Why does my cat mess on the rug in front of the litter box?

[Breezy Top Cat]

My 9 month old Siamese cat, Oliver, poops on the rug in front of the litter boxes. He started this about 3 mos ago, so we added a 2nd larger litter box. Both are covered boxes. This didn't help so then we tried scoopable litter in one and regular litter in the other. He is the only cat we have indoors and he is declawed and stays in full time and I clean the boxes out every day or every other day. We are now in a desperate situation and even though I have cleaned the rug and do so each time, my computer room rug needs to be replaced (where he is confined at night so we can sleep). His filthy litter box habits have him walking on thin ice. He doesn't do it every day but sometimes he does--there is absolutely no pattern to it. Sometimes he will do it two times in one day or he will wait about 3 or 4 days before he will do it on the rug again. There is plenty of stools inside the litter box so he is using it. I have also tried to put newspaper in front of the litter boxes and he will mess around the edges of the paper on the carpet. Another problem-- He has an undescended testicle, so the vet told us to wait to see if it would come down on it's own before neutering him. It needs to be surgically removed from the abdomen and I am not so sure I want to sink any more money into this guy. He is the most loveable cat we have ever owned, but also the one we have hated the most for his dirty habit. I have asked the vet if neutering him will cure this problem and he said no, it would be more to help prevent spraying--something he hasn't done yet. I will not tolerate a cat messing in the house. Any suggestions? He is on his way down the road, but I feel like no one else will accept this behavior either and it wouldn't be fair not to mention it to them. I tried bringing one of my barn cats into the house for company since I recently heard that Siamese cats need companions, but this hasn't helped either. After 7 days he is just growling at the other cat (a neutered male) but less and less each day. We got Oliver as an 8 week old kitten and he has always been very VOCAL to the point that we can't sleep because he runs thru the house at night screaming like he is hurt or something. We recently tried leaving him loose at night again and he woke us up 6 times within an hour with his screaming and running from room to room. This cat has 3 MAJOR issues - his terrible litter box habits, an undescended testicle, and his screaming at night---this is also nothing new so he isn't calling out to females. He has screamed a lot since the day we brought him home at 8 weeks. I guess it's just one of those wondeful Siamese traits. He is very loving and affectionate and wants to be on you and in your face. We have a LOVE/HATE relationship with this cat. I just can't figure out what changed to make him start messing on the rug---but never pottie. PLEASE HELP! My teenage son is very attached and I don't want to take his cat away, but I can't handle the filthy mess.:confused:

[relish]

Our cat did that to for a while. She had always used the litter box before so I took her to the vet. Nothing was physically wrong with her. Well, we got to talking about my work schedule and he decided that my job was the problem. I had recently started working 12 hour shifts, 6 days a week and the vet thought that Emma was acting out. I couldn't change my hours so I started skimping on my house work in order to have more time with her. She stopped doing it after about a week. My vet also mentioned that if that didn't work, there was a special kind of kitty litter that had some kind of cat attractant in it. I don't remember what it was called anymore but maybe your vet would know. Good luck!!!

[neko1]

My Aby does that too. But for him, he just does it out of spite. Like if we are cleaning his ears or clipping his claws, that night he'll poop right in front of one of the boxes. Also, if we don't feed him when he wants to get fed, he'll do it again. It doesn't matter if the boxes are clean or dirty, he's just spiteful. We've pretty much given up on trying to do anything about it, we just clean up the poop and go about our merry way.

[Breezy Top Cat]

If we could just figure out why he is doing this. I can't tolerate the mess and the awful smell--he has a tendancy to be loose--not diarrhea but mushy. Sometimes he tries to bury it and once, in the process, pulled the cord to the electric pencil sharpener and it dropped down into the pile and my husband discovered it. He was so furious he threw the pencil sharpener away and was ready to toss the cat. He was gagging while cleaning it up and it made a huge mess on the rug. His bad points outweigh his good ones at this time and we see no improvement. I also think he is acting out. If I have caught him on the counter or something and scolded him with my voice and mean expression he will certainly do it again. BUT there are times we can't pinpoint any reason for it. We also thought it was lack of attention and that is why we brought in one of my other cats to see if they would buddy up together. Nothing has changed as far as our schedules or anything--go figure!

