Cat poops on the floor, and I`m going insane!

Okay seriously!

Two cats, one is fantastic, the other one is driving me crazy, he will not stop pooping on the floor.

EVERY freaking day!!!!!!!!!!

First of all, there are THREE large boxes, one of them is just a large storage box like 2 feet long and a 1 1/2 wide, one is `self cleaning` and all three are cleaned every 16-20 hours at minimum and fully emptied about weekly and washed about as frequently. (He does always pee in one of the two normal boxes) and I`ve been quick to praise him (usage of the box is never correlated to when it had been cleaned).

Its my boyfriends cat, its apparently been doing it for years before I even knew him, and he loves it and pays a ton of attention to it and always has, so do I, the cat has absolutely no reason to stress, I play with it all the damned time, have since I got here,

He actually used the self cleaning litterbox regularly, for pooping only, at one point for a month, maybe two, and nothing has changed since then

He stopped using the box again at first once in a while after we went away overnight, then every day for the last week.

Prior to me being here he used to use it when he was a kitten but my BF's cousin moved in for a while a few years later and shut him out of the room one time, it crapped next to the bed when the door was finally left open and he says ever since then its been every day.

He's neutered and declawed.

He's never been outside

He craps on the tile, but also used to crap on the carpet in the other room downstairs before I finally had to block it off, which sucks for his sister because she likes to chill down there.

The boxes are lined up against the wall on the tile, the downstairs isn't used anymore (mostly because of this) and the cats could hear something coming downstairs so they should feel safe.

The other cat is a bit bossy but shes usually upstairs with me and certainly not harassing him while hes pooping on the downstairs floor.

I`ve tried
FIRSTLY THE $150 SELF CLEANING LITTER BOX WHICH IS ALWAYS CLEAN AND TRAPS SMELLS IN AN AIR TIGHT COMPARTMENT

-he is fat, but has been to the vet and is otherwise fine, hes on diet food and I'm constantly exercising him with creative toys

-blocking off most of the room when he kept taking craps.

-crunchy plastic bags/tin foil over a lot of the rest of the floor.

-spraying air conditioner/deodorizer in the box (also not adding anything)

-washing with both soap, no soap and unscented soap

-scented&unscented litter

-showing him clean up putting it into the box

-strategically moving the boxes

-different litter levels

-pointing to box and saying good

-talking to him like I`m an idiot and I think he will actually listen and have some respect.

Seriously, I've read all these forums, please don't repeat the usual... as per the above he has no reason to continue this, there are enough boxes and they are very clean, I'm at the absolute end of my rope, and its a good thing his sister is such a good cat or I would go insane and be put right off by cats from here on.

Dude...sorry bro but your anger, bitterness, and hatred is something I can sense through a screen of stupid LED crystals.  Do you honestly think you cat is not picking up on that?  Your cat knows how you feel about it and is likely frustrated by this.  Your attitude is what is stressing the cat out.  From my little bit of experience cats have this behavior when they are stressed.  In fact, defecation or urination outside of the box is conventionally interpreted as the cat screaming "Hey stupid!  Can you really not tell I am stressing out over here?" 

Your solution lies in peace mostly.  Calm down - cats go to stress like matches go to gasoline.  Relax...when was the last time you played with that cat?  I prolly know the least of all the people on here but this is what I suggest you do to get more poop in the box than out.

1.  Calm down and show the cat you love it

2.  Feliway diffusers...you could use a xanex diffuser for yourself too

3.  avoid changing anything...don't move the box...it will not help...it is a stressor.

if that doesn't work...well I don't know...just love the dam cat.  It is not hard.

Is it possible the other cat is harrasing this one? 

Dont spray anything into the litter box/use additives.
He declawed?

Neutered?

Did he EVER use the box consistently?

Did you switch to another type of litter(wood/paper/...)

Sorry dude your wrong, its my boyfriends cat, its apparently been doing it for years before I even knew him, and he loves it and pays a ton of attention to it and always has, so do I, the cat has absolutely no reason to stress, I play with it all the damned time, have since I got here, there was a period of about a month that he actually used the self cleaning litterbox regularly. THEN STOPPED FOR NO REASON. 

I've finally become this frustrated with all of the many solutions I've tried not working with any finality, up until two days ago I was patient and loving and I've just had enough having spent many many many hours cleaning up after the animal and catering to it and a supposed preference for a clean box to no avail and having it randomly use it when its not at its cleanest and not use it after I've scrubbed and refilled it. In fact yesterday I did both this and lavished the cat with a ton of praise and attention, (it used the box the day before that so I was trying to reward it) and yet today after the box was scrubbed the cat didn't use it.
 

When is the last time the cat was at a vet?

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/19767/inappropriate-poop-problems-answered

That's at least a set of reasonable questions, thanks.

Most of the time I don't spray or add anything, I did the last time he messed up because I thought it might help but I'll see if your right about not doing this, I just didn't know what else to do...

