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Defecating in Carrier

post #1 of 9
10/8/10 at 6:42pm
Thread Starter 
Hi, we have a 6 month old full breed Siberian named Sage. She's great and everyone who meets her instantly loves her. We have a vacation home about 2 hours away that we visit frequently. When we first got her she meowed and meowed the entire trip. After a few weeks the meowing subsided and she would quiet down and take a nap. Eventually she became very comfortable with the carrier and would curl up and go to sleep right away.

Unfortunately, starting about a month ago she has defecated every time she has been in the carrier. I have tried to trace back to some cause of this and the best I can come up with is that she was spayed about 3 weeks ago. However, she defecated a few weeks before her spaying which could have been just an isolated incident.

Otherwise she is fine and acts her normal self around the house. She hasn't had any traumatic events, is an indoor kitty, fully up to date on her shots and is almost always with someone in the family.

If you have any idea's on what to do please post them. We love Sage regardless of this problem but it is becoming somewhat of an inconvenience.

Thank you
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post #2 of 9
10/8/10 at 6:58pm
Has she been back to the vet for a check up? I don't know what the problem could be, but we always take the "safe vs sorry" approach to it.

We have a kitty that vomits, pees and poops in the carrier every time we travel. He's just terrified. I don't know if something changed for your girl that has made her become scared... but... What we do when we have to take him to the vet is put several layers of weewee pads in the bottom of the carrier and have plastic bags for garbage with us, and cat wipes. When Shelly lets loose, we pull over, I pull out the soiled weewee pad, clean him up if I need to, and toss it in the garbage. Takes a couple of minutes.

Have you tried spraying her carrier with Feliway before you travel? If for some reason she's stressing, that may help. You may also want to dab her with Bach's Rescue Remedy before travel.
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post #3 of 9
10/8/10 at 7:01pm
Callie used to do this when I first got her. She did it because she was stressed. I started spraying the carrier and my car with feliway and it helped. Now she just sleeps the entire time we're driving. It also helps if we travel in the afternoon when she normally naps.
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post #4 of 9
10/11/10 at 12:40am
As mentioned, this is probably fear-induced. For how long do you go to the vacation home at a time? Just a thought, but your cat might just be happier staying at home along for a day or two, rather than travel to a different place too often.
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post #5 of 9
10/12/10 at 8:33pm
Thread Starter 
Sometimes we can be up there for a day or two, other times it's for a week if not longer. Unfortunately it isn't a set, regular regimental routine that she could become acclimated to. What's so strange to me at least is that until a month ago she was completely fine with the car and would go to sleep, we were all so proud of her.

I don't think she would like being alone for a few days. Sage runs to the door to greet us, wakes all of us up at least once a night with purring and licking, follows us around the house and loves to play games. Apparently this is common to the Siberian breed, so much so they are often attributed to have dog-like qualities.
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post #6 of 9
10/12/10 at 8:39pm
You might try spraying feliway in the carrier.
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post #7 of 9
10/13/10 at 6:09am
She's six months old, right? Kittens often travel more easily than cats. That can explain he change in behavior.

Is she spayed? Not saying it's related, just asking in general, wondering if maybe hormonal changes in her cycle are making her more sensitive now that she's grown up.

One last thing that comes to mind is the size of the carrier. Siberians are fairly large cats, so you may want to invest in a larger carrier, possibly a cage like the one professional breeders use when traveling to cat shows.
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post #8 of 9
10/15/10 at 9:38pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks for the replies. We spoke with the vet today who also recommended feliway. I've been researching it and I am a little confused. Is feliway the name of the product or an ingredient in the product? I ask because I keep reading about "Comfort Zone", is that what you guys are referring to when you mention feliway?
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post #9 of 9
10/16/10 at 11:59am
There is both Feliway and Comfort Zone, which contains Feliway. Comfort Zone spray will work if Feliway is going to work.
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