Community Chat

[rosehill]

Our son's cat has been doing this for a while. He is pooping on the recreation room carpet, and also a blow up bed that my DIL's mother sleeps on when she comes two days a week to babysit the kids. My husband and I were in charge of feeding the checking on the cat when my son and his family went on vacation last week. The cat was doing this, so we put him in the laundry room with the door shut and didn't let him have the whole run of the house. We would let him outside for a few hours every day, then come back to let him in. We cleaned the carpet in the areas where this is happening with the Get Serious brand of solution from Petsmart. I washed the bedding 3 times on the sani cycle in my washer-and remade the bed. They come home, let the cat out of the laundry room, and he is pooping on the carpet again.

Now I can tell you that they do no clean out the litter pan for this cat like we do. There have been many times that we have gone over there, and the whole litter pan is full. My daughter in law works full time and has a busy job at a hospital, and our son owns his own business. They are busy, but they have fallen into some very bad habits regarding the litter pan. When my husband and I took care of the cat last week, the litter pan was kept really clean-I thought this might be the problem. But they come home? And the whole problem starts again. My daughter in law is at the end of her rope-my son loves this cat and has had it since he found it at college his first year. He is 32-so the cat is probably 14 years old. He seems chipper enough-goes outside and walks around and investigates-he isn't acting sick. He is eating. My son feeds him purina cat chow. I have tried to reason with my son that the food his is buying is cheap and not very nutritious, but he has not changed. I am surprised at his attitude- he owns a laboratory and does food testing. I would think he would be more reasonable, and see the need of a better quality of cat food. We fed his cat a much higher quality of cat food when we ran out when they were gone-I was hoping this would make a difference. I know you are supposed to ease into a new brand when changing foods, but he left us with only a few days food when he left-so I dipped into my good cat food that I use for ours-its Tractor Supply's 4 Health Indoor Cat food. The cat's stools are always a bit soft and not as formed as our cat's are, and that remained the same.

We have told him that he needs to keep the litter box much cleaner. The problem may not be that at all. I am at a loss with what else to suggest to him.

[esmerelda]

When is the last time he had a blood test? There may be underlying reasons, other than a dirty litter box.

[kittymomNC]

I know that a dirty litterbox is one of the reasons a cat will be reluctant to use it. But there could be underlying medical issues, or other reasons such as some cats don't like to poop in the same box as they ur*ina*te.

I don't know how to post a link, but this is a website that has a lot of good information about this problem. You can paste it into your browser.

http://www.catbehaviorassociates.com/pooping-outside-the-litter-box/

It is the website of Pam Johnson-Bennett...here is some information about her qualifications regarding cat behavior. I hope this helps, but your son will have to be willing to do something to make his cat more comfortable. Hopefully he will do what is necessary. Good luck!

Pam Johnson-Bennett, CCBC, is the star of the international hit television series, Psycho Kitty airing in the UK on Animal Planet and in Canada on Nat Geo Wild.Pam is the best-selling author of 8 books and the most popular and sought-after cat behavior expert in the world. She is considered a pioneer in the field of cat behavior consulting and has influenced many practicing in the field today. She is a Certified Cat Behavior Consultant and former VP of the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants. She founded the IAABC Cat Division and served as its longtime chair for 8 years. She is currently working with the American Humane Association as a member of their Cat Health and Welfare Forum. She serves on the Advisory Board for Tree House Humane Society and has also worked with the Winn Feline Foundation. Pam was also on the American Humane Association’s Advisory Board on Animal Behavior and Training.

[mewsmomtoo]

First, let me say that I second going to Pam Johnson-Bennett's website. She has written some great books, esp. "Think Like a Cat". Second, there is another person who is having problems with their cat not using the litter box and there is a lot of good advice on the thread called "Help Please - My long-haired kitty. It's probably half to 2/3 of the way down the page. You should go there and read the replies.

Also, try the ASPCA website - just enter "litter box problem" in the search box. In general there is a lot of good info on the web.

Like KittymomNC said, though, your son and DIL will have to be willing to make the necessary changes and the very first thing I would do is get the kitty in for a physical.

My sister passed away and left my BIL and her two sons (21 and 19) with two cats to care for. You'd think that wouldn't be too hard for 3 men. They could not manage it and the one cat was going in different places. I did everything I could to help, but in the end, they ignored all my advice and efforts to help. The last straw was when she pooped in my BIL's bed (ha! good for her). Both of my sister's cats are now living with me and guess who is successfully using the litter box. They have to be willing to help the cat be successful - there is no magic wand.