[PayItForward]

Originally posted by Breezy Top Cat
My 9 month old Siamese cat, Oliver, poops on the rug in front of the litter boxes. He started this about 3 mos ago, so we added a 2nd larger litter box. Both are covered boxes. This didn't help so then we tried scoopable litter in one and regular litter in the other. He is the only cat we have indoors and he is declawed and stays in full time….
Here is my guess…you took your cat to the vets at 6 months old and your vet suggested a standard neuter/declaw package. Then within a few days or weeks of his declaw Oliver developed this litter tray problem Am I right ?

Sadly what vets ‘forget’ to tell cat owners is that declawing carries a risk of the cat developing behavioural problem, the commonest problems are elimmating outside the litter tray and biting.

I strongly suggest you get Oliver feet x-rayed by another vet to see if the original declawing was done properly asap.

The declawing operation cuts off the nail, nail bed and the top section of the toe and if the bone splintered during the operation leaving bone fragments in the remaining toe tissue, this could be causing him pain leading to the litter tray problems. Sometimes a second declaw with a better vet may help relief the problem.


….and I clean the boxes out every day or every other day. We are now in a desperate situation and even though I have cleaned the rug and do so each time, my computer room rug needs to be replaced (where he is confined at night so we can sleep). His filthy litter box habits have him walking on thin ice. He doesn't do it every day but sometimes he does--there is absolutely no pattern to it. Sometimes he will do it two times in one day or he will wait about 3 or 4 days before he will do it on the rug again. There is plenty of stools inside the litter box so he is using it.
Cats need a clean box to use, if the box has plenty of poo in it the box is too dirty and of course he won’t use it until you clean it. Try scooping twice daily or straight after he uses the box. Every two days is not often enough.


Another problem-- He has an undescended testicle, so the vet told us to wait to see if it would come down on it's own before neutering him. It needs to be surgically removed from the abdomen and I am not so sure I want to sink any more money into this guy.
All cats develop problems during their 20 year life time and require various levels of vet care throughout their lifetime. As a cat owner you have to pay for all necessary vet care when your cat needs it, that is basic cat care 101. If you can afford an unnecessary and expensive operation like a declaw you should have the money for this health related operation that is actually beneficial for your cat. Please consider setting up a saving account for Oliver’s future vet bills or insure him with pet insurance, so money will not be an issue for future vet care.


I will not tolerate a cat messing in the house. Any suggestions? He is on his way down the road, but I feel like no one else will accept this behavior either and it wouldn't be fair not to mention it to them.
If this resulted from having him declawed it is your responsibility to look after this damage cat for the rest of his natural life. I doubt you were/are educated in the problems of declawing before you had it done but this is not your cat’s fault, why should he be the one to suffer.


I tried bringing one of my barn cats into the house for company since I recently heard that Siamese cats need companions, but this hasn't helped either. After 7 days he is just growling at the other cat (a neutered male) but less and less each day.
Introduction have to be completed very slowly and supervised to be successful. Try this method to introduce him to his friend.
http://www.piftails.com/introducingnewcat.html


We got Oliver as an 8 week old kitten and he has always been very VOCAL to the point that we can't sleep because he runs thru the house at night screaming like he is hurt or something. We recently tried leaving him loose at night again and he woke us up 6 times within an hour with his screaming and running from room to room.
Siamese cats are very vocal this is a characteristic of that breed, if you wanted a quiet cat the last breed you would buy would be a Siamese. Where did you adopt/buy him from, I am surprised that no-one told you about this issue before letting you adopt him.


This cat has 3 MAJOR issues - his terrible litter box habits, an undescended testicle, and his screaming at night
This cat is suffering from being ill, declawed and misunderstood, none of which is HIS fault.
I hope you address each issue in turn starting with the paws and try and help this poor cat, as he has been though a lot in the last nine months.

