Hello everyone! I'm having issues with one of our two cats pooping outside of the litter box and I can't seem to find a reason for his behavior. Here's a little history:
I've had my fixed female cat Gristle for about 8 years now. She is a very unemotional, "solo" cat, but she is my baby and I love her very much. In May 2010, we moved to Florida (from Louisiana) and moved in with my boyfriend and his fixed male cat Henry (probably 9 years old, I'd say).
Gristle and Henry tolerate each other. They play every now and then, but they also fuss sometimes. They typically leave one another alone. Gristle likes to sleep upstairs in the 2nd bedroom while Henry maintains his spot on the couch downstairs.
This problem has gotten progressively worse (Henry's pooping outside the litter box, I mean). We have one large, covered litter box downstairs that both of them shared at one point. We used the very tiny clumping litter. Henry began pooping outside the litter box about a month after Gristle and I moved in. At that point, he was pooping anywhere: on the tile floor, the carpet upstairs, the rugs in the bathroom, etc. But he was still urinating in the litter box.
Long story short, I've done TONS of reading on the internet (especially here) and have tried different methods to help ease whatever issues he's having. Here's what I've done so far over the past 8 or so months:
1) We now have two litter boxes, one up stairs, one downstairs
2) I've tried both boxes uncovered (no change)
3) I've ceased using litter box liners
4) I've moved their feeding "station" far away from the location of the litter box downstairs
5) We've changed brands/types of litter multiple times and have recently started incorporating a new "pellet" type of litter (to try to lower the amount of litter that they kick everywhere)
6) The new litter that we are using is being incorporated at a delightfully slow pace
So far, nothing has worked. Henry continues to poop randomly, but he seems to prefer the mat outside of the litter box OR one of the rugs at the front and back doors.
I'm at my wit's end. I can't keep cleaning up cat poop. He is a happy cat and gets lots of love and attention. He's also a "howler", if that makes sense. He will come upstairs and just "howl" like crazy, even though he's been fed, watered, clean litter box, etc. Not sure if that is relevant, but I figured I'd add it :P
I'm not sure what else to do at this point. He likes to eat his food (most of the time) without chewing, and he has a long history of hairball problems. About every 3-4 days, he leaves us a nice regurgitated present on the floor. I've read that cats with hairballs are prone to being constipated or having hard, dry feces. Would that be part of the problem here? We feed our cats hairball formula cat food and have tried the remedies from Petsmart, etc. But alas, nothing has eased his tendencies.
Sorry for the long rant, and thank you in advance for any thoughts, ideas, etc. I have no clue what to do next.
I've had my fixed female cat Gristle for about 8 years now. She is a very unemotional, "solo" cat, but she is my baby and I love her very much. In May 2010, we moved to Florida (from Louisiana) and moved in with my boyfriend and his fixed male cat Henry (probably 9 years old, I'd say).
Gristle and Henry tolerate each other. They play every now and then, but they also fuss sometimes. They typically leave one another alone. Gristle likes to sleep upstairs in the 2nd bedroom while Henry maintains his spot on the couch downstairs.
This problem has gotten progressively worse (Henry's pooping outside the litter box, I mean). We have one large, covered litter box downstairs that both of them shared at one point. We used the very tiny clumping litter. Henry began pooping outside the litter box about a month after Gristle and I moved in. At that point, he was pooping anywhere: on the tile floor, the carpet upstairs, the rugs in the bathroom, etc. But he was still urinating in the litter box.
Long story short, I've done TONS of reading on the internet (especially here) and have tried different methods to help ease whatever issues he's having. Here's what I've done so far over the past 8 or so months:
1) We now have two litter boxes, one up stairs, one downstairs
2) I've tried both boxes uncovered (no change)
3) I've ceased using litter box liners
4) I've moved their feeding "station" far away from the location of the litter box downstairs
5) We've changed brands/types of litter multiple times and have recently started incorporating a new "pellet" type of litter (to try to lower the amount of litter that they kick everywhere)
6) The new litter that we are using is being incorporated at a delightfully slow pace
So far, nothing has worked. Henry continues to poop randomly, but he seems to prefer the mat outside of the litter box OR one of the rugs at the front and back doors.
I'm at my wit's end. I can't keep cleaning up cat poop. He is a happy cat and gets lots of love and attention. He's also a "howler", if that makes sense. He will come upstairs and just "howl" like crazy, even though he's been fed, watered, clean litter box, etc. Not sure if that is relevant, but I figured I'd add it :P
I'm not sure what else to do at this point. He likes to eat his food (most of the time) without chewing, and he has a long history of hairball problems. About every 3-4 days, he leaves us a nice regurgitated present on the floor. I've read that cats with hairballs are prone to being constipated or having hard, dry feces. Would that be part of the problem here? We feed our cats hairball formula cat food and have tried the remedies from Petsmart, etc. But alas, nothing has eased his tendencies.
Sorry for the long rant, and thank you in advance for any thoughts, ideas, etc. I have no clue what to do next.
