Kitten is Pooping In Food Bowl and Under Couch... What to do?

[ifoundakitty]

Hi guys,

I found a kitten under my barn awhile ago and have had her in the house ever since. I am having problems with this kitten and I am unsure what to do...

When she first came into the house we had her in her own private room with litterbox and food. At first I visited her to get her used to me, that progressed to her having play time out of the room and in the living room with us. Finally after I was sure she was litter trained I let her come downstairs.

She seemed to be doing fine, her litterbox was upstairs with my other cats litterboxes and i was finding little kitten poops so all was well. Then I started smelling something weird near the couch and found she had been pooping and peeing in a bag of cat food (it was closed, she must have opened it.) I threw out the cat food and keep the bag elswhere in the house now. I brought a litterbox downstairs and put it right near where she has been crapping and pissing. She was using it and I was getting hopeful but it turns out she is still randomly pooing and peeing all over my living room, mostly under and possibly in the couch.

Today I found a kitten turd in the actual food bowl that was full of food.

I am starting to get worried about my options because my husband did not want another cat in the first place and now he is starting to get quite angry and I don't have long to figure this out.

What else can I do?

There's no way to close the entrance to the couch really, it's a couch that you can remove the top part and sealing it off is not an option as we need to be able to remove the top part for moving.

I don't know why she's doing this, I have been cleaning her litter box 1-2 times a day and my other cats litterboxes get cleaned every day or two. They are very clean.

 

[ifoundakitty]

At this point I am going to start putting her back in her own room overnight and not allowing her free use of the house.

Beyond that I'm not quite sure what to do. I don't want to have to keep her locked up at night for the rest of her life, that's not something I'm interested in. We need to work towards her being able to be trusted in the house and I'm really not sure what to do.

 

[fhicat]

When was her last vet visit? Medical issues can result in inappropriate elimination, so it's always a good idea to rule that out first.

Have you tried moving her litterbox away from the other cats'? Most cats like some sort of privacy with their boxes -- the ideal spot would be out of sight, easily accessible and has at least two escape routes (so that no one cat can bully her by blocking access to the litterbox.

How many total boxes? Rule of thumb is, if you can swing it, number of cats plus one.

I'm thinking two possible reasons:

1) She isn't comfortable with her box location -- either because it's with the other boxes, or not enough privacy.

2) She doesn't really like her litter. You mentioned sometimes she goes in places where there is food. It could *also* be a pain issue, as the food are presumably softer and easier to dig than actual litter (again, a vet visit if she hasn't already). 

 

[bonepicker]

If she is a small kitten it is too much freedom too soon start with a bathroom move to a garage or bedroom. They need litter boxes of their own on every floor. Cats are clean by nature, start again without giving her the whole house. I started my feral kittens in large cage moved to bathroom then to bedroom, then to garage etc. gradually making area bigger. My friend did not listen to me and gave her kitten too much freedom so she started pooping in bedroom, remember they are babies. She put her back in bathroom like I told her and cleaned up the areas she had accidents in so she did not return to those spots

 

[ifoundakitty]

Thank you both for your advice. We went to the vet last week for her first shots and the vet said it was a behavioural thing not physical.

She seemed to be getting better but she is pooping under the couch again. I will have to lock her up at night from now on. I have a covered litter box downstairs for her that she has been using. She also sometimes uses the other cats litter boxes which are in a different room.

Never had this problem with my other kitties. 

 

[bigperm20]

I see this as more of an attempt to "mark" her territory, ie food, and the area that smells most like you (couch).

How does she get along with the other cats? How long was she segregated until u allowed her her access to the entire house?

How old is she?

 

[bigperm20]

Oh I forgot to mention. I would switch to Dr Elsey's kitten attract litter. I'd also consider a couple of Feliway diffusers if it is truly anxiety causing this.

 

[bonepicker]

Covered boxes only give one escape route they might start to not use box, she is intimidated by other cats, make sur multiple boxes uncovered on all floors