Miss Poopie Kitty - HELP!!!

Help!!! A sweet little female cat has adopted us. I already have two male cats. Murphy - the latest addition - came to us via the garage during a rain storm. I thought for sure that she was only a kitten as she was tiny and only weighed in at 4 lbs 7 ounces. Well she turned out to be 8! I can't have her as an outdoor cat as she has already been declawed. She is fixed and has been given a clean bill of health from the vet.

The boys are nice to her - only one hisses at her but she pays him no attention. The problem is that she poops outside the litter box! The first night she pooped in the food bowl! Okay - maybe she wan't feeling well from all her shots at the vets office. She even peed right in front of me on one of my rugs too!

So I got her - her own litter box along with some cat attracting litter from PetSmart. She used her litterbox! Then she stopped using it. Now I confine her to a bedroom at night and she used the litter box. Then I let her out one afternoon after I got home from work and she pooped again outside the litterbox. She even pooped outside the litterbox in her "bedroom".

Does anyone have any suggestions? I think that I saw some blood in her stool so I will take her back to the vet - but I don't know what to do!

Signed,
Miss Poopie Kitties Dad

Bless you for taking her in - but, yikes!! what a problem It may be that if she is having pain when she poops, she has now associated the box with the pain. So when you introduce a new box, or new litter, she gives it a chance, but when it hurts to "go" she thinks that the box is causing it. If that isn't the case, then I guess it's back to square 1. I hope that the solution shows up soon, cuz you deserve better, just for taking her in during her hour of need.
There's a strong possiblity that her previous owners just threw her outside when she began having box issues; anyone insensitive enough to declaw a cat is probably too insensitive to recognize that box issues have underlying causes, as cats are by nature very fastidious and if they could have it their way, would have the box scooped as soon as they use it.
Another thought- are you using a soft litter?? Declawed cats can have hyper-sensitive paws that certain litters hurt, esp. pellet type litter. And scented litter can also cause issues - the scents often irritate a cat's nose, which is why many cat behaviorists recommend unscented (it's hard to find, I know, and in my rural town, my choices are limited, so I used laying mash with some Arm&Hammer unscented to assist in the clumping). Please keep us posted, and if your post gets buried, please PM me - I like to keep track of box issues because everyone else's experiences can be part of my education!

Thanks for the tips! She was placed in her "bedroom" last night. Mooner aka Moon (one of the other boys) got locked up there too by accident. Anyway - I knew I was in trouble as I did not see much in the litter box other than Mooner's poopies that are always round and hard as a rock (too much information?)

The two cats left the room and they went downstairs. Late on this morning I went downstairs to find a poopie package! I don't scold her and just clean it up.

I don't think that her paws are sensative as she allows me to play with them and massage them. She is amazing and allows me to pet her anywhere on her body. She is a purring machine!

I am using the cat attract cat litter from Dr. Elsey's. My last plan (I said that three weeks ago too) is to take her back to the vet and have her checked out again for that possible blood I saw in her stool.

Of course all the litterboxes are cleaned out multiple times a day so they are clean!

I have also placed her up for adoption with a no kill animal shelter. Maybe she needs to be the only cat in the house. I have no idea.

Do you know of anyone who has a Litter Robot? I am thinking about getting one.

Thanks again for the post!
George

Originally Posted by geechong

Thanks for the tips! She was placed in her "bedroom" last night. Mooner aka Moon (one of the other boys) got locked up there too by accident. Anyway - I knew I was in trouble as I did not see much in the litter box other than Mooner's poopies that are always round and hard as a rock (too much information?)

The two cats left the room and they went downstairs. Late on this morning I went downstairs to find a poopie package!

I don't scold her and just clean it up.

I don't think that her paws are sensative as she allows me to play with them and massage them. She is amazing and allows me to pet her anywhere on her body. She is a purring machine!

I am using the cat attract cat litter from Dr. Elsey's. My last plan (I said that three weeks ago too) is to take her back to the vet and have her checked out again for that possible blood I saw in her stool.

Of course all the litterboxes are cleaned out multiple times a day so they are clean!

I have also placed her up for adoption with a no kill animal shelter. Maybe she needs to be the only cat in the house. I have no idea.

Do you know of anyone who has a Litter Robot? I am thinking about getting one.

Thanks again for the post!
George

Click to expand...

Hello!
I'm in Atlanta too...

Take her to the vet. Not to scare you, but the blood in the stool from my cat meant he had problems. Whenever he gets sick, he poops outside the box, and often, there's blood present. I think when something unusual comes up like that, getting a check up is best.

The other thing is the type of litter you're using. Teddy would ALWAYS pee in his box when we got him, but would NOT poop in there. To get Teddy to poop in the box when he was normal took two changes:

1. Litter type. This makes a HUGE difference with declawed cats, and I noticed you said she's declawed (front? back? both?). My other cat didn't care about litter type, but Teddy had to have the fine Tidy Cats litter.

2. More than 1 litterbox. We had Teddy isolated in a bedroom when he came home before introducing him to our other cat. He only had one little box - and he really wanted two. I'd try another litterbox - many cats don't like to poop and pee in the same box at times.

Feel free to PM me - especially since you're in Atlanta!

I agree that you should take her back to the vet and have her checked again. Maybe worms that didn't show in the first fecal sample?
Also two litter boxes may help to solve the problem.

She sounds like a real little love and I hope you can conquer this problem. Did you check to see if she was chipped and maybe was separated from her family accidentally?

