help!

I am having a problem with my cat sophie. He is pooing all over the floor. He will use the litter box to pee, but will go RIGHT beside it to poo. I have 3 cats and 3 litter boxes. I am going to get another one tomorrow. Has anyone else had this problem before?

the litter box is cleaned regularly
there are other cats using it, but we have 3 litter boxes and we have also tryed to seperate him for a few days and he still went RIGHT beside it
he doesn't look uncomfortable doing it, he just looks like its completely normal for him
we have tried covered, uncovered, regular cat litter, scoopable cat litter, bags, no bags, etc.

Any suggestions??

Has he been to the vet to rule out medical issues, i.e., impacted anal glands?

I took him to one vet and it was a joke. He pretty much told us that we need to get rid of the cat and there is nothing we can do for him. He didn't take any tests or anything. So I am trying to get a few ideas of what it might be before I go into the vet (obviously a different one then that guy) so maybe that will help them rule out what to test for.

Originally Posted by Yosemite

Has he been to the vet to rule out medical issues, i.e., impacted anal glands?

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I agree. A medical issue is the top reason that a cat would do this. Another possibility besides an anal gland issue is constipation. From observing my cats, the constipation does not have to be severe for them to seek a new place to poo.

My cat Paisley has had some constipation issues in the past. It was only enough to make her obviously ill one time. Other times, there were minor issues going on and my only clue was that she was looking for a different place to poop. When she feels good, she goes straight to the box. If not, she doesn't. With her, that's the first sign of trouble.

For Paisley, I've been able to manage the issue by changing her diet (all wet food, no dry food). She's regular, happy, and going straight to the box to poop now.

My first thought would be constipation, and my second thought would be perhaps a bigger (longer) box is needed? One of the boxes I use is actually one of those long plastic storage containers designed to go under the bed. It gives them more space to turn around and to go forward a little if needed.

Originally Posted by cloud_shade

My first thought would be constipation, and my second thought would be perhaps a bigger (longer) box is needed? One of the boxes I use is actually one of those long plastic storage containers designed to go under the bed. It gives them more space to turn around and to go forward a little if needed.

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Thanks for the idea, I'll try that

Originally Posted by cloud_shade

My first thought would be constipation, and my second thought would be perhaps a bigger (longer) box is needed? One of the boxes I use is actually one of those long plastic storage containers designed to go under the bed. It gives them more space to turn around and to go forward a little if needed.

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If it`s not a medical problem then that could very likely be it.
I don`t use reg kitty litter pans either. We also bought a storage box (with high sides so they don`t flip the litter out) We cut a section just wide enough for the cats to get in on one side and left a threshold of about 4" so the litter has room to be deep enough. Our box is about 16"x 22"....but then we do have 3 cats that use it (only litter box we have and don`t have any problems with it)....and I sift for the "tootsie rolls" morning and evening and in between if I see that some has used it.
I also change the littler completely every week.
I hope this is an answer for you and that your kitty does`nt have a medical problem.
Let us know if this works for you!
Linda

Hello Jessica!

I was having trouble training my new kittens, and my mum came up with an idea that worked straight away!

She put the litter tray right in a corner, and put a piece of plywood over it leaning against the wall so it is really private for them, and now they use it all the time. As you can probably tell I am a new kitty-mum, you have probably tried this before, but if you havn't I hope it works! I'm quite excited about it - how sad!