Desperate for help

cotillion19

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Hi all,

I have a year and a half old cat who, in the past few months, has stopped using his litter box for poop and now goes in our shower or on the bathroom floor. He does it in both of our bathrooms, including 3 feet away from his litter box. I have changed litter, changed litter box, cleaned his areas with bleach, with vinegar, with soap, put down aluminum foil, everything I can think of. He still ignores his litter box and goes to the floor. I have put his poops into the litter box and shown it to him and put his paws in the litter, to no avail.

He is completely healthy; has no mobility problems at all (tramples through the apartment all the time). I cannot be awake and at home 24 hours a day to try and catch him in the act, so I am getting very frustrated and losing hope. This is unacceptable behavior, but I cannot find a way to get him back to his litter box.

PLEASE someone help! What on earth can we do to have a sanitary home with a cat that seems to ignore "instinct?"
 

bb_scallop

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If you haven't already, I would give your vet a call and see if they'd like you to bring your cat in - even though you're pretty sure he is healthy, it's always good to rule out (or discover/solve) any physical cause of this behavior.

You say this started a few months ago - around that time, had anything changed about the litter box or the cat's environment/life? (moving the litterbox, new cat in the home, new food... anything at all different that you can think of?)

Is the litterbox located in a private area for the cat?

Do you have an enclosed litterbox? I've read that some cats don't like those because they trap the odors inside the box - which of course is the idea, but some kitties don't take kindly to a smellier box.
 
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cotillion19

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Thanks for the reply.

We are going to take him to the vet as a last resort. We were just hoping to see if there are any other answers before spending that kind of money.

His litter box is not enclosed, and it is fairly private (certainly more private than the middle of the bathroom floor).

He had always made occasional mistakes in doing this in the bathroom or shower, but now it is all he does. He urinates in the box, but will not poop in it. We had him stay at my father's house for a few days near the time when he started doing this full time, so maybe that would have affected something. If so, I have no idea how to combat something that happened months ago and is no longer an active stimulus. Other than that, no sudden changes in his life whatsoever.
 

momofmany

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The majority of litter box issues are caused by health issues. Before anything is done to address behavior, you have to look at their health. I had a cat that started to poop in the middle of the living room. He didn't appear sick, but it turned out he had an auto-immune disease. Cats by nature do their best to hide their illnesses. Don't let him fool you.

Some cats simply will not pee and poop in the same spot. Another natural instinct that they have in the wild. The rule of thumb is 1 litter box per cat plus an additional box, so with 1 cat, you need 2 boxes. You will find cats that like covered boxes, but my opinion is that most cats don't like them. Avoid covered boxes.

Once a cat starts to go outside the box, there are 2 things you need to do on top of the above. Clean the spot with an enzymatic cleaner (like Nature's Miracle, but I prefer Nok Out). Attract them back to the box. Cat Attract litter (sold at PetsMart or online) seems to work the best based on comments on this site.

Don't give up if you love him.
 

ldg

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Many people feel and appear completely healthy... until a few things start seeming "off" - and they find out they've had cancer for many years.

Perhaps it hurts your cat to poop. This is often a reason cats stop using the litter box - they associate the litter box with the pain. This is the only way he has to tell you that he's got a problem. So he may look healthy to you, but he's trying to let you know there's a problem.

Please take him to a vet.
 

hissy

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Just chiming in from my own experience This cat needs a vet now, not in a few days, but NOW. If cats are pooping on hard, slippery surfaces it is almost always a health issue. Soft items it is stress. but hard surfaces- health. Have them run a blood panel as well as a general exam.
 

carolina

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It could also be he doesnt like the litter - try getting another box and filling it with cat attract litter.

On the original box, add some finer clumping clay litter....

Is your cat declawd?
 
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