Preference for pooping on blanketing

2 weeks ago we adopted a 4.5 yr old cat from the animal shelter. His previous owners ‘found’ him and after 6mths surrendered him for ‘inappropriate toileting’.  There is no medical reason and the vet has said he is definitely not stressed so Felliway won’t help. He uses his litter tray for peeing (except one time), but only occasionally for pooping. He seems to prefer to bury his poop in his fleece blankets. These were removed so he moved from his room and pooped on our bed cover. We have 2 litter trays in his room and have decided to isolate him in this room for a while. With no blanket, he pooped in the tray. This is a behavioural issue we really want to address as surrendering him for the same reason as previous owners did could mean he will be ‘put down’.  Any suggestions would be greatly welcomed?

Welcome to The Cat Site.

First thank you for rescuing/adopting this cat.

I would do some of the things you do when training a tiny kitten to use the litter box:  when he poops, put some of the poop in the litter box along with him.  Mix some Cat Attract litter with his other litter.  You might try changing the texture of the litter to something softer.

Here is a thread that talks about inappropriate peeing issues, though I would think it could also apply to pooping.

Good luck--I know this is really bothersome.

Is this the cat in your avatar?  If so he's a very lovely boy..

I'm sure you would have mentioned if he had been declawed, but just checking...

Isolating and really positive re-inforcement is a good way to go. And Ritz has some great suggestions.

Good on you for having two boxes, as often they won't poo where they wee. However some cats are fanatical about a clean box... they won't use it if it has poo in it.  Could that be the case? 

Let us know if any of this is appropriate, and if now we'll keep working on it...

And welcome to TCS! 

Thanks for the reply. My father just suggested the placing of inappropriate poops in tray with our new cat,Leroy Brown, so will try (when he is allowed out of isolated room!). As for softer litter, that is the next step. Currently using the silica crystals but the vet suggested the recycled paper-pulp pellets...so the next trial step on the journey to success! Thank You
 

penalex said:

Thanks for the reply. My father just suggested the placing of inappropriate poops in tray with our new cat,Leroy Brown, so will try (when he is allowed out of isolated room!). As for softer litter, that is the next step. Currently using the silica crystals but the vet suggested the recycled paper-pulp pellets...so the next trial step on the journey to success! Thank You
 

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Keep us posted

Mani, New to this 'forum' thing, what do you mean by "in your avatar"? The photo is he, Leroy Brown and he is beautiful (pooping issues aside)

Delawing? Only had him for 2 weeks, his claws click on the wooden floor boards, does this suggest declawing is due and can it be a factor in inappropriate toileting?

He poops and wees in the same box (when on his best behaviour), the inappropriate pooping in blanketing maybe an issue from the previous 3 or so years of his life of which the details are unknown. I just know he likes to bury poop in a blanket!!

penalex said:

Mani, New to this 'forum' thing, what do you mean by "in your avatar"? The photo is he, Leroy Brown and he is beautiful (pooping issues aside)

Delawing? Only had him for 2 weeks, his claws click on the wooden floor boards, does this suggest declawing is due and can it be a factor in inappropriate toileting?

He poops and wees in the same box (when on his best behaviour), the inappropriate pooping in blanketing maybe an issue from the previous 3 or so years of his life of which the details are unknown. I just know he likes to bury poop in a blanket!!

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Your avatar is the little picture that goes with your posts... and he is, indeed, beautiful

Declawing is something that we don't do.  It is an awful thing to put a cat through.  I asked because often when cats are declawed their feet hurt and it can affect how they use litter. If your guy's claws click, that's fine..It's most unlikely that he's been declawed..  In some countries (like mine) it's illegal.  If you would like to know more, please read this article: http://www.thecatsite.com/a/why-cats-should-not-be-declawed.

I think trying a range of litter is a great idea, as is making sure his boxes are very, very clean.

Please ask any questions you like.. You obviously want to do the best for your new friend and we're here to help.  

You might try trimming his nails. Just cut the sharp tips on the ends off. Stay well away from the pink part, that is the part where the blood vessels are.

One of our people suggested using care fresh, which is actually bedding for hamsters and such. It is recycled cellulose (paper) and is really soft. We also have people using chicken starter crumbles, Feline Pine, and other such things. I use unscented, scoopable litter I get at Walmart. The ladies seem to be satisfied with it and I rarely have anyone pee outside the box.

I am can rarely access a computer on spare time so finally an update on Leroy Brown. On Sunday we changed to a softer litter (recycled paper pellets) and his primary tray changed to a larger never used acid bath for etching I had downstairs to accomodate his larger size. The new litter went in his primary tray and old type left in other tray. He goes all the time in the newer option. Next came 'supervised' visits out of his bedroom where he sat and watched a movie with us then back to his room. All good. We acknowledge this is going to be a long haul as the behaviour for blanket pooping must be deeply ingrained, so for now, still no blankets! We are unsure of how to proceed but this seems to be working and Ragdolls are happy to sleep most of the day so he seems quite comfortable.

Thanks for any suggestions!
 

Really pleased that what you are doing is working....  Keep it up, and do let us know how you're going. 

I know you said that his claws click on the floorboards... You are absolutely sure he has claws on his front feet?  I'm just making absolutely sure, as declawed cats will often want to poo on things like blankets as their feet can be painful for life and scratching around in hard cat litter hurts them.  It sounds very much like he hasn't been declawed, but since you're unaware of the practice, I thought I'd check. 

Yes, I was ignorant to 'declawing' thinking when this was asked it simply meant trimming the tips of claws (like us cutting our fingernails). I have now read the suggetsed link and am appalled! It reminded me of the anciet art of foot-binding. I have yet to check if the practice is banned in Australia but I can confirm, I have just checked and Leroy Brown is fully clawed!
 

I'm in Brisbane too, penalex... It's definitely illegal everywhere in Australia. 

Glad to hear Leroy Brown has all his claws

That may explain my ignorance fellow Brisbanite!
 

Poop in tray while bedroom door was open and Leroy free to roam! Poop removed and one happy night for the parents! Now off to bed in his room, door closed

penalex said:

Poop in tray while bedroom door was open and Leroy free to roam! Poop removed and one happy night for the parents! Now off to bed in his room, door closed

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Yay!  Sleep well... nothing on the tele anyway, except politics