more than one litterbox?

[Hellojosie]

I currently live in a 3 story townhouse with 2 cats, one and a half year old Stewie and 3 year old Ollie. I have 2 litterboxes which are kept in a spare bedroom upstairs on the 3rd floor. Both cats have had no problems using the boxes until recently. For the past 6 months we've been battling diarrhea on and off with Stewie, and the main problem is the when he's feeling sick he goes all the way to the 1st floor (the living room) and does his business somewhere in the vicinity of the TV every single time. For the past 3 weeks or so he's been going down there EVERY day- sometimes multiple times in one day. We've been to the vet several times and we're working on fixing his diarrhea, but in the meantime, how do I get him to stop going downstairs and start using the boxes again? Should I put a litter box downstairs for the time being? Or would this only encourage the behavior?
Any suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated. Cleaning up messy poo from the carpet every day is getting really, really old.

[jenluckenbach]

Cleaning up messy poo from the carpet every day is getting really, really old.

I KNOW!! I have been doing it for MONTHS now. (One of my cats has chronic loose stool and won't use the box). So I know the frustration.

In your case though, adding an extra box or two at a more convinient location, should help. If the kitty is sleeping on the first floor and has the urge to go poop, the third floor can seem like an AWFULLY long ways away.

The other problem (like in my cat's case) is that diarrhea makes their tummies hurt and they associate the hurt with the litter box, so they chose another spot. So finding the cause and correcting it is your primary duty. (but can be difficult, as diarrhea is the symptom of MANY things).

Good luck.

[Hellojosie]

Thanks! It seems to me like Stewie is definitely associating downstairs now as his place to go when he's feeling sick. It's almost like he makes the special trip downstairs to do it- usually we find it first thing in the morning, and he sleeps upstairs with us for most of the night. And we always know when he's pooed downstairs- he hides from us cuz he knows he did something bad. I guess adding a litter box downstairs for the time being couldn't hurt though. I just don't want it to be a permanent fixture down there!

We are trying everything we can think of to help poor Stewie's tummy too...he's been on 4 different medications from the vet (none of which have helped so far), and we are now introducing a new food to him (Nutro), also giving him plain yogurt (which thankfully he thinks is a treat!) and Kaeopectate. I just want him to be better already!! I feel so bad for my little guy.

[jenluckenbach]

I know the frustration of not knowing the cause. Lucas went through NUMEROUS medications, food changes and tests. He is finally on Pancreatic enzyme which firms the stool, but not to perfection. (at least now most of the clean-ups are easier )

Hope you find the cause soon.

[Hellojosie]

I'm heading out today to buy a temporary (I hope) litter box for the downstairs. It looks like something we're doing is starting to work, one of the messes this morning was almost like normal poo. Hooray! Funny that I get excited over poo, isn't it?

[jenluckenbach]

Hooray! Funny that I get excited over poo, isn't it?

We have all had this same excitement one time or other.

[kb2yjx]

My vet would tell you a box on each level!!! Sandra

[Hellojosie]

Well, we put the box downstairs...and guess what, he still pooped in front of the tv! He knows the box is there, we showed him where it is (close to where he usually messes), but it still makes no difference. I just don't know what else to do now. I guess I'll be calling the vet tomorrow to get more medication, he won't eat the plain yogurt anymore and the Kaeopectate doesn't seem to be doing any good either. I really just hope we can find the cause of this so he can get better already...poor guy.

[jenluckenbach]

His behavior makes me think that he is associating the box with the pain of diarrhea.

[Hellojosie]

I think so too. My only other thought is that maybe this behavior is stress-related? Stewie never does it when we're around- the only times we ever find the poo is in the morning (after we've been asleep for 6-8 hours and not paying attention to him) or when we get home from work in the evening we also usually find another mess. Could this be a separation anxiety type of thing? Is stress-related diarrhea even possible??

Well, in any case I'll be calling the vet again tomorrow... she did say she had a few other medications we could try. Maybe we should add kitty prozac into the mix... He seems like a very happy, healthy cat besides for these accidents we have daily. Like I said, my main concern is that we get him better.

[treybabe]

I currently live in a 3 story townhouse with 2 cats, one and a half year old Stewie and 3 year old Ollie. I have 2 litterboxes which are kept in a spare bedroom upstairs on the 3rd floor. Both cats have had no problems using the boxes until recently. For the past 6 months we've been battling diarrhea on and off with Stewie, and the main problem is the when he's feeling sick he goes all the way to the 1st floor (the living room) and does his business somewhere in the vicinity of the TV every single time. For the past 3 weeks or so he's been going down there EVERY day- sometimes multiple times in one day. We've been to the vet several times and we're working on fixing his diarrhea, but in the meantime, how do I get him to stop going downstairs and start using the boxes again? Should I put a litter box downstairs for the time being? Or would this only encourage the behavior?
Any suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated. Cleaning up messy poo from the carpet every day is getting really, really old.

Yeah, I can see that would get old fast. I would definitely put a litter box close to where he is leaving the messy poo. At least for the time being..and then he may go in there. We have four cats and we keep a litter box two rooms besides the laundry room and one on our screened porch. But that is because we have four cats...We also scoop these out twice daily.

One thing they will do is go back to wherever they left a mess..somehow thinking it is okay because they can smell something of their mess there, (even if you cleaned it up) not realizing this is a very bad habit. Hmmmmmm. You might have to use something like pretty strong cleaner or powder on that spotted area to discourage them. But I would definitely try another litter box at least until he is over his diarrhea. Maybe you could put it right over where he left the messes. Best of luck...

[Hellojosie]

Well, over the past three days we've finally started to have some success with the litterbox downstairs!! I haven't had to clean up any messes since Sunday morning now. He's on a couple new medications from our vet, as well as a refill of his Metronidazole, and it looks like something is finally working. Last night he had a good solid bowel movement (not to get too graphic, but hey, we were excited!).

I definitely think he was going back to the area around the TV each time because it had become a habit and he could smell his messes there. We put the litter box as close to the area as we could without it being right smack dab in the middle of the room (or right in front of the tv, which needless to say would be a bit distracting for us). We also tried everything to get the smell out- first tried Oxyclean, then bought some carpet neutralizer stuff from our vet, and now we're using Resolve which seems to get the stain and the smell out the best. I'd like to get a steam cleaner at some point and use it all around the area to really get it super clean.

Thanks to everyone for all the good advice! Please continue to keep your fingers crossed that Stewie gets past this and becomes the happy, healthy cat I know he is!