Getting frustrated! (litterbox issues)

The new kittens Chloe and Blaze are a total joy to have in the house!
Tonka even plays with them!

But, we're having litterbox issues!

At first I thought it was BOTH of them pooping outside the litterbox but last night, I realized it's just Blaze doing it.

I have 6 litterboxes in the house (5 cats).
1. Living room
2. My room
3. Deacon's room
4. Justice's room
5. Bathroom
6. dining room

And he will still go just outside the litter box every time!

It's not that he can't get into them because he plays in there

I've tried 4 different kinds of litter also!

I've placed the poop in the litterbox along with him immediatly after he's done it and he just jumps out.

This isn't too big of a deal right now but next month we're replacing the carpets in the bedrooms and I don't want him ruining them.

I've used Natures Miracle to clean up after him so he doesn't smell it and return to the same place also.

Chloe, Tonka, Duke, and Sammy all use the litterboxes and they get cleaned once a day

I don't know what else to do and as much as we love the little pooper we don't want our carpets ruined. Brandon and I have talked about it and if it continues we might have to rehome him with one of our friends who has no other cats

Any advice would be more then appreciated!

We don't want to have to rehome him to "save" our carpets.

6 litter boxes for 5 cats really isn't alot. I would add a few more boxes and see how things go. You say you scoop once a day, with only 6 boxes I would scoop at least 2 times a day.

Have you considered separating Blaze and keeping him in one room with litter box, food, water and focusing on good litter box usage in a small area, then expanding?

Leslie

The general rule is one box per cat, plus one extra. So, to me it sounds like there are enough boxes for your crew. I'm not sure how old your kittens are, but kittens do tend to have accidents, though, so adding a couple more, if you can, might help.

I'm just thinking out loud here, but the fact that he is repeatedly going just outside the boxes leads me to believe the he wants to use the boxes, and that availability is not an issue. Maybe he doesn't use them because for him, the box has to be 100% spotless for #2, and it isn't, in which case cleaning more often might help. Or maybe he doesn't like the feel of the litter when he wants to poop, which I admit doesn't make a lot of sense, but hey, he's a cat. But given that you've tried 4 different types of litter, with presumably no success, I wouldn't know what to advise. Or, maybe you haven't really gotten the smell out of the floors where he's gone. Have you considered trying a different enzymatic cleaner besides Nature's Miracle? Or maybe using even more NM than you think you actually need? But then I suppose you could argue that if you weren't thorough enough with the cleaning, the other cats would smell the scent on the floors and they might not be consistent with litter box usage. But that's not what's happening.

Keeping him confined until he demonstrates consistent litter box usage, like Jack31 said, is a good idea. The only bad thing is that, even if successful, he might relapse once he has access to the entire house again. But it's certainly worth a try. Also, many people have reported good results with Kitten Attract / Cat Attract litter or additive. Apparently it contains scents that help to draw cats to litter boxes. You might want to give that a try as well, if you haven't already. Hopefully Blaze will get with the program very soon!

I'd keep him confined to a small crate or pen till he gets the idea 100%

It sounds like you have enough litter boxes and have tried everything.

What size boxes are you using? You may need to get a longer and taller box. Some cats hang their bum over the side because its not long enough.

Originally Posted by Pami

It sounds like you have enough litter boxes and have tried everything.

What size boxes are you using? You may need to get a longer and taller box. Some cats hang their bum over the side because its not long enough.

Click to expand...

Someone else suggested that too but unless this little man has an unusual talent of being able to poop 1ft away from the box, he's doing it on purpose


We added ANOTHER littler box.. one at each end of the dining/living rooms now.
It seems to have slowed down.

I've always free fed the cats before this but now we've decided they're going on a feeding schedule.... well... at least the little ones are
(If I tried this with Duke and Tonka, they would scream thier heads off and cuss us everytime we walked passed them )

So Sammy, Blaze and Chloe are all on a schedule. When I see Blaze searching for a place to go I put him in the litterbox and pet him for a second then walk away.
It's worked so far except for when we're not home.

Next I have to work on him covering his poop up Right now he just does his business and gets out... Chloe ends up covering it for him

I wouldnt worry about them covering it up, just give him lots of praise and fuss for doing it in the right place. When my cat kept pooing on the chair, I ignored him and when he went in the litter tray I gave him a big fuss, he soon caught on, but he never ever covered it up.

Oh geez I wouldn't stress about him covering it too! Jack never covers--never had anyone to teach him how, he was "stray" kitten. But now that we have Harley, he cover's Jack's for him, he's a nice brother.

Leslie

Maybe it's a behavioral thing? Have you ever tried Feliway?