I have a kitten named Hunter who is about six months. He has been pretty good with litterbox use until today, when he pooped on the floor. I'm not sure what the exact issue is, as there are a few possible candidates. On Saturday, he had a vet visit and got his e-collar off (he was chewing at the surgery site after being neutered). He's been pretty good about using the litterbox with the e-collar but he seemed a bit disconcerted to have it removed. This weekend, we also had visitors over. I've had guests before with no problem, but I think this is the most likely source of stress. As Hunter likes jumping on beds, I had to shut him in the bathroom with the litterbox at night and during the day my friends weren't great about leaving the door open for him in case he also needed to pee. I tried giving him treats near the litterbox after they left, but he seemed reluctant to step in it. I'm not sure if he just didn't want to eat in it or if he no longer likes it. The third vague possibility is I watched a video with a cat meowing, which seemed to really freak Hunter out (he is an only cat and it looks like he probably does not like other cats). This was around the location of the accident and possibly around the time, although I am not entirely sure when the accident occurred and it could also have been while my friends shut him out of the bathroom. He just had a vet check two days ago and is in good health but if we continue to have litterbox trouble, I will have him reexamined when we go back in two weeks for an unrelated issue.
Anyway, what I've done is left the current litterbox, with the same litter, in the same location while making a second "litterbox" out of a spare box, filling it with the clumping litter I want him eventually using, and putting it in the room he pooed in. If this does not work, I will pick up a third box but hopefully the second box will resolve the problem and I can then work on slowly moving him back to the bathroom. I have also cleaned the site of the accident with enzymatic cleaners and checked the apartment for other spots, but that appears to be the only one. Is there anything else I need to be doing? I was hoping to wean him off of free-fed dry this week, as according to the vet he is too heavy, but I think I should give it back until we have the potty issue resolved. I'd really like to nip this in the bud, so if anyone has any thoughts, please contribute. I am 95% sure it's stress as he has had a very stressful weekend, but if there's anything else I should be doing, I will.
Anyway, what I've done is left the current litterbox, with the same litter, in the same location while making a second "litterbox" out of a spare box, filling it with the clumping litter I want him eventually using, and putting it in the room he pooed in. If this does not work, I will pick up a third box but hopefully the second box will resolve the problem and I can then work on slowly moving him back to the bathroom. I have also cleaned the site of the accident with enzymatic cleaners and checked the apartment for other spots, but that appears to be the only one. Is there anything else I need to be doing? I was hoping to wean him off of free-fed dry this week, as according to the vet he is too heavy, but I think I should give it back until we have the potty issue resolved. I'd really like to nip this in the bud, so if anyone has any thoughts, please contribute. I am 95% sure it's stress as he has had a very stressful weekend, but if there's anything else I should be doing, I will.