Inkie missed the litter box

Alright...this 10 month old kitty just keeps surprising me. He's done this twice already with 4-5 days span in between...this morning I checked his litter box before coming to work and found he had pooped just outside of it. Thankfully, I lay newspaper under the litter box to help me pick up litter that he kicks out so it wasn't a big deal, but this is the second time. Is he just being careless or was it because he had pee'd in the box before making poopies?

It could've been an accident. I have seen my cat on a few occasions face the back of the enclosed litter box to wee and then barely make it to turn around to poo in the back. His butt was hanging over the edge and I could, well, see stuff starting to come out .

Maybe you could watch your kitty closely while you are at home to see if this is the problem.

Also, are you sure the litter box is big enough? Some cats can go in the smallest box but I know that my cat needs a large box. When he tried to use a smaller, open box, he was standing in the box thinking everything was fine but his 'business' was falling outside of the box.

One more thing I can think of (until you catch the kitty in the act to determine what's going on), is that some cats are extremely picky about the cleanliness of the box. A friend of mine has two boxes for her cat - one for wee and one for poo. The cat actually decided himself to use each box for a sole purpose .

The litter box is big enough....I made sure he would have plenty of space. I'm sure it was an accident and I will try and see if I can catch him.

Perhaps you could try a deep litter box or a covered one where he can't accidently hang his behind off the edge. People have suggested using rubbermaid storage type containers as a cheaper alternative to buying a litterbox. You can cut a hole in the side of the container so he can get in/out like the opening in a covered box.

When they poop just outside the box it's usually because they don't like something. Weather the box is too small, covered, not covered, the litter, or it's just too noisy. If he's not neutered yet, it could also be a territorial issue and neutering will take care of that.

guess I need a larger box too ... he has not been "doing" anything outside the box yet , but as he gets inside , the door does not close behind him , so one of this days , "it" will just fall out on the floor !!! Now , I always give him a push so that the door can close !!! My cat is huge !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :laughing:

this is Sydney beside his box

If its a litter box size thing, I use one of the rubbermaid large totes for my 2. Its nice and deep so they don't kick out the litter too much either. And its big enough for them to move around in. Another great feature is since its so deep, the cat is completely enclosed so they have the privacy that they like.