help! cat is pulling feces out of his litterbox!

deadstilldream

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OK, here's a new one...

My cat Koby has recently begun pawing feces out of his litterbox and leaving them on the floor.

What could be the cause of this? He just started doing this recently, and I haven't changed anything (litter brand, frequency of changing, etc.)

Anyone? Anyone? Beuler?

Chris
 

hissy

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I won't ask the reason behind your handle though.
Your cat may be trying to tell you that the litterbox isn't clean enough, it is in the wrong place for him (cats like their privacy) you may want to supply him with other boxes, if one is covered, uncover it, experiment and try to figure out what he might be telling you. It could be the litter if it is scoopable is hurting his pads, the clumps sometimes gets between the pads, causing great discomfort. You might need a bigger litterbox with taller sides, he could be marking his territory....there are many reasons why he might be doing this. I quit using regular litterboxes years ago, and buy those deep plastic bins at Wal-Mart, they seem to like them better, just don't make it so tall they have to really climb to get inside. Good luck
 
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I agree with hissy.If my cat Pepper's litterbox isn't clean enough for him, he'll scoop out all the poop, and That's a sign I need to change it again, even if I just changed the litter the day before.
 
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deadstilldream

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hissy

My handle's just an idea for a band name I have...
The litter's not scoopable, didn't want to mess with that...I dump it once a week and refill it. I'll try changing the litter more often...

Koby is a pretty big cat...he's one of those "big orange marmalade tabby cats," as I call them. I'll try one of those big bins from Wal-Mart you mentioned too.

Thanks for the advice

Chris
 

liman

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are you removing the dirty litter daily? and changing the litter weekly? I wasn't sure by reading your post.
 

dtolle

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If you meant you were just dumping the whole litter once a week and not scooping in between than that is probably definitly the problem! I know every cat I've ever had ( and I am on #4 now ) wants a clean box at least once a day, sometimes twice.
Also wanted to add, I also have one of the rubbermaid Totes from walmart, and it works great. I keep a lot of litter in there so I don't have to change it too often, I just scoop every day. And when they are pawing, it doesn't fly over the sides.
 

maui

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Have you actually seen Koby do this? Try to see if he is pawing them out intentionally like leaving little presents, or merely digging in the sand overenthusiastically and the poop goes flying along with the sand.

Sometimes poopies get kicked out when the litter is a little low or maybe the poops are a little stinkier and my cat tries over and over to bury them deeper by making a deeper hole. . .but in her exuberence of digging
a few of her marbles get tossed out.

The only time that my kitty has intensionally pooped outside her box was when we moved to a new house, she saw some cats outside, and wanted to . . .um . . make her presence known.
 
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deadstilldream

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Ack, too many posts!

OK, Maui, to answr your question, yes, I've seen him do it, I found one around the corner from where his box is

dtolle, yes, I was dumping the litter once a week. I don't buy the scoopable kind. But here's the thing, he didn't do that at all the first few weeks I owned him, he just suddenly started. Anyway, I have one of the plastic bins, and he hasn't done it since...I also moved it further away from his food, not that it was all that close before, about 6 feet away...

liman, see above

Anyway, Koby's been pretty good since I gave him a bigger box and refilled it...sheesh, I thought cats were supposed to be low-maintenance!

Chris
 

krissie

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I luuuuv the scoopable litter. It's so easy!

Tasha, I had to LOL about your kitty. He cleans the box for you?!
 
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deadstilldream

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Eh, maybe I'll buy the scoopable litter...heard it's more expensive, but guess it's worth it...

Chris
 

krissie

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The packages of scoopable litter are priced higher, but in the end it probably comes out even, or maybe even cheaper. The beauty of the scoopable litter is that with one cat, it only needs dumping about once a month at the most. You just sort of refresh with a little new litter every now and then. And you might be able to get away with dumping less often than that. So you buy litter less often. I've got one kitty, and I'd say a 28-lb drum of the Fresh Step scoopable (about $13 around here, or $9 if I can catch a sale) lasts me for a little over two months. And since you remove the stinky stuff every day, your house doesn't smell like, well, a used litterbox.

Good luck!
 

jojo

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Dani doesn't kick the poopies out of the litter box but she will walk over, take a look at the litter and if she see's it's not clean will put her cute little nose up, look at me, meow then walk away. When I clean it out, she'll use it again.
 
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deadstilldream

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Jojo, your cat is spoooooiiiiiled! Anyway, Koby was good for awhile, but now he's doing it again, he doesn't just deposit them outside his box, he bats them around like they're toys! Gross!
I scoop once or twice a day, I guess he's never satisfied!
I guess his previous owner really spoiled him in terms of litter, she said she would disinfect it and everything! I'm sorry, but he's a cat, not a prince. <sigh> Maybe I'm just not a cat person.

Anymore suggestions, feel free.

Chris
 

jojo

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Chris,

Guilty as charged... I do spoil Dani. But I have the last laugh when I play with the laser light


We recently had an addition to the household, an 8-week old puppy. Yesterday the little darling went to Dani's litter box in the bathroom, pulled out one of her poopies and left it in the middle of the dining room floor
He eats her food, drinks her water and plays with her toys... No wonder Dani's always swatting at him. The princess is quickly being dethroned. By the time I get home from work, Dani has a lot to tell me.

How long have you had "Prince" Koby? Is he your first cat? Have you had him since he was a kitty? Dani's my first... probably my last (assuming she lives a long life).

JoJo
mom to Dani Night Stalker
 
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deadstilldream

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If you're concerned about the puppy getting into the kitty's things, a good remedy is to put the kitty's things in a certain room and then put up a baby gate in the door. The cat can jump over it, but not the dog.

Koby is my first cat, I adopted him from a co-worker at the station who was moving away.
Other than that one annoying thing, Koby's a pretty good cat. He likes to scratch furniture, but every cat needs to scratch...I've been putting aluminum foil on the furniture (hopefully temporarily) and trying to wean him onto a scratching post.

Chris
 

lorina

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We use clumping litter. It really is a bargain in the long run. I just clean the lumps out and the same litter lasted almost a month before I had to add more to it.

But, you know, it was bad enough when we bought the cats toys and they preferred things like milk tabs, corks and pieces of paper.

Now Gypsy decided it's fun to knock a ball of dried urine out of her litter box and bat it around. This cat is insane.
 

Bauhausfrau

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I have a similar problem, but also very different. I have two kittens, and one loves to play in the litterbox. I was told she should outgrow this but 3 months later I am now finding her sitting outside the litterbox and pulling pieces of poop out to swat around the floor. I’m finding it all over the place. This morning it was in their water bowl. Any ideas about how to stop this “fun game”?
 
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