I have a three-year-old cat, Pancake, who is having litter box problems and I am at the end of my rope. I've combed through several other threads looking for answers but I haven't seen quite the same issue described.
Pancake used her litter box like a champ for the first year I had her (I got her as a rescue when she was about four months old). Then she started pooping in the kitchen. She chose one specific corner and would always poop there. It was incredibly frustrating, but after her vet checked her out and ensured she wasn't experiencing a physical problem leading to the behavior, we moved on to trying to correct the behavior. I didn't have a second litter box at the time (since she had used just one with no problems for her first year) but I set up a second litter box for her and used Feliway spray to neutralize the area where she was pooping. It worked! She stopped pooping in the kitchen...and started pooping on my couch.
For about six months now I have been struggling with her pooping on my couch, and occasionally, on my bed (I can limit her access to my bedroom, which pretty well curtails that behavior). She has now been to a second vet, who recommended a natural calming chew to add daily to her food, before we resort to kitty prozac. At present, Pancake's set up is two litter boxes, both use feline pine original. She gets the calming chew once daily, and I have two Feliway diffusers in the apartment, one in the bathroom with her litter boxes and one in the main area. I also continue to use the Feliway spray to try and neutralize the couch, since it worked in the kitchen, but it doesn't seem as effective this time.
The second vet diagnosed her recent behavior as middening and along with the attempts to soothe her, I have added more playtime to her days and also make an effort to play on the couch with her, in hopes that she'll see it as a play zone and not a poop place. But we've only been partially successful with correcting this behavior. She'll use her box for a week, maybe two at most, and then she'll poop on the couch again. I've tried deterrents like foil, which she just eats, and currently keep a plastic sheet over the couch but that doesn't deter her, either. In fact, this morning I woke up to find that she had torn up the plastic so that she could poop on the couch underneath. When she does make a mess, I've been using Nature's Miracle to clean up and deodorize the area affected.
I don't know what else I can do. Everything I've read about this indicates something in her environment is upsetting her and it's stress related, but my efforts to make her environment more soothing haven't permanently corrected the problem. She's an only cat, I haven't moved or made a significant change in my home since getting her three years ago. I've had the same couch all along (although at this rate, I am going to need a new couch). I can't figure out what's upsetting her, and I'm starting to think it's not going to be solvable and I'm going to need to give her away. I hate to even think it because it feels like punishing her for something I know she isn't doing to be spiteful, but I can't live with this much longer. I'm afraid to bring people over for fear of what mess I might find when I get home, and I'm afraid to leave her alone for too long, because if I'm here (and awake) I can redirect her to her box. I've been trying to deal with potential separation anxiety, in case that's the issue, but the weird thing about Pancake's problem is that she will use her box for periods of time like it's no big thing, then just suddenly she'll poop on the couch for a few days before going back to her box. I don't know what else I can do for her besides admit something in my apartment is just making her unhappy and the only fix left is to rehome her.
If anyone has any ideas, tricks or tips I haven't tried, I am all ears.
Pancake used her litter box like a champ for the first year I had her (I got her as a rescue when she was about four months old). Then she started pooping in the kitchen. She chose one specific corner and would always poop there. It was incredibly frustrating, but after her vet checked her out and ensured she wasn't experiencing a physical problem leading to the behavior, we moved on to trying to correct the behavior. I didn't have a second litter box at the time (since she had used just one with no problems for her first year) but I set up a second litter box for her and used Feliway spray to neutralize the area where she was pooping. It worked! She stopped pooping in the kitchen...and started pooping on my couch.
For about six months now I have been struggling with her pooping on my couch, and occasionally, on my bed (I can limit her access to my bedroom, which pretty well curtails that behavior). She has now been to a second vet, who recommended a natural calming chew to add daily to her food, before we resort to kitty prozac. At present, Pancake's set up is two litter boxes, both use feline pine original. She gets the calming chew once daily, and I have two Feliway diffusers in the apartment, one in the bathroom with her litter boxes and one in the main area. I also continue to use the Feliway spray to try and neutralize the couch, since it worked in the kitchen, but it doesn't seem as effective this time.
The second vet diagnosed her recent behavior as middening and along with the attempts to soothe her, I have added more playtime to her days and also make an effort to play on the couch with her, in hopes that she'll see it as a play zone and not a poop place. But we've only been partially successful with correcting this behavior. She'll use her box for a week, maybe two at most, and then she'll poop on the couch again. I've tried deterrents like foil, which she just eats, and currently keep a plastic sheet over the couch but that doesn't deter her, either. In fact, this morning I woke up to find that she had torn up the plastic so that she could poop on the couch underneath. When she does make a mess, I've been using Nature's Miracle to clean up and deodorize the area affected.
I don't know what else I can do. Everything I've read about this indicates something in her environment is upsetting her and it's stress related, but my efforts to make her environment more soothing haven't permanently corrected the problem. She's an only cat, I haven't moved or made a significant change in my home since getting her three years ago. I've had the same couch all along (although at this rate, I am going to need a new couch). I can't figure out what's upsetting her, and I'm starting to think it's not going to be solvable and I'm going to need to give her away. I hate to even think it because it feels like punishing her for something I know she isn't doing to be spiteful, but I can't live with this much longer. I'm afraid to bring people over for fear of what mess I might find when I get home, and I'm afraid to leave her alone for too long, because if I'm here (and awake) I can redirect her to her box. I've been trying to deal with potential separation anxiety, in case that's the issue, but the weird thing about Pancake's problem is that she will use her box for periods of time like it's no big thing, then just suddenly she'll poop on the couch for a few days before going back to her box. I don't know what else I can do for her besides admit something in my apartment is just making her unhappy and the only fix left is to rehome her.
If anyone has any ideas, tricks or tips I haven't tried, I am all ears.