My cat's becoming a huge problem!

[captainkittycat]

Hi guys! I've had my buddy Porter for almost a year now. I'ts been almost 9 months since I adopted him from the shelter. At first, he was amazing. A little bit of a pain, but nothing out of the ordinary. However, as the time passes, things are starting to get more difficult. He's always been a bit of a pain about his litterbox. He uses it, but, I feel that he doesn't always know when he's done pooping, as sometimes there will be some outside the box. It is almost always wet, and stinks to high heavens. I've tried to put him on some grain-free wet foods, but not only will he not touch it, he will cause a ruckus until he gets his normal food back.

He has also started to claw the walls. I know that sometimes he does so to stretch his back, but when he doesn't get attention for doing it once, he'll continue to do so until he gets bored or sprayed with a water bottle... And then he'll go into another room and do the same thing. I have claw marks on my wall because of it.

He also doesn't like to be locked out of my room when he's getting hyperactive while I want to sleep at night. He'll claw at my door and yowl  until I open it; sometimes for up to a half an hour straight, and then he'll just rip apart my room and leave again.

Last night, after he tried to eat our christmas tree, I sprayed him with water. He ran away, and fifteen minutes later, came back to do so again. I sprayed him again, and his reaction was to jump on the kitchen table to spite me, which earned another spray. He was fine for the night, but this morning, I found a large, wet poop on my bed covers from him. As I have no other cats, I know it was him, and he knew he was wrong, because he would not and will not come near me still. 

I don't know what to do anymore. Whenever I scold him for being bad, he comes back and does the exact same thing again, to the point that he's getting used to the water bottle. Saying his name loudly will not deter him either. I have tried this enough, and he continues to do what he wants, not even paying me any mind. 

Anything to help would be nice...

I cannot afford to take him to the vet anymore; I did so three times in the first three months I had him for his poops and for watery eyes, which still have not been resolved despite being put on L-Lysine. Nothing so far has worked, and I am at a complete loss for what to do to make him change.

 

[tulosai]

First, as a general note, it's best to stop spraying him with the water bottle.  Read this article for more details on why http://www.thecatsite.com/a/cats-and-discipline-dont-mix but the short version is, cats actually respond VERY poorly to discipline, and this is likely making his behavior problems worse. As to the rest I'm going to go point by point

He's always been a bit of a pain about his litterbox. He uses it, but, I feel that he doesn't always know when he's done pooping, as sometimes there will be some outside the box. It is almost always wet, and stinks to high heavens. I've tried to put him on some grain-free wet foods, but not only will he not touch it, he will cause a ruckus until he gets his normal food back.

Honestly, these accidents may just be something you  have to live with, especially if the root problem IS that he really just doesn't know when he's done going.  If you are serious about trying to make a diet change, it can be done but it has to be done gradually, an should be done gradually even if the cat is receptive to the new food to make sure there are no ugly digestive problems during the first weeks.  I recommend posting in our nutrition forums about this, where many members have successfully transitioned cats onto foods the cat initially hated. Again, a transition is going to have to be gradual and may take weeks or even months, but if you are serious about it, it can be done.

He has also started to claw the walls. I know that sometimes he does so to stretch his back, but when he doesn't get attention for doing it once, he'll continue to do so until he gets bored or sprayed with a water bottle... And then he'll go into another room and do the same thing. I have claw marks on my wall because of it.

Does he have scratching posts? Are they near the walls? This would be the first thing I'd try to discourage this.

He also doesn't like to be locked out of my room when he's getting hyperactive while I want to sleep at night. He'll claw at my door and yowl  until I open it; sometimes for up to a half an hour straight, and then he'll just rip apart my room and leave again.

Regarding both this and the point above about what the cat does if he doesn't get 'attention' for scratching the walls, the cat has unfortunately trained you instead of the other way around.  The only solution at this point is to ignore him until he gets the message that that is the only reaction he's going to get EVER.  At this point, this too is probably going to take weeks or even months.  It is VERY important that you do not EVER react.  For many cats, reacting only sometimes is worse than not reacting at all and makes them more determined to get your attention. This principle can actually be used as a powerful training tool too though- for example, if he is doing something good like scratching the scratching post, you can (and SHOULD) give him treats when he does that, but after the first few times, it's actually most effective to give the treats when he does it only some of the time.

I know it's going to be rough to ignore him for an hour plus when he's howling at your door but you have to do it and you have to do it every night. Invest in some high quality earplugs and a white noise machine.   He will eventually get the message, but it's going to take time.

Last night, after he tried to eat our christmas tree, I sprayed him with water. He ran away, and fifteen minutes later, came back to do so again. I sprayed him again, and his reaction was to jump on the kitchen table to spite me, which earned another spray. He was fine for the night, but this morning, I found a large, wet poop on my bed covers from him. As I have no other cats, I know it was him, and he knew he was wrong, because he would not and will not come near me still. 

Cats don't really have emotions like humans do.  It's unlikely he went on the table to spite you.  He probably did it to either climb since he was bored and couldn't be by his preferred christmas tree anymore, or to get some height//distance because he was scared of you and the spray bottle.

It's also very unlikely your cat has been avoiding you for a long time because of a poop or that he is thinking about how he was wrong.  Cats are very much in the moment and don't think like humans.  If he is actually avoiding you it's probably because he's scared of you and the spray bottle in general, not because of the poop.