I've really only tried scented and non scented various brands of clumping litter, might wood chips help?  ( he usually goes on the tile floor and has never been outside so I don't think its an outdoorsy preference thing )

He did use the box for about a month/two every day, but there was absolutely nothing different going on, he started up again when we went away overnight, first once in a while then all the time...

Prior to me being here he used to use it when he was a kitten but my BF's cousin moved in for a while a few years later and shut him out of the room one time, it crapped next to the bed when the door was finally left open and he says ever since then its been every day.

He is declawed and neutered.

The other cat is a bit bossy with him, but shes never down there with him, shes usually sitting with me and I'll notice him sneaking upstairs after doing it.

The cat has been checked out by the vet many many times since the problem started YEARS ago....no issues, hes a bit fat, but on diet food and otherwise healthy

I would at least start with a physical and a close exam of the feet and maybe xray.  If pain its possible he don't want to dig around in box.  I know my cats dig alot more for poop then peeing.  Also a stool sample for the vet is highly suggested.

Is it the same rooms/areas or random?

I would try a clay litter that is no scoopable-the tidy cats in bag is my go to for that.  Wood is probably not advisable unless you want to do a new box with that.

They do make litter additives but being so long I think better investment is vet trip.  I have a cat who goes on the floor/puppy pad next to the boxes.  I had a cat who would go anywhere.  It gets to be alot when its every day
 

I added to my original post.

The vet had totally checked him out, it is for certain not a medical thing

As per my edits, he used to go randomly on the carpet in the downstairs living room but now its blocked off, so is most of the tiled room the litter boxes are in and he craps randomly on whats left of the floor.

I've tiled the whole floor with plastic bags and whatnot, its just so frustrating, the whole downstairs is practically useless and blocked off.
 

Maybe a new box with different type of litter, its worth a shot, I think its the only thing i've not tried

The declaw might be part of it.... What type of cat is he? Does he have a tail, if he does, do you know or can you find out if he's ever had an injury to it? Sometimes when cats have injuries to their tails they can't really feel when they're pooping. If that's the case, he may not even realize he's doing it or he may not realize that he has to poop until he has to so just goes where he is. 

Here's what I would do;

1. Get the cat in for a check up and let the vet know that he's been pooping all over. There may be a medical reason for it. 

2. Get a couple of different types of litter, you can get the small bags, most stores will let you return the bags if your cat does not like them (check with them before hand to verify). I would suggest a newspaper type litter (like Yesterday's News), a pine litter and a wheat or corn based litter (like World's Best or Swheat Scoop). Get a few litter boxes, most dollar stores have them, and fill each one with a different type of litter. Put them all near each other and see if he uses any of them more than the others. 

3. Get a few vinyl floor tiles and put them on the bottom of a litter box, if he starts using this box instead of the floor then start adding a tiny bit of litter too it gradually until you're up to a normal amount. 

4. Start with litter training all over again. Put him in a small room, such as a bathroom, with his food, water, toys and as many litter boxes as you can comfortably fit in there (obviously, if it's a room you have to use you won't be able to fit as many in. Gradually remove litterboxes until he's reliably using only one. 

5. Get some feliway diffusers or a calming collar for both cats and see if that helps at all. 

Hopefully you'll be able to get to the bottom of this. 

Have you tried Feliway spray? Or plug-ins around the apartment? Even though Feliway was designed for inappropriate peeing problems, if this is stress-related (and cat stress can be totally outside of human understanding of "why"), it may help. I'd try the spray first. It can take a day, two, or three to help if it's going to work (just don't spray it near the litter boxes). But it's worth the try.

Also some cats HATE certain cleaners.  I would get a new box(basic up pan style no hood or anything) and try cat attract litter or the plain clay.  clean it with just a dish soap or something-no citrus or fruity smells.  My guys are used to anything but for a sensitive cat I would go with maybe palmolive green one.
 

Also maybe worth a shot to use the pads found in walmart-I use the human versions by assure-blueish package because I fear if any added scent the others may follow the trend:S

do you use soap when you scrub?  scents can annoy the cat

Do you talk out loud to the cat?  If so he may be picking up on tonal changes when you get angry after having to yet again clean up his tootsie rolls

Remember there IS a reason he stopped.  You said in a previous post that the cat stopped using the litter box for no reason.  There IS a reason and I would start with stress.

The other cat is a bit bossy with him - stressor for sure.

you state you are at the end of your rope - stressor for sure

he started using the box when you and BF went away once - interesting point...do you and your BF fight?  are you verbal with each other? 

do you have boxes with lids on them and boxes without lids?

i know there are many people on here that know much more than I do however I noticed those things so far in addition to:

you use the word 'hatred" in the very first sentence describing your plight and you were talking about the cat.