[Breezy Top Cat]

Pif, I really appreciate your advise and never thought of a problem w/ the declaw surgery itself. I have owned two other cats that were declawed and never had a problem with them. I have also owned a Siamese and two siamese mix cats before and love their voices, but this cat literally SCREAMS like he has a tail pinched in the door or like something is killing him. The money isn't a problem BUT sinking another $100 into this problem cat is, if he doesn't get better. We have even thought of consulting a pet psychic! I can handle the screaming at night--it wakes us all up but it is now a fact in our household--we would rather let him have free run of the house 24/7 but can't do that. We need our sleep too and even though he still wakes us up it is less often than when we have tried him being free. Our friends all comment about how loud he is when we talk on the phone and they hear him in the background. If the declaw was the problem, wouldn't he just poo in his box and not cover it, instead of pooing in his box and covering it and also pooing on the rug outside the box and trying to bury it and smearing it everywhere? The vet suggested that I dump all litter every day. I haven't tried that because he will use it when it is dirty but picked/scooped out. Ocassionally he will poo on the rug even if I just cleaned out the boxes. I just don't understand why he has started this. He was declawed at 4 mos because he was tearing a hole in my rug and holes in the screens and I was afraid he was going to get out. I love him being declawed because now he can safely run free in the house during the day while we are gone. I have also heard that cats can bite after being declawed but he LUCKILY hasn't developed that habit. I would say he developed his bad litter habits at 5 or 6 mos of age. He also runs a lot thru the house and we have mostly hard wood floors and you can hear his feet thumping as he runs. I would think if his feet were sore that he wouldn't do that and would act like they are sore. I really think it is a behavior issue, but am desperately trying to find out the cause and the solution. Thanks for your advise and I welcome more if you come up with other suggestions.

[PayItForward]

Originally posted by Breezy Top Cat
Pif, I really appreciate your advise and never thought of a problem w/ the declaw surgery itself. I have owned two other cats that were declawed and never had a problem with them. I have also owned a Siamese and two siamese mix cats before and love their voices, but this cat literally SCREAMS like he has a tail pinched in the door or like something is killing him.
Oliver might have pinched nerves or crippling pain in his feet. Please get his feet x-rayed to rule this potential (and I would say very likely) problem out.


The money isn't a problem BUT sinking another $100 into this problem cat is, if he doesn't get better.
See my above advice, he is not a problem…he has problems there is a difference.


If the declaw was the problem, wouldn't he just poo in his box and not cover it, instead of pooing in his box and covering it and also pooing on the rug outside the box and trying to bury it and smearing it everywhere? The vet suggested that I dump all litter every day. I haven't tried that because he will use it when it is dirty but picked/scooped out. Ocassionally he will poo on the rug even if I just cleaned out the boxes. I just don't understand why he has started this. He was declawed at 4 mos because he was tearing a hole in my rug and holes in the screens and I was afraid he was going to get out. I love him being declawed because now he can safely run free in the house during the day while we are gone. I have also heard that cats can bite after being declawed but he LUCKILY hasn't developed that habit. I would say he developed his bad litter habits at 5 or 6 mos of age.
Typically time scale for litter problems to occur after declawing, he is upset and he is showing you that. Oh by the way kittens can be very naughty but once they reach a year of age they stop doing damage and clawing things etc, but as kittens claws are taken off at 6 months old cat owners like yourself never get to find this out for yourself.

When you get your next cat please consider try post training and soft claws and by a year of age your cat will be well behaved with no need for declawing…no more poo on the floor either.


He also runs a lot thru the house and we have mostly hard wood floors and you can hear his feet thumping as he runs. I would think if his feet were sore that he wouldn't do that and would act like they are sore.
He has no choice but to walk and if he is in pain he will run so he can reach his destination quicker so he can get off his painful feet. Cats hide their pain very well, as in the wild any sign of weakness would shorten their life. The thumping happens as declawed cats have to walk on different parts of the foot than a healthy clawed cat would.


I really think it is a behavior issue, but am desperately trying to find out the cause and the solution. Thanks for your advise and I welcome more if you come up with other suggestions.
I am currently training to be a cat behaviourist and the golden rule is never see a cat until ALL physical problems have been looked into by a vet. No professional cat behaviourist will give any advice unless your cat got a clear bill of health from one vets and in some cases insist that a second opinion is seeked before behavioural options are looked at.

The main reason for this is that as cats are so good at hiding pain even if they are close to death, hence a cat which has not had a vet check could die whilst a behaviourist is trying to help him.

I am giving you valuable and free advice…take your poor crippled cat to the vets and get him checked out, you need to find out if he is spending every day in pain or not.

If you love this cat take him to a vet straight away, don’t let him suffer any longer than he needs to.

If you get a clear x-ray and his claws are not growing back within his foot and there are no bone splinters causing infections in his foot tissue and no nerves are pinched or damaged....…then you can come back for advice saying it is behavioural.

