Cat Recently Started Pooping On Carpeted Stairs - And Won't Stop!

freddieproblems · Dec 4, 2017

I adopted a cat last March and he seems to have acclimated into our family of two other cats (M and F) and two dogs (M and F). He doesn't really mind the dogs and seems to get along well with the other cats, but mostly just really likes hanging out with me.

He did this thing when we first brought him home where he would poop on the rugs we had in the basement. We have one litter box per cat in the basement bathroom and I keep them as clean as I can. After he ruined the rugs downstairs, I threw them away and he would poop on the drain grate in the basement, which is fine because it's easy to clean up.

Recently, maybe a month ago, he started pooping on our carpeted stairs. It started out as an occasional thing, but now he's doing it basically every day and sometimes multiple times a day. I'm at my wits end here, I don't know what to do. I clean the carpet with enzymes and carpet cleaner, spray with vinegar to neutralize, and keep the litter boxes clean and he still is pooping on the stairs. I can't really block off the area because it's a main pathway in the house, I'd basically have to keep him in the kitchen and that wouldn't be fun for him.

I really don't know what to do. We're having the carpet removed, but we're not sure when the project will start. In the meantime, I'm going crazy finding poop sometimes three times a day on the stairs. I know it's not the other cats because I catch him doing it!

I really don't want to have to rehome him, but one of my friends suggested that he's maybe unhappy that he has to share his litter boxes and food with other cats and might be happier as the only cat in a house. I'm really not sure how to figure out his motive/what he's trying to tell me. He's so sweet and a perfect little friend, except for this one awful awful habit.

Please, does anyone have any suggestions or insight or literally anything I can do to help fix this?

Brian007 · Dec 4, 2017

Have you taken him to the vet? We need to rule out any physical causes before we tackle behavioural ones. Hyperthyroidism, Irritable Bowel Disease, and parasites, amongst other conditions, all cause sudden cases of "caught shortness;" and I can imagine the in-between, neither here nor there, position of stairs might be such a place to bring on a panic poo. Ask your vet to do a full blood count, tummy ultrasound, and check for/treat regardless parasites, including tape and roundworm.

Then, after his health check we can investigate different types of litter, different shapes and sizes of box (with/without lid), and position of the litter boxes. The position of his preferred box is even more important in a multicat household as there may be some ambushing, or at least fear of ambushing, taking place. It might be an idea to have a litter box on each floor of your house and not just the basement. It's no good having a litter box per cat if they're all lined up next to each other, they need to be spread around the house. And, the basement is a dead end, thus could cause all kinds of poo related paranoia, involving your other cats. Cats are very clean by nature but some are also very prudish, anxious, and fussy and need privacy with a clear view of multiple escape routes from would-be bouncing when trapped on the loo right in the middle of things.

Whilst you're undergoing his vet check, why not try some "cat attract litter" as it has many rave reviews on this site for cats going outside the box, who overnight decide their box is not so bad after all. Its ingredients include toilet tempting cat herbs. And, move at least one box upstairs to a secluded, yet open, spot.

Hopefully, this is a mere setback and things will get back on track again soon. He may wish to be an only cat but he may simply wish that he could do his business under the right conditions for him, and be perfectly happy in all other aspects of multicatdom.

Keep enzyme/biological scrubbing your carpets and lift if necessary. And don't forget to douse the cleaned sites with 50:50 (apple cider) vinegar and water mix afterwards.