Peeing and Pooping outside the litterbox

Hello - it has been a looooooooooong time since I posted here and sadly it's because I am at my wits end with one of my cats, Salem. He is an approx. 5 year old neutered male. I adopted him about 3 years old and he was an owner surrender. I am beginning to think I know why.

Salem has always had a problem using the litterbox consistently. When I had it in the upstairs bathroom he would use the bathtub to poop. When I moved the litterboxes downstair in the basement he was fine for awhile but then started peeing and pooping outside of them. I had up to 4 boxes at a time and he would still poop next to them. I have tried every conceivable type of litterbox and litter and he will use them all.

He is 20+ lbs and I thought that perhaps even the largest litterbox wasn't big enough. I went and bought one of those new dog litterboxes for sizes up to 35 lbs. It's big! Salem still is eliminating outside of it. He just recently has begun eliminating on the dog beds upstairs, one in my bedroom and the other in the living room.

He shares his home with 2 other cats that he gets along with very well, never a fight between them (also neutered males). There are also 2 dogs (Corgis) that he gets along with.

He recently has been to the vet for a checkup, bloodwork and xrays - all normal. As of today I have placed him in the spare bedroom with a litterbox, food and water to keep an eye on him. I don't know what else to do. I'm worried that since I have pulled up all the soft beds off the floor he will next use either my bed or the couch.

He has shown a strong desire to be outside ever since I got him (he may have been an indoor/outdoor cat with his previous owner), but I have never allowed it since there are a lot of cats where I live. If I had a secured backyard I would allow him to be an indoor/outdoor cat.

Please, I need advice as to what else I can do. I don't want him to have to spend the rest of his life in a single room away from the other cats, that's not fair to him. I have been trying for about 3 years and I just don't know what else to do.

Thank you and take care,
Lisa

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
slave to her furkids...
Indy & Tucker (the Corgis)
Taz, Salem & Ike (the Cats)
Stretch (the Ferret)

The only thing I can think of is to try cat attract litter.

You did not say that the vet did a urinalysis. If a urine draw was not done, I strongly advise that you take him back to the vet to have his urine tested for signs of infection or crystals.

If the cat is healthy, please click here to read about how to stop inappropriate urination and click here to read about how to stop inappropriate pooping.

Also, because the cat was an outdoor cat in the past, you might need to put organic potting soil in the litter box to attract the cat. Then each day as you remove used soil put a cup or so of kitty litter in its place. Eventually you will be at 100% kitty litter.

Thank you for the suggestion, but I'm beginning to think it has nothing to do with the type of litter. He just doesn't seem to like the confinements of a litterbox, no matter how big it is. I had just put down a brand new litterbox with fresh litter in it when I turned around and he was squatting behind me to go the bathroom. I immediately yelled NO and picked him up and put him in the litterbox. He proceeded to do his business.

I will keep him in a single room for a while to see if the confinement will help reteach him how to use a litterbox. If this doesn't work I really don't know what else to do.

Perhaps he doesn't like the type of litter you have in the box. Try a fine-grained unscented litter. If that's what you are using now, try something completely different.

I use big rubbermaid storage containers instead of litterboxes because even the largest litterboxes weren't big enough for my biggest cat. And, they are cheaper than kitty boxes! Go to your local discount store and buy a really large storage container -- making sure the sides aren't so high that the cat won't be willing to jump in and out and try that along with the new litter.

And, do make sure you read the threads I gave you the links to. They have some great information in them!

Good luck!

lotsocats - I just noticed your reply. No, a urine draw was not done. I had assumed that because he was also pooping outside the box that it wasn't a UTI. Probably shouldn't have made that assumption, but this has pretty much been going on since I first adopted him.

I'm only guessing he may have been an outdoor cat since he keeps trying to get out the door. A couple of times when he did manage all he did was just sit down and look around or go over to the bushes and sniff them.

I just checked on him and he pooped in the litterbox. I think when he has a certain amount of space he will use a litterbox because he doesn't want to soil his eating or sleeping areas. But when he has the run of the house he is less choosy where he goes. Again, I'm just guessing here.