I doubt it is behavioural from the facts you have posted but if it is…then we’ll look into other possibilities after a full vet exam including paw x-rays.

[PayItForward]

I have also posted a link to your thread on the main cat forum, this way you should get more people giving you advice for Oliver.

http://petoftheday.com/talk/showthread.php?s=&threadid=68317

[moosmom]

PIF,

Thank you SO much for setting this person straight!! :mad: :mad: Everything you've said is what I would've said, only I wouldn't have been as nice. Breezy Top Cat should've considered that a pet is a lifelong commitment, PERIOD. If her kid were having problems, she'd take him to the doctor without even CONSIDERING the cost, right? Well, why the hell not take the cat to the vet and quit whining about how much it's gonna cost. BTP is the one who caused the cat to have litterbox problems in the first place by declawing.

Did BTP ever think that maybe the reason this poor cat is screaming at night is because he's in pain???

Personally, if she's not willing to care for this poor cat, she should consider finding him a loving furrrever home with someone who's willing to make that commitment. Otherwise, he'll more than likely wind up in a shelter and deemed unadoptable because of the problems SHE created.

:mad: :mad: UGH!!! It's people like THAT that really piss me off!!

[PayItForward]

Originally posted by moosmom
BTP is the one who caused the cat to have litterbox problems in the first place by declawing.
I do agree with you however vets who do not explain the potential problems are also responsible than naive owners like this lady who just declawed on vets advice (from the sound of it)

Remember we need to educate those who declaw, hopefully this lady having experienced the problems first hand will vow to not declaw any other cats in the future.


Personally, if she's not willing to care for this poor cat, she should consider finding him a loving furrrever home with someone who's willing to make that commitment.
Problem is who wants to adopt a pooing cat which cries all night...She would be very lucky to find a new owner willing to take on this poor troubled cat.

This is why it is so important to see if the problems can be resolved by a vet.

Though I am at a loss as to why she does not want to take poor Oliver to the vets...that is beyond me. :(

If someone told me my cat could be in pain, I would be straight down to the emergency vets if I had to hock all my belongings to afford it. :(

I hope Oliver is taken to the vets soon and I hope BTP posts an update on him very soon.

[CalliesMom]

"I do agree with you however vets who do not explain the potential problems are also responsible than naive owners like this lady who just declawed on vets advice (from the sound of it)"

PIF, I'm glad that you mentioned this. I was very ignorant on declawing and yes, I should have done more research which was my own fault...so cannot completely blame the vet here. However, when we first talked to the vet in Tucson about getting Callie declawed I asked if she would be in pain and if there were any side effects from removing her claws. The vet told me "no"
:mad: Come to find out, this vet was so bad that she would even let her vet techs do the declawing. ARGH ARGH!!! Let's just say when I found this out, the cats never went back. Callie was the sweetest kitten, but her behavior did change after we had her declawed. She became more independent; wanting to have less and less to do with us. Though she does ask for scritchies, she doesn't beg as often as the other and prefers their company over ours.

I will NEVER EVER declaw another animal. This website has taught me a lot and there are so many other ways to train your animals not to scratch on furniture. But then again, my cats mean more to me than some stupid piece of furniture anyway.

[PayItForward]

Originally posted by CalliesMom
PIF, I'm glad that you mentioned this. I was very ignorant on declawing and yes, I should have done more research which was my own fault...so cannot completely blame the vet here.
I agree the owner should do research too but we are trained to believe professionals and when your vet tells you something you believe them.

But vets have little or no training in behavioural issues for cats, I inwardly laugh at some things my vet tells me about my cats. Like doing happy feet is because my cats feet were tired...ermm no it is a comfort thing as I had come to pick him up from the vets and he was very happy to see me ;)


However, when we first talked to the vet in Tucson about getting Callie declawed I asked if she would be in pain and if there were any side effects from removing her claws. The vet told me "no"
Well, if you were given full disclosure you would not of gone ahead with the operation, as a vet clinic makes around 50% of their profits on the declawing operation alone of course they will push owners to do it.



I will NEVER EVER declaw another animal. This website has taught me a lot and there are so many other ways to train your animals not to scratch on furniture. But then again, my cats mean more to me than some stupid piece of furniture anyway.
This is wonderful to hear and if you ever need advice on post training or triming claws post and the PT crowd will help you.