!!!!!!!! after a phrase of all caps tell me you were pzzd and wanted to let us all know - yell...make me wonder if you yell in front of cat

the very first word you present to this forum with regard to the cat is F**king...

talking about kitty derogatorily "...Like he would actually understand me"

OK I am not the bad guy here.  In fact I am your friend here because I will tell you the things I notice and what I feel.  Based on my experience with Cher I came up with the concerns I have listed.  It is no hair off of my ass if you fix this relationship or not...has absolutely no bearing on my life whatsoever, right?  So what I say is not personal...get that outta your head.  My Cher has a history with anger and all that lovely stuff so I am sensitive to it.  In fact after I read your first post I wanted to poo on your floor...relax - that one was a joke.

ask yourself this:  Do you think (insert name of diety here) moves trees around so the birds don't build nests in the wrong places?  Does that diety bend rivers just to keep fish from swimming on land?  You do not need to move anything or make physical changes.  There is something keeping the kitty from wanting to "build a nest in that tree" or "swim around that bend in the river".  It is naturally easiest for them to do these things however something is stressing kitty out to such an extent that he is building his nest in thin air without  tree around or swimming on land.  Just think about that for a minute.

I agree kitty should also see a vet.

oh and one more thing...what would it take for you to use your living room floor for a bathroom instead of the commode in your bathroom?  I am being serious here...most things that come to my mind are extreme stressors like a tiger in the bathroom, bathroom filled with angry bees, etc...There has to be something so uncomfortable going on that I would have to feel more comfortable going poo on my carpet...consider that level of stress...that is what kitty is going through as well

yes could be medical..impaction, diverticulitis, polyps, diarrhea, and anything else that would make him go before he could get to the box however you mention "...he goes down stairs and does it" which i took to mean kitty regularly does it wrongly downstairs yet this behavior has consistencies.  If the behavior were dictated by a biochemical or metabolic issue his surprises would be random both in time and in location...as well as likely loose in nature.

back to stress...

Are all the litter boxes in the same general area? Are they all on the same floor? (Upstairs?)

catsallaround said:

Also some cats HATE certain cleaners. 

Click to expand...

When cleaning litter boxes, it's really best to use an unscented soap, and just use soap and water. We use 7th Generation (unscented) for our dish soap, and that's what we use to clean the boxes. We wash them monthly and replace all the litter then, otherwise we scoop twice a day, and refill as necessary.

And as he's declawed, you may actually want to consider adding a new box and use Yesterday's News litter. It's typically used for kitties recovering from the declaw surgery. But if Catsallaround and nerdrock are right about his paws being sensitive from the declaw (and, as pointed out, kitties dig more when they poop), perhaps the alternate box and litter will help.

Again dude, I appreciate your attempt to help but you missed the ball a bit this time too, my bf and I have never ever even raised our voices a bit to each-other in 6 months let alone the cat, I can't recall a single anger moment.... I only screamed at the cat today, prior to that I've been talking to it calmly like a person explaining to it that it should use the box in what can my no means be interpreted as an angry tone, loving if anything....i do love that damned cat its just driving me nuts and I'm at that point only today, else i would have been ranting on the cat people site months ago...I'm just frustrated because there doesn't seem to be a solution. Not at you either, I get that your trying to help, everyone is, but aside from something called clay litter which seems a long shot there is nothing written on this site I have not tried, and I moved the box only 2ce in six months because sites like this suggested it, they have been in the same spot since when he actually used it for a month or so.

He STOPPED using the box after when we went away, first a few times a week for two weeks then all last week, I was compensating with a ton of attention too, so unless my love is stressing him out he had no reason to act this way at all

the other one was bossy from the get go, even during the period where he behaved, I thought he might be jealous because shes always all over me during the day, but he sleeps right next to my head every night with his paws on my arm and she doesn't so that doesn't make sense either

.i've used soap, i've not used soap, hes used it directly after both and not at all after both, there is no pattern that correlates to its cleaning at all
 

Again, the cat was checked by the vet recently and years ago when this started and regularly in between

The boxes are downstairs lined up by the wall and in a quite no traffic location, as the whole of the downstairs living room is blocked off due to this issue.... they could see/hear things coming down the stairs so they should feel safe

Did the cat have xrays of the feet.  And is this the same vet who declawed the cat-I would get opinion from a vet who DIDN'T do the declaw in case there is any issues with vet admitting there may be a problem.

And did you ever use HARSH cleaners-ammonia or pine sol or the like?

Dr. Elseys cat attract litter and litter additive is sold at petsmart for sure but sure there are other stores that carry it too.

Clay non scooping litter in the bag is any grocery store.

I think you and I have unfortunately created a negative relationship.  We see things different.  For the sake of the kitty I am bowing out of this one.  I apologize for offending you as well.  There are many smart people here.  Trust them...they know what they are talking about.  My Cher used to run from me...not anymore...one more thing..get feliway

Good Luck!

catsallaround said:

Did the cat have xrays of the feet.  And is this the same vet who declawed the cat-I would get opinion from a vet who DIDN'T do the declaw in case there is any issues with vet admitting there may be a problem.

And did you ever use HARSH cleaners-ammonia or pine sol or the like?

Dr. Elseys cat attract litter and litter additive is sold at petsmart for sure but sure there are other stores that carry it too.

Clay non scooping litter in the bag is any grocery store.

Click to expand...

Second the suggestion to use Dr. Elsley's Cat Attract litter (or the additive added to clay litter as instructed) if you haven't tried that yet.


...And Feliway.