My cats are pooping all over the lawn!

:mad: The kitties have had their outdoor enclosure for just over a year now, and have never pooped outside until just recently. They have a cat door so they are free to come and go, so it's not that they don't get let in to use the litter box. We are finding big steamy (and moldy!) piles of poop in the GRASS, not even in the dirt or partially buried. I've watched the little boogers out there, popping a squat right out in the open, like they think they are dogs. I have some ideas on what might have caused this, so if anyone here has had experience with this problem, I would sure appreciate some input.

There are two things which happened right about the time the outdoor pooping started. The first is that my daughter moved back in with us for a while, and brought her three rabbits with her. They are in a big 6 ft. x 6 ft. cage type enclosure with a wooden floor, and you'd be amazed how much noise bunnies can make on wood. We had to put the bunnies in the basement because my husband is really allergic to their fur, and my daughter was being woken up all night by bunny "thumping" when they were in her room. We have such a tiny, cramped house that I had to put the bunny cage in the laundry room, right smack next to the litter box. It's possible that the noise and commotion of the bunnies was making the cats skittish when they wanted to use the box. I have since moved the rabbits into the room next to the laundry. The kitties actually LIKE the bunnies a lot, and they all lived together up until a year ago when my daughter first moved out, so they are somewhat familiar with them.

The second event was when the neighborhood stray kitty breached the cat fence and invaded the back yard. This was VERY traumatic for my kitties since they are (neutered) males and very territorial. It's interesting that they are only pooping on the one side of the lawn, which is the side the stray came in from. Is it possible that they are "marking" their territory back there with poo piles? I thought they just urinated to mark their scent. I went around and picked up the poops, and sprayed each spot with Nature's Miracle, since the smell of that is supposed to discourage them from re-soiling an area. No good, they kept pooping anyway. Then I sprayed the entire back yard, shrubs and all, with a cedar oil solution that I had bought to fight the mosquitoes. I thought maybe it would cover or remove any trace of the stray cat's scent. (It didn't work for either one of those purposes, by the way - just made my yard smell fresh. :rolleyes: ) Would it help at all to use some Feliway out in the yard? I'd probably have to buy so much of it though, and the rain would rinse it away. It's been a month since the stray was out there, and he was only inside the fence for about 5 minutes, so I can't believe there's that much of his scent left to still bother the kitties.

It won't be as bothersome now that summer is over and we aren't going outside barefoot, but it's making my husband pretty irritated when he's trying to cut the grass and stepping in / running over piles. Ideas? Suggestions? Thanks!

Maybe shut the door to the enclosure, and get them using the box again.

If that doesn't help, Cat Attract litter might help...or adding another litter box.

Can you put a litter box outside? I have several in my outdoor enclosure, but I did have to build a shed for them. In your case, maybe a large plastic container would work Put a litter box inside and a hole in the side of the container for the cats to get in and out.

Since the old litter box area has been returned to it's former condition, maybe your cats just need to be re-introduced. When I move a litter box, I take the cat(s) that use it most and put them in it so they know where it is.

I think it's a great idea to put a litterbox outside, try it! Good luck on solving this! :)

I THINK IT MAY BE THAT STARY CAT AND YOUR MALES ARE LEAVING THIER POOP OUT IN THE OPEN TO SHOW HIM THAT THEY RULE, AND IF YOU DONT BELIEVE THEM, THEN HERES THIER POO TO PROVE IT!!!
MY MALE CATS ALL NEUTERED SOMETIMES DO THAT TO PROVE THAT THEY ARE KINGS OF THE CASTLE, SO TO SPEAK!!! :love::love::love::D

I had thought about maybe putting a litter box outside, but I want to discourage the outside pooping altogether, mostly because I don't want to have to clean another litter box. The nice weather will be leaving us soon and I really don't want to be outside in the wind and cold, scooping poops out of a box. (I don't want to be picking up poops from the GRASS in the wind and cold either! ;):p)

I forgot to mention that the kitties have a nice big "baffroom" inside the house - their litter box is a huge plastic tub (3 ft x 2 ft) that I got at the farm supply store! We used to have two separate litter boxes, one for each kitty, but they always used whatever one had the most room in the litter. My big fatty Sammy had a problem fitting into the regulation size boxes and tended to winkle over the sides. :D This "jumbo" box works out nicely. I even have a 15 watt nightlight over it so that they can see better for burying poos at night. I was thinking of putting a table over it and then draping a cloth over the table, to make a little "tent" that encloses the giant box - maybe they would feel more secure then? Maybe have some classical music playing softly down there, a little table with some guest towels and air freshener? Hang some magazines on the wall next to the box? :D :D

Darn furkids - just when you think you had them potty trained..... :p