I looked at the Litter Robot after reading your post and it looks lke good product. Oh if I only had unlimited funds so I could have all the wonderful kitty things I see.

Keep us updated on how things are going and I know we'd all love to see pictures of your little ones.

Thank you - thank you - thank you everyone for your two cents worth!

She does have her "own" litter box. There are now two boxes in the house. I think that she might be lazy too and is unwilling to climb the stairs to the second floor. She did have her own litter box on the main floor of the house where she always stays.

I have not seen a drop of blood again but am planning to schedule a vet visit anyway. Vet bills, carpet cleaning - oh my!

I am also going to get some different "softer" cat litter without any scent too. Is she high maintenance or what?

I did not lock her up last night. I was too "pooped" myself to wake back up, go find her and then lock her up. This morning I brought her to bed around 5:30 am. No signs of poop and she stayed with me a while. Then around 9:00 am - poop and pee alert on the rug!

I would post pictures of all the kitties - but I don't know how

Thanks again all for the helpful tips and the words of encouragement!

George

Originally Posted by geechong

Thank you - thank you - thank you everyone for your two cents worth!

She does have her "own" litter box. There are now two boxes in the house. I think that she might be lazy too and is unwilling to climb the stairs to the second floor. She did have her own litter box on the main floor of the house where she always stays.

I have not seen a drop of blood again but am planning to schedule a vet visit anyway. Vet bills, carpet cleaning - oh my!

I am also going to get some different "softer" cat litter without any scent too. Is she high maintenance or what?

I did not lock her up last night. I was too "pooped" myself to wake back up, go find her and then lock her up. This morning I brought her to bed around 5:30 am. No signs of poop and she stayed with me a while. Then around 9:00 am - poop and pee alert on the rug!

I would post pictures of all the kitties - but I don't know how

Thanks again all for the helpful tips and the words of encouragement!

George

Click to expand...

Actually, she's not high maintenance in my opinion - from what I know, many cats detest scented litters!

You still may need more litterboxes - the general dogma (ha!) that I was taught is 1 box per cat + 1 extra... so with your 3 cats, 4 boxes might do the trick. I only have 2 boxes with 2 cats (mostly for space reasons) and it hasn't been a problem - but I think you might want to try at least one more box somewhere where your new cat hangs out the most - and close to where she seems to be having the most accidents. I'd suggest 2 litterboxes on your main floor as a good start.

I'm not sure the attribute lazy can always been applied to cats with litterbox problems - many have problems because there's something medically wrong. I used to get mad when Teddy didn't make it in the box (seeing as he had diarrhea... it was bad) - but in only a short time, I realized he COULDN'T make it to the box.

You also need to really work at getting the scent out - is she going repeatedly in the same place? Enzymatic cleaners will break down the urine (and probably stool too) - they repeatedly offend in the same place because they still smell the last deposit.

Hope these things continue to help!

When we took Jazmine in off the streets, she did the same thing. We put a pan of dirt with her and she started to use it (since that's what she's used to). We slowly mixed in litter until she would just use the plain old litter.

If it's not health reasons, it may just be that she's not used to real litter.

Thanks all for the suggestions! We went to the vet's office today. The vet could not feel her kidneys. There is a possibility that she has some kidney failure or she may just have a problem with using her litter box.

So I received some literature and went home. I went and got some all natural kitty litter and another litter box. I have decided to place her in solitary confinement again with two different boxes, litter types and one with a cover and one without.

Well she used her litter box with the wheat litter for a poopie but then urinated outside the box!

Oh well. I am trying and will keep experimenting.

You are an angel to have taken her and also for your immense patience!

If you are not happy with this vet...or that you sense they need to be more thorough and get to the bottom of it, then change vets. Behavioral issues that include bodily functions most of the time mask underlying issues, not all are just plain "behavior". Please keep us posted, I'd like to hear how she's settling in....

Poster Shambelle said:
****You still may need more litterboxes - the general dogma (ha!) that I was taught is 1 box per cat + 1 extra... so with your 3 cats, 4 boxes might do the trick. I only have 2 boxes with 2 cats (mostly for space reasons) and it hasn't been a problem - but I think you might want to try at least one more box somewhere where your new cat hangs out the most - and close to where she seems to be having the most accidents. I'd suggest 2 litterboxes on your main floor as a good start.

--GOOD PLAN!!! Oh, and there wouldn't be a VACUUM CLEANER close by to your kitty's litter box, would there??? THAT will keep them away from the litter boxes REAL quickly!!!
Hope you get the problem under control, real soon. You are a sweetheart for taking in that little kitty!!!

Well Miss Poopie Kitty has been in solitary confinement at night. I give her lots of loving before bedtime. She still won't sleep with me. I have three cats - do you think I could get one of them to sleep with me?

Anyway - she has been using her litter box!!! Okay - I have to admit - she does poop half in the box and half out. I do not have the lid on - I'm afraid that she has a phobia of that and I wouldn't want another set back. She must be an all natural kind of kitty as she likes her wheat based litter. Whatever natural enzymes are in it to fight odor - oh please? Doesn't do anything to hide the smell!

Today was yet another breakthrough. I left her out during the entire day to see if she would continue to use her litter box. There was a sighting that she was walking down the stairs from her litter box to her hang out!

So far so good - no poopies! I hope that the boys don't decide to use her litter box and throw her back in a tizz!

Thanks all for your support and prayers (and my pretty pills that I have had to take to calm my nerves) they have been greatly appreciated through the ethers!

I will keep everyone posted!!!