[CalliesMom]

"Well, if you were given full disclosure you would not of gone ahead with the operation."

I guess I trusted that a vet would care more about the health and welfare of the animal than making $100. Obviously, I was wrong. :mad:

[CalliesMom]

Originally posted by CalliesMom
"Well, if you were given full disclosure you would not of gone ahead with the operation."

I guess I trusted that a vet would care more about the health and welfare of the animal than making $100. Obviously, I was wrong. :mad:

"Well, if you were given full disclosure you would not of gone ahead with the operation, as a vet clinic makes around 50% of their profits on the declawing operation alone of course they will push owners to do it."

I also did not know this bit of information. PIF you are very knowledgeable and I think you will do quite well in the animal behavioral area. Good luck!

[Lime_Kitty05]

My female cat Thunder does that too we have 4 cats and we know shes the one doin all the mess we have even see her. She will even do it right in front of you. She will pee all the tile right when everyone is in there. and she like poops every day on the steps. My mom whats to just get rid of her. she wont stop doing it. Shes fix and shes started maybe about 4 months ago and she is 3 years old. any suggestions for what i should do i clean the litter box right after they use it, but thunder choses not to use the box? what should i do im desperate!!!

[PayItForward]

Originally posted by Lime_Kitty05
My female cat Thunder does that too we have 4 cats and we know shes the one doin all the mess we have even see her. She will even do it right in front of you. She will pee all the tile right when everyone is in there. and she like poops every day on the steps. My mom whats to just get rid of her. she wont stop doing it. Shes fix and shes started maybe about 4 months ago and she is 3 years old. any suggestions for what i should do i clean the litter box right after they use it, but thunder choses not to use the box? what should i do im desperate!!!
Same advice you need to get your cat to the vets for a full check up to rule out any physical problems. If you cat is declawed also request a paw x-ray.

Check you have the right number of litter trays in the right location etc.

These articles might help both Lime_Kitty and Brezzy Top Cat..
http://www.piftails.com/littertrayintro.html
http://www.piftails.com/littertrayproblems.html

[catnapper]

I'm am sorry you kitty is going outside the box often. I have a cat that still has his claws, and occasionally he'll go outside his box on the bathmat in the bathroom. He does this when he deems the box not sanitary enough for him. Some cats will not go in the box after they have peed in it. So even if you have already scooped it that day, he might go pee, then need to poop again (some cats go twice a day or more) and he might not want to poop with a pee clump in there. I know his litterbox problems stem from when he was a kitten... I was not yet married to hubby and he and the stepkids NEVER cleaned the box on the days I was nt here. So poor Allen ALWAYS had a disgusting dirty box. :( He developed a pickiness about his box. How can I fault him for something my family did to him? I take my pennence and scoop his boxes at least once a day. I am constantly adding fresh litter.

Though it does seem suspicious that your cat's litterbox problems began after the declaw. He might go outside the box because he associates the pain with the litter. It hurts a lot less to scratch and bury poop into carpet than it does to do the same in gritty, rocky litter. I have had a cat with complications from declaw. Its not as uncommon as people think. Like yourself, and now Calliesmom, most people have no clue that their cat's litterbox problems can be directly linked to the declaw. Imagine if all the people with declawed cats who have litterbox problems realized this... we might finally have some concrete proof that declawing leads to behavioral issues.

[sirrahbed]

While Dylan has never soiled outside of his box, he does act like his paws hurt him at times. We took him to the vet and had x-rays done - and two of his paws have sharp bone fragments left behind from a sloppy job. My vet can correct this with surgery but suggested we wait until he shows increased pain or signs of infection. Right now, it is just occasional, as if he gets a pinch now and then :( All four of his paws were done before we ever adopted him.
So, there are surgical as well as medical ways to help with post-declaw problems. Emily and Eliot show no problems at all, never did and we had their front paws declawed. Lizzie and Robbie are our first with claws - we won't have this done again...and learning to clip the sharpies and take them to a scratching post has been very satisfying because it works!! The clipping was not fun and I did do lots of blood shed:D BUT, now I can do the kittens and back claws on E&E all by myself and it only takes a few minutes. I seldom bleed at all:p

For Olivers Meowmie - I really would suggest having his paws x-rayed. It was not nearly as expensive as I thought and then you will KNOW if his paws are hurting him and it cam be corrected.