You name it, I've tried it when it comes to litter. I won't use clay because I'm afraid of what it will do to cats when they clean their paws. I've tried corn-based, wheat-based, all the "all-natural" types. The litter I'm using for him now in the upstairs room is The World's Best Litter (I think that's the name). I've used the dog litterboxes which is definitely big enough for him.

It just seems when he has a lot of roaming space he gets VERY lazy and will just go wherever the spirit moves him. If he has less space I'm hoping he will be more careful not to soil his sleeping and eating places.

I read the info from the 2 links you gave me - thank you. My gut instinct is that this is a behaviour issue, not a medical one.

Tomorrow I will go out and get some more different types of litter and some more litterboxes. Because I have dogs I can't place them in certain areas, only the basement or a closed room. I'm hoping with being confined he will relearn litterbox etiquette and will earn his right to have the run of the house again, but only while I'm home. At night and when I'm at work he will go back in the room. I want to be certain he becomes 100% dependable before he is allowed full time run of the house.

Originally Posted by fuzzmom

lotsocats - I just noticed your reply. No, a urine draw was not done. I had assumed that because he was also pooping outside the box that it wasn't a UTI. Probably shouldn't have made that assumption, but this has pretty much been going on since I first adopted him.

I'm only guessing he may have been an outdoor cat since he keeps trying to get out the door. A couple of times when he did manage all he did was just sit down and look around or go over to the bushes and sniff them.

I just checked on him and he pooped in the litterbox. I think when he has a certain amount of space he will use a litterbox because he doesn't want to soil his eating or sleeping areas. But when he has the run of the house he is less choosy where he goes. Again, I'm just guessing here.

Click to expand...

Well, take him back to a vet and have a vet to do an urinalisis. If they have pain when urinating, they start associate the litter box with pain, and don't want to use it. Have his urine checked by a vet to see what is going on.

You may want to try the clay litter. I have two kitties who have always used that without a problem (at least while they have lived with me). If you absolutely can't use clay, you may want to try sand or sterile soil. You'll have to change it frequently because it won't cut down the odor, but it may feel more "natural" to him and he might be inclined to use it.

Just a quick update. At night and while I'm at work Salem has been staying in the spare bedroom. It's only been 2 days but so far he has only used the litterbox and nothing else. I know it's too early to tell but I think it is what I thought it was all along, too much 'space' makes for a lazy butt. Or one other thing I was thinking this morning was that perhaps he doesn't like sharing a litterbox with other cats. If that's the case then what options do I have other than keeping him separate. He enjoys being with them and they will groom each other and chase one another throughout the house. He isn't all that happy with being in that room and keeps trying to open the door and will cry from time to time.

Any suggestions if the reason is he doesn't want to share the bathroom?

More litterboxs?

Long shot here - but you could put an electronic collar activation cat flap in a door to a closed room, put the collar on Salem, then ONLY he can get into that room and the litterbox in there. (Like I said, long shot )

Hmm, wonder if he's too old to learn to use the human toilet!

He is such a brat and can have a real attitude at times. I could have a dozen litterboxes and he will STILL go right next to it. While I was home and he had run of the house, I looked downstairs (I can see the litterboxes at the bottom of the stairs) and saw he had just pooped next to one of the litterboxes. This is the BIG dog litterbox, so it's not because his butt was overhanging it. In fact, the litterbox upstairs is MUCH smaller and he can poop in that one. So it seems it is either about too much free space or he doesn't want to share with the other cats.

I live in a townhouse and don't plan on living here forever, so I don't want to put a hole in a door. NOT a good selling feature!

Well, I brought Salem to the vet Thursday night because that morning I found blood in his urine. They couldn't draw any urine since his bladder was empty (peed on himself in the carrier - HATES car rides). But from the smell of the urine, according to this vet, she said it smelled of a UTI.

Salem is on Clavamox for 2 weeks, 1 tablet (125 mg) twice a day. She said I should see his symptoms go away in about 48 hours.

Has anyone had their cat on this antibiotic? Any side effects to watch out for? When he is out of his room I have to watch him like a hawk as he is still trying to go the bathroom everywhere and anywhere. I caught him the other night trying to use one of the beds in the dog crate.