Litter Box problem....Please help

This cat is driving me nuts with this. 5-6 yr old cat and never had a litter box problem until recently. We have a split plan house w/ litter box on one side and spare bedrooms on the other side. Cat is using the litter box to pee....but goes down the spare bedroom hall and poops on the wood floor. She's been doing this the past month and I've been cleaning it up real good to remove any odor. I've gotten a new litter box thinking that might be the prob. I use the clumping litter, and she's never had a prob before. It's driving me nuts. Sometimes though she will pee/poop so I don't understand the problem.

We only have 1 cat....should I put in a 2nd box? I don't see why I need to move the box either if she's pee'ing in it. This has gotta stop though....it's really frustrating.

If it was me I would get a 2nd litter box and put it where the cats doing his pooping. Its worth a try and a simple solution.

Put a little bit of his previous poop in the new box so he gets the point.

Well she gets the point......about 1 day a week she'll actually poop in the box. And as far as a 2nd box in the location.....that would be in the hallway on the wood floor, which is something I'm trying to discourage her from doing.

Would a 2nd box right next to the current one work? I've gotta figure out something....I have no idea what triggered it, but it's gotta stop quick.

You would have to put it far enough away from the 2nd one so it wouldnt look like one big box. Some cats do not like to poo where they pee. Is she under any kind of stress ? Some cats do this when they are stressed, too.

I don't really have a choice...there's nowhere for the 2nd box to go except besides the other. I can't see putting a box in the middle of a hallway. Like I said she pee's in the current one so maybe she'll just use the other to poop. I guess it's worth a try. No idea about stress.......as far as I know she's not. Jut been to the vet recently also and no probs.

Maybe you should make a vet appt. to specifically address this problem. (I've heard of a cat w/ a UTI pooping outside the box) There may be a health problem causing the "out of box" experinces. Is the kitty declawed? Is she spayed? Can you be more specific as to why you cannot add another litterbox? (like, there isn't room, it would look bad, etc) Is there any way to put a 2nd litterbox somewhat near where the kitty is popping in the hallway? You can try plugging in a Feliway diffuser(do a goole search or search the forums for Feliway) to calm her. You can also try using Cat Attract litter. I've used it for a spraying kitty & it really does work!

That's all I have to suggest & ask for now. Hopefully we can all be of some help & get things straightened out!

Cat is declawed and spayed. I just can't see putting a litterbox down a narrow hallway......plus it's on a woodfloor. I'm thinking of getting some kinda motion detector thingy to help scare her off or something.

What's going to be harder on the wood floor, cat pooping directly on the floor or a litter box sitting in that spot?

I'd provide another box in the spot where the cat is pooping and also take the cat to the vet for a checkup specifically for this problem.

Often a cat going outside a box is indicative of health problems. Have you checked her poor feet to see that everything is ok with them? Was she recently declawed or done a long time ago?

You've had some great advice from others. There are also a thread you can look at dealing with this issue.
http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...threadid=19767

declawed about 5-6 yrs ago so thats not the prob. I guess I can put a box there but I can't make it a perminant place.....it just won't work.....I'll get one of those things that makes a noise and sprays the cat if this continues.

Originally Posted by michealmyers

declawed about 5-6 yrs ago so thats not the prob. I guess I can put a box there but I can't make it a perminant place.....it just won't work.....I'll get one of those things that makes a noise and sprays the cat if this continues.

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If you put the extra box there and the cat starts using it for her poo, then you can slowly start moving the box to where you want it kept. Moving it bit by bit every day or two shouldn't throw her off and before you know it she will have her two boxes to make her happy and you will have them stationed where you want them.

In regards to possible stress problems, has there been any changes in your home that may have upset her? Anything like people moving in or out, moving furniture around, construction or remodeling, changes in the hours you come and go?
Anything like that can be upsetting to a cat even though it hasn't seemed like much of a change to you.

If you introduce another box and still have a problem with her than a vet visit should probably be in order.

I know of someone who is trying to re-home a kitty here. She is a 6 year old spayed & 4 paw declawed cat. She has litterbox issues....directly linked to being declawed. She sprays & never pees in her litterbox, I have been told.

I hate to say this, but yes, it is possible that the litterbox issues are linked to the declawing. I would still suggest talking to the vet specifically about this problem. A UTI could be causing her to poop outside the litterbox. They are simple to treat, a week or two on antibiotics & that's all! That should be your first step before getting any deterrant things. If she has a UTI, then it isn't her fault, it is incredibly painful to use the litterbox.

Is it possible that cats forget where to do #2 sometimes? I added a 2nd box right beside my other and cat seems to be using it for the most part. There have been 1 or 2 mistakes......at which time I place the poo in the litter box.

Funny thing though. At first sight of this prob....I bought new box and another litter. Well now I brought back original box as well with original litter. Cat seems to prefer the original, but will use the other sometimes as well, but only to pee? Weird...but hey as long as it's in the box I could care less

She sounds like one of the cats that prefers different boxes for each function.
If the boxes are right side by side she may view them as just one big box sometimes. If you can separate them just a bit that may help the problem a little more.
Glad to her it has gotten better though.

I should have kept my mouth shut. Woke up this morning and she made a mistake again. I have no idea whats going on.....last 3-4 days it's been in the box.

Are you cleaning both boxes often?
She may be one of those cats that does not want to use a box if there is anything in there. That's all I can think of right now.

Yes...clean as can be...seriously, it's emptied very quickly if there's anything in it. When she does make the mistake I'll place it back in the box so she'll see, I'm thinking maybe this'll teach her to put it there. We'll see, it's worrying me though....no idea what the problem is, she's in good health etc, only cat we have so no clue....but it's frustrating.

I have two boxes, right next to each other. For whatever reason, it works for me. The only time Teddy fails to use the box is if it's really full (rarely happens, maybe once), or when he's sick and can't make it there in time. The cats seem to have no problem with boxes next to each other. I'm not sure why but since you don't know what your cat will like, it's worth a shot.

Sometimes, they go pee in one box, then run out, and come back, and poop in the second box right away. It's quite funny.

Also, with a declawed cat, the softer the litter, the better at least in my experience.

Right now the original box has the original litter, box #2 has different litter. I think what I might do is put the original litter in each. The litter we're using is special kitty which is what we've always used so I'm not sure why the problem has started in the 1st place. She usually goes #2 at night and it's quiet as heck so I don't think the noise factor has anything to do with it. I'm clueless really.....

have you tried taking the litter out of the box and just putting newspaper in the box so she has a flat surface to poo and pee on? i also would suggest the second litter box in the house but not in the hall. on the way to the hall or somewhere on the oposite side of the house from the other litter box. i would suggest moving her food to where she's pooping on the floor. cats tend not to poop where their food is.