Another thing you mentioned is stinky and mushy poo. This usually means parasite infections (not worms) but bacterial or amoebic infections and this makes pooping painful. It takes a direct fecal smear to detect (not a flotation). Just ideas!! Hope you find your answers.:)

Oh and my kitties are VERY finicky about a clean box. They will not use a covered box, prefer scoopable litter and I scoop it at least twice a day. I have four large boxes for five kitties. One of the boxes is a huge rubbermaid "sandy beach" that holds 21 pounds of litter:eek: Yup!! FINICKY ABOUT CLEAN.

[Lime_Kitty05]

i you non-clumping litter and i clean it out each and everytime i see something in it thunder always pees on the rugs or puts on the steps its driving me crazy. and she pukes alot. shes been to the vets recentley and theres nothing wrong with her. Is she just being a brat?

[Lime_Kitty05]

i ment to type use not you.

[Breezy Top Cat]

I thank every one for all their advise. Oliver has his appointment to be neutered next Weds as well as a full fecal exam and x-ray of his paws. He hasn't pooed on the rug now for several days and I still have my barn cat inside also sharing the two litter boxes---:confused: See it is so sporatic that we are very confused. Oh and I am trying to scoop more often. :D Sometimes checking 3 times a day just to try to prevent another accident. Oliver was de-wormed in December for tapes and other parasites but never thought of an infection. I hope the vet can diagnose and treat him and get rid of his awful mushy and smelly poos. Could that also explain his bad breath? For such a young cat, I am so surprised that his breath is so awful. :eek: I've checked his teeth and they are nice and pearly white and he eats only dry food. I just never thought to tell the vet about his breath, or mushy, smelly stools.

[sirrahbed]

Oliver's Mom...
Yikes, I never associated breath with the chronic infection but my two youngest do have that same distinctive unpleasant smell to their breath at times - I *think* so anyway because they both sleep right next to my face and I notice it often and just figured they were ...uhm...f@rting:D Yes and they often have the stinky and very mushy stools.

As for the infections - we have had the babies since the first week of October and never quite rid of it. Different strains replace others - sometimes rods, then spirochetes, the something like a coccidea. They have been on so many different antibiotics - liquids, tablets, IV's, injections. For the past 6 weeks or so I have them off the meds and am trying easy-on the -system diet plus achidophilus capsules and a natural remedy that a PT friend sent that is simple pectin and kaolin. They will do great for a few days and then it is back. I suppose with five cats they all pass it around and I am frustrated. All have been clear of all worms and fleas and the vet told us that only a direct microscopic smear and stain will identify what is in their colons. He also checks for tenderness but there never has been any.

My two are also having spay and neuters in February and I will ask the vet to thoroughly check the bowels when they are asleep. From what I read, this is likely a large colon problem and perhaps similar to IBS. I also read about scary thing, too but try to to think about those. Thankfully, everyone uses their boxes but they are terribly finicky and I scoop - well it seems like constantly.

Hope you find some answers with Oliver - something that can be corrected. You sound so frustrated!! I would really be upset if any of mine were soiling outside the boxes:(

Take care!!

[Breezy Top Cat]

Well, he broke his good streak. Oliver pooed on the rug and I found it this morning--right in front of the boxes where he always messes. I think the reason he did it is because my barn cat Shadow, that we brought in so Oliver could have company, that has been held captive indoors for about a week now against his will, has been wanting to go outside and I haven't let him go out. Last night Shadow was ripping at a hole that Oliver made in the rug by the door, so we let him go outside at 12:00 am. We woke up to the surprise. :( I really think it is totally a behavior issue with Oliver and his soiling on the rug. He went about 7 days without making a mess and as soon as we let Shadow out and he was alone in the computer room for the rest of the night he pooed on the rug. :mad: I can't wait to see what the vet says about him on Weds.............

[PayItForward]

Great to hear you are taking Oliver to the vets.

Might be an idea to write down all his symptoms including bad breath etc so you will remember to tell the vet.

Please let us know what happens at the vets.

