not going in the litter box

Hi. I have a little problem. My 2 year old kitty, Sinatra, has not been using the litter box like he normally does. The box is clean and he has always used it before. I'm not sure what's going on, he's healthy and everything is fine. He was just at the vet about a month ago for a check up and everything is normal. This started happening about a week ago, he will go anywhere but in the litterbox. He will still urinate in the litter box, but he'll just squat and go where ever for the other. I was wondering if anyone has any ideas why he might be doing this so that I can figure out how to stop it.

First please refer to this thread that addresses this issue as completely as possible-

Second it is highly likely your cat is ill even if he went to the vet a month ago. You need to make another appointment and take him in


http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9563

When cats don't use the litter box they are almost always ill. I would take your kitty back to the vet.

I have an appointment at the vet next week to get him checked out again. Thanks for the help I'm still confused as to why he will pee in the litter box, but does his other business elsewhere.

Cats outside do not pee and poop in the same area ever! They pee in one spot, bury it to reduce the scent, then move off quite a distance and poop in another place, all the time watchful for predators, it is ingrained behavior. Cats really need 3 litter pans apiece, but we as humans don't always understand this, nor do we want to scoop out so many pans, so we ask the cats to go against their nature and pee and poop in the same place. They ask us to keep that litter pan clean and not fill it with perfumy scents, and sometimes we understand this and will do so. But the reality is that a cat should have two pans, they should be in the same room but not together and in a location where the cat can feel secure and have an easy exit if danger comes in the room.

This does not discount that your cat could be and probably is ill. They poop out of the litterbox because that is the behavior that gets our attention fastest. That is their cry for help.

I have the same problem.... I got my cat a couple months ago, she stays in my room because she will attack my roommate's cat and dog... but recently started pooping outside her box, she peed outside it a couple times but mostly just the other one. i thought she started getting mad from being in the room by herself when i left the room but i did clean the box with a cleaner that had bleach in it... i'm wondering if that's the reason. i have yet to bring a stool sample to the vet as well, i know i'm a bad mommy could the bleach cleaner be the reason? i hope its not behavioral... i think i might have to get a new box because i dont know if the smell (or whatever she doesnt like about it) will come out with just a regular cleaner. i'm a very new "mom" so i need some help, that's why i subscribed to this

Some things that should help...

Sometimes kitties get very finicky about exactly how their litterbox is set up, and/or where.

Our boy, Hobbes, did the same thing, and it turned out he wanted one litterbox to poop in and one to pee in, he didn't like hooded litterboxes, and he liked it pristinely clean. I found a couple websites that helped me understand exactly what it was that I could try that would help, and it really did.

Here are a couple websites that should help:

http://www.larimerhumane.org/services/litterboxinfo.cfm

http://www.thepetprofessor.com/secA...es_and_cats.asp

http://www.heartlandhumane.org/pub/petcare_litterbox

A couple tips:

Cats don't usually like the plastic liners some people use in litterboxes.

Some cats don't like the hooded boxes.

Cats at times don't like the box to be anywhere that they also have to eat and drink.

Sometimes the problem is just that the box isn't somewhere private enough. They only like to "go" somewhere that is low-traffic, quiet, and very private.

Hope all that helps!

Mine to and she is 2 years old I do not know ether!