HELP!! Jake pooped outside his litter box!!

I have no idea why he did it!! He has never done anything like this in his life. We played this morning, he was trying to play with my hair everything was going very well...And then I heard him digging into something and I thought he was just digging into his litter. But it turns out he was digging into the floor and then pooped on the floor! After he pooped, he started even more disparately to try to dig up his poop not realizing there no litter there! So, I cleaned it up but I'm puzzled. Why would he do this??

OMG. I've been there and done that one! Make absolutely sure you get it cleaned REALLY WELL with one of those enzyme cleaners.

Is he feeling okay? Litter box need cleaned/scrubbed? (That's been our case at times)

Good luck, and I hope you are able to nip this one in the bud.

Was he near his litter box? One time Cammy pooped outside her box, it landed right in the pooper scooper. lol, so I knew she was trying. She was actually in the box.

Originally Posted by threecatowner

OMG. I've been there and done that one! Make absolutely sure you get it cleaned REALLY WELL with one of those enzyme cleaners.

Is he feeling okay? Litter box need cleaned/scrubbed? (That's been our case at times)

Good luck, and I hope you are able to nip this one in the bud.

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Oh wow I'm going to do that. I think another reason may be that he's grown so big and I have a covered litter box and he might be feeling claustrophobic in there. I mean it used to be fine when he was smaller but I had taken it off for a while and it was uncovered but some of my house mates i.e parents complained that it looks better when it's covered so I put the top back on. I removed it again now but I'm just keeping my fingers crossed he uses it!

Originally Posted by kscatlady

Was he near his litter box? One time Cammy pooped outside her box, it landed right in the pooper scooper. lol, so I knew she was trying. She was actually in the box.

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No lol he was not even in the same room as his litter box, he was in the hallways next to the door to "his room", the room with his litter box and food and cat tree and toys ..the door always stays open and it was open when he pooped on the floor.

My daughter's cat pooped outside the box when she accidentally bought the wrong kind of litter. They are picky!

Do you have 2 litterboxes? Some of mine will not use the same box for both functions. They didn't care when they were kittens.

You may be right on about a covered box. What I did to hide the box was to get one of those round tables from Walmart that you put the decorative table cloths over. They are super cheap at $5 and maybe 18 inches diameter.

Put this table over the litterbox and cover it with a fabric. Pin the fabric up on two ends for entrance/exit. This gives kitties an open feeling and totally hides the box. Hope that made sense.

Originally Posted by Skimble

My daughter's cat pooped outside the box when she accidentally bought the wrong kind of litter. They are picky!

Do you have 2 litterboxes? Some of mine will not use the same box for both functions. They didn't care when they were kittens.

You may be right on about a covered box. What I did to hide the box was to get one of those round tables from Walmart that you put the decorative table cloths over. They are super cheap at $5 and maybe 18 inches diameter.

Put this table over the litterbox and cover it with a fabric. Pin the fabric up on two ends for entrance/exit. This gives kitties an open feeling and totally hides the box. Hope that made sense.

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Wow I totally love the idea of the table!!! I'm going to do that. Can you show me a link if you can find one of the tables you are talking about because I'm not sure I know which ones u mean.
He just used the litter box..
I only have one because he's my only cat and i don't live in a huge house, it's a 3 bedroom one so I don't think it's necessary but I may add another one just in case.

I'm not very savy uploading pics. I took a quick pic and put it in photobucket. You can get a good look at the type table. It comes with the legs off, you screw them on the tabletop in the space underneath the table. No screws or bolts. Everything is attached and you just screw the legs on.

I could not find it on Walmart's site, but I bought it there for $5 within the past year.

http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/p...g?t=1244134353

http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/p...g?t=1244134645

I will try to find a link, but maybe this will help.

Originally Posted by Skimble

I'm not very savy uploading pics. I took a quick pic and put it in photobucket. You can get a good look at the type table. It comes with the legs off, you screw them on the tabletop in the space underneath the table. No screws or bolts. Everything is attached and you just screw the legs on.

I could not find it on Walmart's site, but I bought it there for $5 within the past year.

http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/p...g?t=1244134353

http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/p...g?t=1244134645

I will try to find a link, but maybe this will help.

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Thanks so much that looks awesome! It looks tall enough to allow lots of room and it covers the litter box so well! I don't need the link, the pictures tell me exactly what I need to know to find it. Such a great idea

It sounds like he has outgrown his covered litterbox. My cats would use their covered litterbox but they looked like they hated it so much. And my male cat definately looked humungous inside the covered litterbox. I now have taken the lid off permanently. They are both on grain free canned food and raw so their poops are less frequent, less smelly and not overly big anymore.

After reading your thread I see that you have the food and water near the litterbox. Cats generally do not like to do their business near their food. Can you not put the food in the kitchen and instead add another litterbox in a quiet secluded location? Cats like their privacy when using the litterbox. I am hoping this is a one time incident for Jake.....

If you try some of the advice given and none of it works then Jake may have constipation/blockage or enlarged anal glands. Something to keep in mind....