What to do?

[wayne0214]

One of my kittens ( Little Bit) has a problem. She will plant her little butt down and poop where ever she wants. I have tried to have her poop in the litter tubs, but with no success. This morning I caught her pooping in kitchen area, so I picked her up and placed her in the tub, but she woud have none of it. I do not know what to do with her. She is not sick, but is very tiny for a 9-month old cat. As far as I can remember, she has never used the litter box, but prefers to poop next to the 5 of them I have scattered throughout the house. Any suggestions? I have considered keeping her outside.

[jenluckenbach]

you say a home with 12 furkids. Is that 12 cats? If so , 5 litter boxes may not be enough.. Some cats do not like to share, or expect them to be super clean when it is their turn to use it.

Have you tried different types of litter? Some cats don't like the feel or the smell (if it is scented) of certain litter.

If she poops near the boxes, is it possible that she is standing in the litter but her butt is outside the box? If so, a covered litter box may be the answer.

On the other hand, if you have covered litter boxes, she may be intimidated to go inside.

Try putting the box right where she goes. If she starts to use it, slowly move it back to where you want it. Or confine her to as small of an area as possible, with a litter box, food and water until she used the box and then give her more and more area.

Problems like this are difficult. I wish you the best of luck. Keep us posted.

[moosmom]

Wayne,

Jenluckenbach is right, the rule of thumb is 1 box for every cat (although they will ALL use each others). The best thing to do is confine the little one in a room with her food and water and the cat box. That's what my vet told me when my oldest cat began pooping behind my chair in the living room. It worked!

It could also be the cat litter. Cats don't like change.

How old is kitty??

Good luck.

[emily_the_spoiled]

Hi Wayne,

You mentioned that Little Bit is very small for her age. Does she have difficulty climbing into a regular litter box? Maybe try a (lined) card board box with the sides cut down so she can get in to it..

[wayne0214]

Thanks for your responeses, all. I will try to answer all the questions. Concerning her litter boxes, no, she does not have difficulty in jumping into the tubs. I started to use tubs because of the other furkids throwing litter all over the floor. And they appear to like the tubs better than a standard litter box anyway.

Moosmom, no, I have not tried that approach. Although I shall do it, now that I have the facilities.

Jenluckenbach. I have never seen her use any litter box regardess of what type of litter material is used, even sand, and this all before I brought her out here from central California. Little Bit is about 9 months old. Every morning when I get up, it is necessary to fill the orange plastic bucket with hot water and detergent with disinfectant, and mop up all of her poops around the house. Fortunately, there are no rugs in the house, yet. Usually, they are around the litter boxes, but then again, sometimes they are indescriminantly scattered throughout the house.

I will try the isolation-litterbox approach this evening, however.

.........wayne

[krazyaboutkatz]

Wayne, I really don't have any more advice to give you but I do want to wish you good luck. I sure hope that some of the suggestions work.

[wayne0214]

Last night, I placed her in the service room with Otis, for company, (my orange tabby) with food, water and of course a large litter box. I saw 3 poops in the box and one on the floor. Now, I do not know which one was Otis' and which one was hers. However, the fact that they both used the box appears to me that she may not like to share a litter box, and also that she will not use one with any poops in it. Also, that she does not attempt to cover any poops, as Otis always covers his. So, this morning, i will clean out the box and place her and Otis back in there and see what happens.
Thanks, all, for your help in this matter.

..............wayne

[jenluckenbach]

Wayne, As hard as it is she must go into the room alone so you will know for sure.

But knowing what happened with the two together might help you decide if is it a matter of not wanting to share.

So be brave and keep her by herself until you know what she is going to do.

we're rooting for you

[FloppsyLadySally54]

Maybe she does not like something about the litter box, maybe it smells bad to her, or something like that. Usually cats know how to use the litter box instead of the floor, as long as you show them. Why don't you give your vet a call to see if there is anything you can do to help her get used to the litter box.

[Uabassoon]

I heard you should have 1 litter box every cat plus one. So if you have 2 cats then you should have 3 litter boxes.. so if you have 12 you should have 13. Are you cleaning the bozes with disenfectant too? Because if you are it may be a harsh smell which could keep her from wanting to use the litter box. You may want to take her to the vet just in case. She may be sick with something that you are unaware of and she might my trying to let you know. People suggested different litters because cats can be picky. Try lots of different litters and so as not to uspet your other cats don't put them in all the boxes just a few maybe she can find a litter that she likes. Good luck.

[krazyaboutkatz]

I have 3 cats and I only have 2 litterboxes. Sometimes my cats only use one of the litterboxes so I think that 2 is plenty for my situation. Sunny and Pepper also rarely cover up their poop. I've never understood this. They dig and dig in the litter but don't cover the poop up. Storm will sometimes do it for them because I think that this annoys him. Good luck Wayne.

[Barbara]

The reasons may be complicated: we used covered litter boxes but at some time, Tigris attacked Filou every time he was in the litterbox and so Filou looked for another solution and peed in some hidden corners in the apartment (no longer hidden then). Now we have open litter boxes and Filou doesn't feel so fenced in anymore and it never happened again. (They still hate a used litterbox. If it's not ok Tigris stands in front of the litterbox and gives a rough meeeaooo (meaning: Do ! clean the litterbox).)
Is your young cat bullied by others?
I wish you good luck and patience -there is a reason why and you can find it. (I had to tell that to me quite often because it took about a year to solve the problem)

[wayne0214]

Littlebit is not bullied by any of the others, yet I placed Otis with her for company for the night. So, I will do it again -without a companion. I am beginning to think that she will use a litter tray, (which I placed with the two of them) provided that it is totally clean and dumped at least 2 times a day. After every dumping of the litter material, I do wash out the tubs and trays with detergent soap before refilling them and replacing them in their places. Thanks all for your help. At least now, there is some knowledge that I did not have before.

............wayne

[wayne0214]

this morning there were no poops on the floor! This tells me that (1) she does not like to share a used litter box, and (2) that she will only use a totally clean box. All of my furkids except Littlebit will use an already "dirty" litter box with no complaints. So, this is what I'll have to do, to confine her in the service room with food and water with a clean box for her, the she will not poop on the floor. Thanks all for your help in this matter.

..........wayne

[jenluckenbach]

It is good to know that you narrowed the possibilities down. But consider this: If #2 is true, and she will only use a clean litter box, she may not use it the 2nd time she needs to go. You may need to go one step futher and place down more boxes or scoop more often. This is just food for thought.