Another "Cat Pooping where he isn't s'posed to" thread

[mrpizza]

Hi helpy helpertons. I just found this site and thought I'd try my luck here. I have a close to 7 year old rescue in the form of a beautiful boy Maine Coon. I rescued him about 4 years ago, and his potty problems started early on. He pee'd on my bed before he ever used the box, but that straitened itself out right away. Thing is, he almost never poops IN the box, but right NEXT TO. I've read up a lot about this and tried a lot of things. I've tried Cat Attract litter. I've tried spraying the areas outside the box that he's used with Nature's Miracle. I've tried moving the box over just a little bit to cover the area he did poop on (he just poops on the other side of box). We adopted a 2nd cat about 9 months ago (Siamese) and she has zero problems with box etiquette. 

Peeing is not an issue for him. He uses the box for #1 100% of the time. We just moved to a new apartment and we have two boxes in separate rooms, and we clean them both once before going to work and once before going to bed. We've tried with and without liners and it makes no difference to him. Washing out the box, no difference. He used the box for #2 just fine when we first moved a month ago, but that quickly declined to almost never. The fact that it's always in the immediate vicinity of the box is what makes me think it's behavioral.

Any advice will be appreciated. Thank you so much in advance.

 

[tulosai]

Hi 

My first question is whether you have consulted a vet about this.  You really should do this before doing anything else.  He may have IBD or another medical issue that should be addressed first. The fact that it's in the immediate vicinity of the box is actually what makes me think this might be medical not behavioral... he sounds like a cat who knows where he's supposed to go and wants to be a good cat but for some reason is unable to do so.  However, a vet should always be the first stop and bluntly, he should have been checked out by a vet as soon as this started.  If it is behavioral it is going to be harder to correct now,a nd if it is medical it will be too because it's become a consistent behavior.

If he checks out medically okay, the next thing I'd do is add more boxes.  Since you have two cats you should have a minimum of 3 boxes; since there are litterbox problems I personally would add more than that if at all possible.  

As a stop gap measure have you tried surrounding the box with towels or newspaper so that it is at least easy to clean up when he does this?

 

[red top rescue]

I have no miracle solutions to your problem, although there are various things to try.  The first suggestion is the usual one, some cats do not like to pee and poop in the same box, and since pee wets their feet if they pee on the floor, they will use the box for this and then poop next to the box.  Two boxes next to each other is often the solution.  Having two different kinds of litter in the boxes may also help. I have one Siamese-Tabby mix who will only poop in one kind of litter -- the Cats Pride Scoopable Premium litter that comes in a 14-lb jug with a pink cap.  There are quite a few varieties of CatsPride which is why I am being so specific, because that is the one he likes, rather than the more lightweight CatsPride.  I only discovered it when someone donated several jugs to the rescue.   It has no strong scent and is the consistency of fine beach sand. Prior to that, I just picked up his poop beside the boxes every day. I now have three boxes with the CatsPride in it and the rest are filled with the corn cob horse bedding which I get at Tractor Supply.  He will pee in the corn cob litter but he will not poop in it.  All the other cats will use both.  You said you already tried Cat Attract litter, but you might try this one and see if it appeals.  I DO keep two boxes next to each other in every area where boxes are since I have multiple cats using them.  One more alternative is to have an EMPTY box besidethe one he pees in and maybe he will poop in the empty box.  If so, then perhaps you can gradually start adding a little litter of the kind he likes to the empty box. 

 

[mrpizza]

Thank you for the replies. I will contact my vet and try to get him looked at Saturday. I'll update if anything comes up.

 

[mrpizza]

So, an update, sort… my GF took our cat to the vet that was familiar with him, a vet that specializes in cats. He (the vet) told my gf the cat needed to go on a prescription diet because his bloodwork showed that he was "nearly at risk" for kidney disease, and that after being strictly on that diet for 6-8 weeks we would see a change in his behavior. $150 in food and 10 weeks later and there's been zero change. In fact, it's every single day. We've been on a good regiment of cleaning the boxes twice daily, I do it in the morning, she does it at night, but it doesn't help. For example, just today I come in to clean the boxes around 10am, and the box in the 2nd bedroom it totally empty. I sifted through with the scoop and everything. 6 hours later, there's pee in it, the siamese had pooped in it, and the Maine Coon pooped on the floor next to it. 

So, yeah, other than trying to recruit Jackson Galaxy to come over for dinner and a consultation, I have no idea what to do.

 

[emandjee]

Ok, is it possible your kitty has also been constipated this whole time? If his #2 are marble shaped vs. logs, it's likely he is experiencing pain during eliminations and has associated pain with litter box whenever he has to do #2s.

What was the vet's actual diagnosis termed? Acute renal failure? Polycystic kidney disease? Did your vet rule out any hip dysplasias which are also common to Maine Coons? It's important to know if any of these conditions are affecting his use of the litter box. 

I hope we can clarify his diagnosis to see if it's related in any way. In the meantime, I'd use newspapers or puppy pads in the areas he eliminates improperly so it's less for you to clean.

 

[mrpizza]

Thanks for the tips about newspaper. I will do that. 

I believe "renal failure" was mentioned. I'll have to ask my girlfriend exactly what was said, and if I'm incorrect I'll edit this. Again, this wasn't a "this is what he has" diagnosis as much as it was a "this is what he could have in the future if I don't sell you this prescription cat food". It feels more like he's only trying to sell cat food, and after seeing their 2 1/2 star rating on Yelp, I'm more inclined to believe that. We've since moved both our cats to Instinct brand cat food.

I'm curious if anyone else has been in this exact situation before, and if the "cure" could be something simple. My uneducated opinion tells me this could be resolved by a larger cat box. That's based on observing him sniff around inside the box, then deliberately going next to it. Also, he has gone in the box for a few days straight recently when all the litter and the bag liners have been replaced. This would lead me to assume he's just very picky about where he goes.

 

[mrpizza]

We tried the newspaper next to the box, but he started peeing on that so we stopped. Now he has taken to peeing outside the box. I had just put him in that room to feed him, I open the door to check on him 10 minutes later and he had both pooped and pee'd outside a box I had cleaned not 20 minutes prior. This is getting out of control. The only thing I can think to do is purchase another box and put it next to that one. There's no other place in the house we can fit it. Neither of them seem to use the hallway box anymore. 

 

[cataholic07]

I'd say try another vet, one that has is actually good. Have you tried moving the litter box to the exact spot he poops at? He may also not like the litter or the box style. What kind of litter box is it? Open boxes are usually best because cats can have a clear view if any other cats are in the vicinity. It gives them a good escape route just incase another cat wants to stalk or attack. Trying different litters are always a good idea and getting another litter box may also be a good idea. With more then one cat it's always good to have quite a few extras. How is your cat with the other cats? Big cat means big litter box, he may just not go in there because he is too big and doesn't feel secure. What location is it? Very high traffic or too enclosed and out of the way? How old is he? Any chance for arthritis in his hips? If he does have some medical problem or constipation it'll make going to the litter box no fun so he would associate that box as pain when he goes to the washroom. Getting him checked by a proper vet is a good idea, you may also have to retrain him how to use the litter box. It can be extremely frustrating I know, hope it gets better.