By the way, litter box non-compliance is the biggest reason cats end up in shelters. That's sad because most of the time that is a problem that can be fixed with a little effort on the part of the humans involved.

Here's hoping you are successful in getting help for this kitty!

[rosehill]

Thank you, kitty mom, and news mom. I will look at those website today and try to find out what is going on. I realize the cat needs a physical as well. Will keep you informed.

[deb5555]

Maybe your son can get the cat an automatic cat litter box, they work so good and no one has to clean it, just empty it once a week and add fresh litter. Cats are hard to figure out.

[depglass]

I am of the theory once a spot has been marked, you can never get the smell out. Or maybe its just habit for them. My animal loving neighbors are to the point their entire house has been marked. What a nightmare, I wouldn't put up with it.

[Jeremiah 2911]

I think the cat is older and that he is suffering from scent confusion and/or he may not be able to get to the box in time. Here are some of my suggestions:

If there is only one litter box, add another litter box so that there are at least TWO litter boxes in the house. Three would be better -- even temporarily. You can always go back to two boxes, but no less than two litter boxes should be in the house.

Leave the tops OFF of the litter boxes. Cats need to see what's going on around them while they are doing their business.

Buy CAT ATTRACT litter. It has herbs in it that attracts cats to the litter box.

Place the new/additional litter box near the place where he is pooping inappropriately.

Make sure all litter boxes are placed near where the cat hangs out. For instance, do not place a litter box in the basement if the cat hangs out upstairs. Older cats can have urgency issues and may not be able to hold it long enough to get to the box in time.

Clean mistakes with soap and water and then spray area with a citrus blaster enzyme spray. Then cover area with a tea towel that is sprayed with FOUR PAWS KEEP OFF spray.

If lots of strongly scented items are close to a cats domain cats sometimes get scent confusion and will begin to piddle or poo on things that have a strong scent. This is especially true with older cats as their sense of smell can dull with age.

Keep all dirty laundry, clean laundry in tall laundry baskets. Keep shoes in a closet. Keep magazines, books, newspapers, etc., off of the floor and put away.

Don't use scented candles, scented diffusers or anything that emits a strong scent in the house.

If people are using strong perfumes and/or cologne's, they may need to temporarily stop using them until the cat begins to use the litter boxes faithfully. If people pick up a cat to pet him and they are wearing a perfume or cologne, this can cause a cat to have scent confusion. Again, this is especially true if a cat is older.

I would suggest that you do not isolate the kitty in the laundry room as there are more scents in there that will continue to confuse him. Do not put his litter boxes in the laundry room either as he may not be able to distinguish the smell of his litter box with the smells of the dirty/clean laundry.

If you isolate him at all, it should be in a clean, organized bedroom. Place two litter boxes in the bedroom that have CAT ATTTRACT litter in them. Put his food and water on the opposite side of the room where the litter boxes are located.

The litter boxes have to be kept clean. I would suggest that you buy some small cheap plastic bags ($1 per roll at FAMILY DOLLAR) and get a small trash can to put the litter scoop in. If the litter bags are right in front of the people -- they will use them. Place the bags of clumped litter in a small trash can outside so that they don't stink up the house.

Make sure no one is scolding and/or punishing kitty for making mistakes. This leads to more confusion and more mistakes. A good, kind attitude will help the cat to get back on the road to using his litter box faithfully.

Hope this helps. I reiterate, get the CAT ATTRACT litter -- it has high marks (no pun intended! LOL) for helping cats get back on track.

[Jeremiah 2911]

By the way, cats sometimes piddle/poop on plastic items (blow-up bed...) because most plastic/rubber items are cured with AMMONIA -- (which is the scent that piddle is made up of) -- making it an attractive place to piddle or defecate.

So items that are made from plastic or rubber; such as rubber-backed throw rugs, plastic bins, rubber litter mats, plastic bags, aerobeds, etc., are all things that a cat might be tempted to piddle on because of the ammonia scent in/on these things.

This is especially true with older or elderly cats.

[jaxs mom]

I'm not sure what you can do other than take the cat yourself and feed it better food and actually scoop the litter boxes regularly. They clearly aren't responsible cat guardians. They created the situation and now they are blaming the cat for it. I'd be at my wits end with them not the poor cat that has to put up with poor treatment.