[Deirdre]

Hi! Just thought I would drop you a line regarding the 'poop' outside of the litter box. Please, do not think I am making a comment about your personal relationships!!!!! I am simply telling you why MY kitty did the 'poop outside of the litterbox' thing. My JoJo has had a history of bad health. She was diagnosed with diabetes at age 4. I did not know she had this problem until
I noticed blood in her urine...it was scoopable litter. I found her at age 4, brought her into my home, she was fine. I started dating someone, and I think the stress of meeting someone new, besides myself (not to mention his little dog), really freaked her out. She behaved like a wild woman! She pooped outside of her litter box, she tinkled everywhere, and she hid under the bed. At night she yowled like someone was pulling her tail. I took her to my vet. We had bloodwork done and found out she was/is diabetic. It took a few years to get it under control. But, I must tell you, when she is put in a different situation, she poops outside of her litterbox to this day. It is her way of dealing with stress. She does not do it frequently anymore, but it does happen if she feels that I am not giving her enough attention, if she cannot sleep under the covers with me, or if she is being bad and I scold her. She has a younger brother that is very demanding of my time, and she does not like that. If you have other cats, take that into consideration. They might get along, but they will always be jealous of your time. Spend a day snuggling and brushing (very important!!!!) your kitty. The brushing lasts a few days and calms them down. Promise.

[smokey the elder]

When cats' routines are disrupted, they can act out in this way. I think cats are obsessive-compulsive!

[Breezy Top Cat]

Thanks, Deirdre! You are the first person that really seems to agree with me that this is an emotional "acting out" type of behavior! I honestly think that Oliver is doing this as a way of saying "Poop on you!" When ever he gets caught on the counter, in the plants, etc., and scolded --(he hates my finger point, mean face and scolding voice) he tends to poo on the rug in front of the box. One thing I can say I am thankful for, is that he does it consistently in the same spot! I don't have to search for it! But I would like to replace the rug in here. I feel like it is just crawling with germs even though I have spot cleaned it and will use my friends carpet cleaner on it soon. I will wait until after his neuter and check up to make sure he doesn't have anything "wrong" and then hopefully if he can go a month without pooing on the rug, I will try to replace it.

[PayItForward]

Originally posted by Breezy Top Cat
Thanks, Deirdre! You are the first person that really seems to agree with me that this is an emotional "acting out" type of behavior!
It is not a matter of agreeing or not agreeing with you but a matter of good practice.

The golden rule is rule out physical problems BEFORE looking for behavioural problems.

Another suggestion have you tried cleaning your rugs as I outlined in the litter tray articles ? Also using a black light to ensure all scent has been removed might help ?

[snowyowlcat]

Do I understand you have about 10-15 pets in the house, cats and dogs?
I saw your question about dogs eating dog poop.

You probably have some pretty unhappy animals battling through each other for attention.

Exactly how many are in the house, and what ages?

[Breezy Top Cat]

I have one cat in the house, Oliver, the siamese 9 mos, a dachshund 5 years, and a cairn 7 mos. Shadow decided he didn't want to come back in the house and I thought it would be tough on him since he has always been an outdoor cat. Besides, Oliver was outright attacking him, so I can't blame him for not wanting to come back inside. I have my Large breed Mix dog 8 years, and 3 cairns outside - two that are 1 year and one that is 7 mos, 6 barn cats (all rescue) various ages, and 4 horses various ages, with a foal on the way. Oh and two teenage boys. No one is lacking attention around here, ESPECIALLY Oliver. He is in your face and on your body --We call him a lint ball. Oliver enjoys playing with the indoor dogs and "fighting" with them and doing his sneak attacks. The strange thing is when I go to someones house that has an indoor cat, I usually never see it because they hide and maybe come out just before leaving. Oliver on the other hand is unlike any cat I have ever owned and will immediately sit in companys lap! Guests comment about how friendly he is. He actually gets the most attention out of everyone since he demands it! That is why I say we have a love/hate relationship with this cat. He is the friendliest cat we have EVER owned. As for all the dogs...we own a 26 acre farm and I take them on walks/runs around our property. Keeping track of 6 dogs running in different directions is sometimes difficult but they love the freedom and hunting for voles and mice. We are in the process of fencing all our property and the dogs will have a yard of about 2 acres to run safely as well as supervised runs on the rest of the property. We have a coyote problem so we have to be very careful that no one gets distracted and lost. I may do invisible fence still to keep them out of the flower beds and garden. :D