I don't know what to do anymore. Whenever I scold him for being bad, he comes back and does the exact same thing again, to the point that he's getting used to the water bottle. Saying his name loudly will not deter him either. I have tried this enough, and he continues to do what he wants, not even paying me any mind. 

Anything to help would be nice...

I cannot afford to take him to the vet anymore; I did so three times in the first three months I had him for his poops and for watery eyes, which still have not been resolved despite being put on L-Lysine. Nothing so far has worked, and I am at a complete loss for what to do to make him change.

In terms of suggestions, first, like I've already said, throw out the spray bottle and embrace the concept of ignoring him, no matter what he does.

If you don't have scratching posts (yes plural) get them.  Make sure they are tall enough that he can reach all the way up.  Also get some horizontal ones so he can scratch in that direction if he wants to.  I'd have AT LEAST one vertical scratching post in each room he's frequently in.  If possible, I'd have one near each wall he likes to scratch.

Play with him as much as you can so that he can  burn off some of the access energy.  Interactive toys like da bird tend to be big hits.

To deal with the wall scratching, if he is doing it, pick him up and take him to a scratching post instead then scratch that lightly with your own fingernails to demonstrate. Or try to distract him with an interactive toy.  If these things fail, ignore him as suggested above.

Regarding the poop, if a vet's out of the question then trying to transition to grain free wet's not a bad idea.  As I said before you can get more info in the nutrition forum about this.  I would be VERY careful about punishing him for this and would NOT do so because he is still using the box and the last thing you want is for him to stop using it altogether.

Hopefully others will come along with more suggestions soon.  Good luck!

 

[captainkittycat]

Thank you for the reply so quickly.

I have nothing really to add to this, except that I have 2 scratching posts where he most commonly scratches. The wall he scratches at the most has a tall scratching post right next to where he scratches, but he hardly ever uses it. The one he uses most often is the cardboard horizontal one in my living room, and even when he finishes that, his first thing to go to next is the couch, or the chairs.

However, in regards to the litter box thing, I've noticed that ever since I got a larger box with a lid, there have been a lot fewer accidents. 

 

[juliesbabys]

I used a spray bottle when the kittens were younger. It was usually to keep them from dashing between my legs to get outside. Now whenever they are misbehaving, I just show the bottle or make a noise like spraying.
I found the cardboard scratching posts work well because they can be flat on the floor or inclined. They can be turned over when they are shredded on one side. I also have the sisal,rug style. I sprinkle cat nip on them both. Naturs Miracle has a scratch deterrent spray I use where I don't want them shredding.

Is your kittie bored? Whenever my black male Munchkin is misbehaving, it is because he is trying to get my attention. If it is something he isn't get, I tell him no and ignore him. He usually gives up when he gets the message.

 

[captainkittycat]

So update. He has been responding well to my ignoring him, however, today while I was cleaning, I found another fresh poop on my bench near the window this time. His litterbox is clean... This behavior is new, but I have no idea what I can do to fix this behavior so it doesn't get worse.

 

[manemelissa]

Hmm... not sure about the poop issue. Most of the random poop I find is either because a) they ate hair and the hair was hanging out their butt with a poop attached or b) the poo was too squishy to fall until they jumped out/ran off.

Good to hear that he's doing better otherwise!

I was gonna just point out that some cats prefer a certain kind of scratching post. My Belle doesn't like the twine post I got her at all. She scratches on it, but only at the spots on it that have carpet, lol. I'll see her put her claws into the twine part and then back off immediately. For your cat I would cardboard it up! At least you know he likes it.

 

[nora1]

Would it be possible to clip his nails? I noticed that when I keep my cat's nails trimmed, she scratches less.

Another idea, like someone already mentioned, but can you offer different scratching surfaces? Some cats prefer different textures to scratch: carpet, cardboard, rope etc.

As for the pooping issue, has anything else changed in the house? New pets, new visitors, new arrangement of furniture? I know that some cats really don't do well with change, and they "act out" if they become stressed. Just a thought! Hope things get better soon

 

[jcat]

If he likes scratching walls and ignores nearby posts, you can hang scratching mats or boards, coarse door mats, cork bulletin boards or the like directly on the walls in his favorite spots using nails, screws or heavy-duty Velcro.

Does he have two large litter boxes, one for peeing and another for pooping? That's a necessity for some cats. Do you have a mat in front of his litter box? If so, have you tried removing it? If not, you could put one there to see whether he'll avoid pooping on it.

 

[captainkittycat]

He has one box, but he's never had a problem using it. He does have a mat, but its there to protect the floor. He used to poop on the floor in front of the box before, now the mat protects it.

I've started trying to ignore him when he's clawing the door. It's been an hour now, and he's left and come back several times for spurts of 15 minutes. The door is getting ruined, I don't know what else I can do. I'm starting to get at wits end with this. I don't let him in my room when I'm not home because, the last few times I have, he's pooped on my things. I don't want to have to keep him out of my room but I don't know how else to prevent it. The paint on the door is starting to chip, is there any way I can prevent him from clawing through the door?

 

[Willowy]

You can use Command strips to stick a thin sheet of plexiglass on the door. If you own the place you could screw it on or use permanent stickies but the Command strips are best for renters.

Do you play with him? Interactively, every day, until he's tired? This is something Jackson Galaxy (his website has other useful suggestions too) often recommends first for any behavioral problem and it really does work most of the time. Try a laser light or fishing pole toy.