My female cat doesn't want to go out to do her business anymore

My 1 1/2 YO cat used to do her business outside. when she was little I used to have litter box for her I didn't want her to go in our fenced garden yet. But she found by herself the cat door by following my oldest cat. So I took of the litter boxes and she started to do in the garden. She got sick some months ago with food allergy and diarrhea she was pooping most of the time in the living room. I put back the litter boxes. She got better but meanwhile she also stopped going outside for no apparent reason. Again she loved going out especially between 8 to 10pm chasing lizards she loved that. We are in Florida so it's easy for our 2 cats to enjoy the garden. So she got better and did good with the litter box. So I decided to got step by step and I put the litter box outside close to the cat door. She don't do in it, she doesn't go out unless we open the door or while we are in the garden with her...What could i do, she pees and poop in the living room every day. Thanks for your help!

Has she had a vet check to make sure there is nothing medical going on?

Why not just provide her a litter box in the house? This would certainly keep you from having to clean up accidents in the house.

For whatever reason she has chosen to not want our anymore. Could be that something scared her or there is another animal around that is kerping her from wanting to go out.

This litter box isn't an issue I would fight her on. Doing so could cause her to avoid the box all together.

Yes I got her vet checking her, because of her food allergy, she had 1 blood test, an echograph, another blood test that has been sent to a special vet hospital there is only 1 in the country doing that kind of tests, it costs us a fortune this year for all those tests. Everything is normal. I changed the food and she is doing well now.

Yes I know that keeping the litter inside would solve the solution but 1st I need 2 of them because I have 2 cats and 2nd the place I have to put them is the guest bathroom not very welcoming for them, I mean my guests!. But I don't understand why she doesn't go outside anymore. Right now we are outside she is with us she enjoys it she runs in the grass, chases lizards, besides she is safe in our garden she doesn't know how to jump on the fence and be out of the garden. The only think I may think of is the red cat from my neighbors that might have scared her, my older cat hates him even though he is a nice cute cat. But she is a very scary cat, she is afraid of almost everything even sometimes when my husband walks and make noise with his shoes. I put some Feliway plugs in the house to help her being less stressed. It helped but it's still like a big mystery for me how she behaves now while she was doing so good before she got sick. 

Thanks anyway for your comments. Happy New Year

It is likely to be the scent of the neighbour's cat. Cats are territorial, if she doesn't think it's her territory she won't go out. 

If you have a covered litter box and scoop it daily, your guests will hardly notice. Sounds to me like your girl is being pretty clear. I'm sure she doesn't want to be having accidents, so adding a litter box or two would really be the best move. This could escalate if she is not comfortable.

talkingpeanut said:

If you have a covered litter box and scoop it daily, your guests will hardly notice.

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Ditto, I agree 100%.

Actually i clean the litter box 2 times a day so there is no reason to het to not going. While it was in the house she used to go in but she prefered without the cover actually. I've read from the well-know Johson Galaxy that cats don't like covered litter box....

Brittany33020 said:

Actually i clean the litter box 2 times a day so there is no reason to het to not going. While it was in the house she used to go in but she prefered without the cover actually. I've read from the well-know Johson Galaxy that cats don't like covered litter box....

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Some cats mind the covered and some don't.  I would still add a litter box or two so she has plenty of options in the house.  She obviously does not feel comfortable outside.  Bringing litter boxes in sets you all up for success.

And for the part of my guests because apparently she prefers open litter box, no cover and of course it's in the bottom of tbe shower i need to leave the curtain open they wont smell anything since i scoop twith a day but it's not a goid view and i need to keep the door open.And more importantly when i have guests they close the door once they finished using them so if the door is close she will do in the dining room. It's getting a nightmare....knowing she used to do outside before and she learned by herself. I still hope she will go out again. I keep doors open during the day in order for her to get back confidence. Finger crossed

I think your options for right now are to either provide her litter box access inside or clean up messes.

She may start back going outside eventually or she may not. Only time will tell.

Litter box placement can't always be for our benefit. I personally have two large sterilite tub litter boxes in my bedroom. Is it the ideal thing for *me*...no. But, it's what works for my cats right now.

CatPack said:

I think your options for right now are to either provide her litter box access inside or clean up messes.

She may start back going outside eventually or she may not. Only time will tell.

Litter box placement can't always be for our benefit. I personally have two large sterilite tub litter boxes in my bedroom. Is it the ideal thing for *me*...no. But, it's what works for my cats right now.

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Agreed. Perhaps you should consider adding a box in the living room area. That way it won't be behind closed doors and provides a healthy alternative for current behavior. Adding stress by not providing an adequate box isn't helping either of you.

Sometimes these decisions are made for us.  I know you want her to go back outside; but there just isn't a way to fix this that I know of.  

Our litter boxes are in our laundry room; which closes with 2 bi-fold doors.  We keep one open a bit to let the cats in and out.  If someone shuts it I just politely tell them the litter boxes are in there and we move on.  I don't see why asking guests to be sure the door is open after they are done would be an issue.  No one has ever even blinked at my comment and the laundry room is between the living room and kitchen.  We used to get more comments when we had an electronic box and people would hear it go off.  That was it.  The only time we might notice an odor is if one of our cats has gotten into a fish flavor of food we give our other cat.  I generally take a peek at the box before company comes over  

My mother has a super sweet cat who would mess in the house if she couldn't get outside.  She has boxes with different kinds of litter in different places and even puts down puppy pads in their guest bathroom since she will usually chose something to go on.  Whenever she has company she simply puts that cat and the extra boxes in the garage (which is set up for the cats; not cars ).  When she first adopted this cat if i came over before guests she'd always look nervous and ask if I could smell anything.  Now she doesn't have to.  She found a litter the cat likes most of the time and a simple solution to accommodate the cat.  It's much less stressful to have those boxes and understand that the cat isn't going to change (after 13 years; the cat is 15).  

Yes I think so. What I started to do today is to go outside with her and try to play with her. Now all doors opening on the back yard are opened so she can go in and out which she is doing. It's good but for sure she is not really comfortable outside anymore. Tanks for your comments. Happy New Year

Thank you for your answer, and Happy New Year!

Oh no I know nobody won't say a word about keeping the door opened but we may not pay attention and if it's closed she may do back in the dining room. As we live in Florida we mostly have our parties outside so but for sure she won't come outside while we have people at home she is afraid about almost everything! As per the part to put our 2 litter boxes in the laundry room, I never tried but not sure it's a good idea knowing we don't have A/C in it and during summer this room is kind of hot not good for odors even though we clean the litter boxes 2 times a day.

I started this morning to go out with her to make her more confident again in the garden. As said it's totally fenced so very safe for her except for this beautiful orange cat from my neighbors that might have scared her and our other cat hates....

We'll see time will tell us how she will move forward.