[farmer_girl4life]

She's one of the skinny type cats and the begging of December she started getting fatter and fatter.Also she won't walk as much as she used to and she's hungry all the time.:eek:

Know all I have to do is wait.By the way after a cat gets pregnant how long do you have to wait?:confused:

[Breezy Top Cat]

Oliver comes home from the vet today after being neutered yesterday. :D His x-rays of his feet were fine. The office ran the wrong stool test on him.:( Even though I requested a stool (smear/float) for parasites other than worms and explained, like giarrdia or some other type of amobia type thing that is usually treated w/ antibiotics, they ran a regular stool test. The tech I talked to on the phone told me she would discuss the charges w/ the office manager and re-run the test I requested--so that is still be pending. I told her I specifically told the front desk that he had been wormed for tapes and all others 3 weeks ago. Her response was--"well no wonder his stool test came back negative" and they were still going to charge me $18 for a Drontil (sp?) pill!!!!!!!!:mad:

Why is it so hard to communicate with them? :confused:

[PayItForward]

Silly vets :rolleyes:

But it sounds like Oliver is in good shape which is very good news :)

[Breezy Top Cat]

Oliver is home! Poor guy has an incision on his belly larger than any cat I've ever had spayed and the other end too! (Due to being cryptorchid) He is very talkative, but moving slowly. While he was gone, I recleaned the carpet in the computer room and disinfected his litter boxes, so he came home to everything sparkling clean. He didn't leave them any stool to test, so I need to take one back in at another time. My husband went in to pick him up yesterday (they have never seen him before) and just said "I'm here to pick up my cat". They said, "Well, we have 3 of them, which one is yours?" He replied with, "THE Mouth!" and they snickered and said "Oh, you must be Oliver's Dad!" :D

[Love My Cats]

I too have a cat that poops outside the litterbox. Her name is Snickers, and I have been told she is a "Tortos". She is an inside cat. She too is front declawed, and I have taken her to the vet a few different times in regards to this "pooping" problem. I had also heard about the possibility of "declawing problems" (after it was too late). Nothing was found wrong with her paws though. She has had x-rays, urine/stool samples, blood tests. Nothing has been found wrong with her. My husband and I used to live in a condo, where she began this behavior at about 2 years old (she is almost 6 now). I clean the litterbox at least every day, if not more when it's possible. We scoop out any poop or urine that we see. We have tried two large litterboxes in different locations, but our other cat seems to be terretorial, and jumps in them first. I bleach clean the litterbox frequesntly, and we have tried many types of litter. We have tried the covered and uncovered litterbox...changing locations. Nothing seems to work. When we lived in our previous home, she always went in the same room (our guest bedroom). After always cleaning the carpets, we had to replace them finally. We have been living with my parents for the past year, while re-building our new house. Snickers has found a "new" area to poop in. Now it's in my mother's formal dining room (which we will replace for her once we move to our new home). She goes in the same area every time, and it's never in the room the litterbox is in.

I would NEVER even think of getting rid of Snickers. She is an absolutely wonderful, loving cat.....our other cat, Casanova does not have this pooping problem. We spend lots of time with our cats. They both would be considered spoiled......but I am at the point of giving up, and just cleaning the poop every day. My husband put hardwood floors and tile in our new house through out, hoping this would help the problem (she has never gone on hardwood or tile in the past two homes). If you have any suggestions, I would be open.......we even tried putting foil on the areas she was pooping (we had heard this would help since they don't liek foil)......she just pooped around it.

Please help!!

She too is one of the sweetest cats you have ever met (matching right up with my male cat). It is hard to see a pattern to her pooping, besides the location.

I also have a male cat named Casanova, and both are wonderful animals, the pride of my life.

[Kristl]

I would be more than happy to adopt this kitty!!!:D

[Breezy Top Cat]

I noticed yesterday morning that Oliver's abdominal incision was red, hard, and weeping. I took him to the vet and he had a fever and now he is on Amoxi Drops. Makes me think they didn't follow sterile procedures during his surgery! :mad: In all the animals I have ever had fixed, I've never had one become infected. Any one out there know if the Amoxicillin will help a protozoa or amobia type parasite in the GI tract? Like Giarrdia. I am hoping that it will have a dual affect and clear up his stinky, mushy, stools as well as his surgical infection.:rolleyes: