therefore shouldn't poop on it. Hopefully after a few days the cat will forget about pooping on the carpet. (I did something similar before my son was born. The cats kept climbing into his crib. So, we covered the mattress with aluminum foil and the cats stopped climbing in it.)

Hi B.!

I had this problem with our cats at one point when we had just moved. My vet told me to lock them in the bathroom with their food, water and litter for one week (at night or when we were not home) and it would break the habit. Worked beautifully! I'm thinking maybe there is some sort of smell from the new carpet that she is not fond of so that is why she is doing it?? Just a thought. Anyway, I hope this info helps for you. Another thing is maybe getting some spray that repels cats and spraying that right outside his door so she doesn't even want to go in.

And one other thing that has helped when our cats were misbehaving is a good old water gun (super soakers are awesome because you can be far away!!). Just "shoot" her with some water and she'll learn quickly! It got to the point where my cats just had to see or hear me grab the super soaker and they'd take off! I didn't use this for the poop problem, but it definitely helped with other bad habits!!

Good luck! And don't give up on your furry baby!

D.

Mine has started to do wierd stuff too, she's also 6. She now pees on anything left on the bathroom floor, towel, clothes, throw rugs. So, we dont leave anything on the floor anymore.
I'd guess maybe sprinkle something unsavory to her in the usual spots that she's been doing it..... not sure what that would be tho. Maybe some type of deodorizing powder that wouldnt be noticeable to the eye but noticeable to her nose? Good luck.

You need to work with her consistently for behavioral re-training. Doing things for a day or two, or putting something out and expecting her to just take to it will not cut it. Imagine it was like potty training your child... takes a lot of time, effort and patience.