Poo'ing in strange places

My 10 month old boy has recently been exhibiting some strange out of character behaviour. At night, he sleeps in the laundry. His litter and everything else is located here for him which he has always used without fail, he never goes to the toilet inside the house nor will he even go outside at all, he always uses the litter.

In the past month however, he has twice done something that has me baffled.
I have a small cupboard underneath the laundry sink. The door on it is a bit loose, and the cat seems to be able to open it if he bangs it hard enough, as he does when scratching around after eating. I often wake in the morning to walk into the laundry to find the cupboard door open.

Anyway, twice in the past month, I've discovered he has left a deposit for me in the very back of the cupboard (its big enough for him to walk into).
He has twice now opened the cupboard door, stepped over all the bottles and containers in there, walked to the very back and done a great big poo. I have only discovered it thanks to the smell, obviously.

Now why would he go out of his way to do this in my cupboard, when his litter is right there for him, and he has never had an issue since 4 weeks of age with using the litter?

This behaviour is extremely weird and I'd love to know why he is doing this!

If this is a damp, humid area, it may attract him to do this there. I would say your lucky that it does not sound like a behavioral issue yet, but an actual instinctual attraction. You do want to try to stop this as soon as possible so it does not become a behavioral problem. If this a main room that you can't keep him from, I would secure the cabinet from him getting in to as well as place a litter box in the area so he does not decide to do this outside of in frustration.

and if you cant secure the cabinet, put the box in there. he may want a more private place for defecating.

His litter tray is just a metre away from the cabinet. Would he really want more privacy?? He seems to have no issue in using it every other time even when people are around. Its just twice during the night he has done it in the cupboard.
Its a mystery!

Get a baby cabinet lock thingie for the cabinet door so he can't get in there. (We have these on our lower kitchen cabinets to keep our explorer kitty out!) Then, invest in a hooded or covered litter box for him. Leave both boxes available for him to use. He may prefer to pee in one and poop in the other.

Stephanie

Originally Posted by stephanietx

. Leave both boxes available for him to use. He may prefer to pee in one and poop in the other.

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excellent point. abi prefers one box for defecating and another for urinating.

Well, he has found another spot now!
Unbelieveable. I keep the litter clean at all times and in 9 months he has never displayed this behaviour until now.

The theory about him wanting 2 litter trays is viable, however why would he start becoming fussy now and not previously?

Im going to have to start leaving him outside at night if this continues. I really don't want to do that as there are many strays wandering around and my boy is desexed so literally doesn't have the balls to defend himself against strays.

Does the new spot have anything in common with his last spot? Secluded or slight smell already there? You may have to think like a kitty a bit to figure out what's attracting him to different areas. Try extra liter boxes, maybe different size or style.

Don't put him out at night. Put him in the bathroom with a litter box, food and water or some other room where you can secure the door. He may need a bit of retraining.

Also, have you switched litters or made ANY kind of changes in the household? New neighbors? New friends? Moved recently? Have you started using different cleaners? Change and/or stress can bring on inappropriate elimination.

My cat periodically poops in inappropriate places when she's stressed out, mainly when there's excess noise inside or outside or when we're hurrying about. Thankfully, I've figured this out and have taken steps to keep her stress level down and she's been accident free for more than 18 months.

Keep at it and don't give up!!

Stephanie

I absolutely agree. Please do not keep him outside at night. Stephanie's suggestion of keeping him in the bathroom is an excellent one.

Nothing has changed in the laundry. I prefer him in there as theres more room and air for him. Our bathroom is way too cramped.

The new spot he found was right next to his litter tray, in a plastic tub. Ive since removed the tub so theres really no more secluded spots he can get to.

What I didnt mention though was that each of the now 4 times he has done this, they have been on the verge of diarrhea. Very runny poo rather than his normal solids.

Could him perhaps feeling a little off colour cause him to behave like that?

(Yes I realise diarhea is bad but it seems to have eased up a little for now)

Oh yes! That's a very important piece of information. The times that my Callie pooped inappropriately, her's was also very soft and SMELLED! Sent me running for the hills! LOL

Have you taken him to the vet to rule out any kind of parasites or blockage, something in his plumbing not working properly? It could be something like his anal glands being clogged up. I would start there. It sounds like he may be associating the litter box with some kind of pain or uncomfortable experience.

If his "normal" stools are a little hard, it may hurt him to defecate. A little plain canned pumpkin (not the pumpkin pie spice stuff) should help soften his stools a little. The good news is that the same pumpkin can help firm up stools.

What kind of food is he eating? That may have something to do with the consistency of his stools as well. Did he perhaps have a treat or eat some human food?

Stephanie

He eats dry food during the day and good quality cat meat food at night (small amounts).
I give him a piece of raw meat once a week. It's specially made for cats, he loves it.

I had tried a different brand of dry food and noticed thats when the runny stuff started, so he is back to his normal brand and things seem to have gone back to normal.

Amazing that one change in food brand can do that!
It wasn't a cheap brand either, it was one of the other 'good' brands.