Who Done It?

[nes]

WHO POOED IN MY DINING ROOM!??

Right in the middle of the room too - there is no excuse so I'm starting a witch-hunt!! It happened sometime over night.

See if you can think of something I can't:

- we have 3 litter boxes, 4 cats; I know I should have 5 but our home is less the 500 square feet so if I had that many litter boxes, well there would just be litter boxes all over my house!!! They are cleaned regularily & just got cleaned wed night. This is the first time there has been an accident.

- it's possible it was Tasha because she's mad about having gotten out for 6 days and is now trapped inside again, but she has NEVER had an accident before! Once, when she was a kitten, I accidentally locked her away from her litter box & she found some newspaper & pooed on it!

- miss kitty likes to poo outside & will ask to be let out like a dog, I can't see her pooing on the floor. If anything she'd go downstairs and poo in our dirt basement (which thankfully she doesn't do!!)

- I suppose it could have been peaches then, but there is NO reason for her to be pooing on the floor.

- it could have been oscar but it was an awefully big poo & he's never NOT gone in the litter box since he was old enough to get his butt in there. He's amazingly good at running upstairs after his nap and going poo right away.

Who do I strangle first? *sigh*

Maybe someone just wasn't feeling well and couldn't hold it in? I am NOT impressed CATS!!

 

[farleyv]

Maybe one of the other cats was taking too long in the box? And when you gotta go, you gotta go!

Thats about all I can think of. Did it happen just this once?

I know they say 1 more box than cats. But I have a huge box with 7 cats. No one ever goes outside the box.

Hope it don't happen again.

 

[strange_wings]

You said it was a large poo? Was it firm, too? If so, you'd have your answer why the cat did it. Constipation at the very least is uncomfortable to a cat, often painful. This can make a cat poop outside of their box.

If you keep the boxes very clean, then you have enough. It's more important that the boxes never get full than that there's 5-7 of them. I have four right now, and 7 cats (3 are kittens), even with that many the boxes are fine with a daily scooping - generally one box isn't even used. The only stinky-ness is currently from Tomas who is finding ways around me trying to keep him out of the kittens' food (Tomas cannot have chicken).

That said, I can usually tell who poops what. You may want to keep a closer eye on that in the future so you can identify it in situations like these. Yes, this means checking the litter box if you hear a cat scratching around and checking the stool right away.

 

[nes]

It's not just that it was outside a box, it was in a room that their isn't even a box! :O.

AND THEY DID IT AGAIN!!!!

This time in my kitchen behind the bathroom door

.

The first one was very hard so I was willing to forgive, but this one is quite mushy and actually looks more like a dog poo (but our dogs are locked upstairs at night so I know it wasn't them).


So... food colouring?? I could do a different colour of each cat...

*sigh*

I'm thinking now it might really be Tasha since this started when she came back - or someone who is upset she's home again. Although I can't imagine who since both Peaches & Oscar LOVE to play with her & she's MK's baby*! :S
(*Not REALLY, but she treats her as if Tasha was her kitten).

Of course the worst part is I shouldn't be touching it (pregnant) but I can't leave poo on the floor until my husband gets home. I know I've been around cats my entire life I'm probably not susceptible to the cat bacteria - but 9 months out of my life I don't have to clean litter boxes...

 

[strange_wings]

Well... don't go picking it up barehanded and licking your fingers. Use a paper towel and wash your hands.
What about all of the thousands of years that women had to tend the animals even while pregnant? What about cleaning up poopy toddler butts while pregnant?

It really sounds like someone doesn't like the box for some reason. Follow the cats around. The one you don't see pooping is probably empty from pooping already.


BTW, once a person gets toxoplasmosis gondii protozoa they always have it. There is no way to get rid of it. Only one's immune system can keep it in check. Bacteria is going to be spread all over anyways. Just wash you hands regularly.

 

[auntie crazy]

Something you wrote caught my eye, "He's amazingly good at running upstairs after his nap and going poo right away."

If you have multiple floors, you should have at least one box on each floor. If the cat is uncomfortable for some reason, he/she will still have time to get to a litter box. If all the boxes are upstairs, that makes it less likely they'll even try (ever had to run upstairs when you've "gotta go"?).

Maybe one of your cats picked up worms or a parasite or something else from outside. The specific name eludes me at the moment, but mice are knowe to harbor a particular parasite, and fleas carry tapeworms. I'd bring your cats in for a check-up or, if your vet's amenable, at least bring in a stool sample for a fecal.

Hope you get this solved soon! The longer the behavior persists, the more ingrained it becomes; if it turns into a normal pattern for the cat (a habit), it may continue even after the problem is solved.

Maybe you could put a box in the kitchen temporarily? Just until you've figured out what's going on? Better that than cleaning the floor regularly!

 

[strange_wings]

Mice carry a lot of parasites. Roundworms, tapes, hook, toxoplasmosis (how cats get it), coccidia, etc. There's a type of tapeworm (hymenolepiasis nana) that is even found in some pet stores rodents - the main host for it's adult cycle is humans.

 

[darlili]

Those nice little surgical/health care/food prep gloves - you can pick them up at any drugstore or Walmart. Very very handy whenever dealing with anything messy.

And, yeah, you've got to figure out who it is....you could call your vet and ask about the vegetable dye for the right dose, but someone there is under the weather and trying to tell you. Even the stress of your being pregnant, and smelling 'different' to them, no doubt, due to hormones, could be upsetting someone's tummy.

No food change lately, right?

 

[nes]

Originally Posted by darlili

....you could call your vet and ask about the vegetable dye for the right dose...

I was totally joking - CAN I ACTUALLY DO THAT???

That would be fantastic to know for the next time someone gets sick!!

I did change Oscar's food, but very slowly so I don't think that would upset his tummy. Plus he's basically sleeping or following me around all day so if he wasn't feeling well I'm sure I'd notice

. (He's SO freakin' cute!!!)

There is a possibility someone else has been sneaking his food - that could cause their tummy to be upset.

Originally Posted by Auntie Crazy

...If you have multiple floors, you should have at least one box on each floor...

He runs upstairs because he likes that box better

but we do have one on every floor. And I'm pregnant and we only have a bathroom on the bottom floor (so the cats have more washrooms then we do...) I know ALL about running up & down stairs when you GOTTA GO!!

Originally Posted by strange_wings

...What about all of the thousands of years that women had to tend the animals even while pregnant? ....

Shhhhh! My husband will hear you!!

9 months out of my life I don't have to clean up cat poo!!

Thankfully we don't see to have had any more "accidents". So this was all very strange. Perhaps it was just Tasha settling back in? I did immediately check the poop for worms - there weren't any.

Thanks for the suggestions guys! I'm going to keep them all in mind & we'll see if ther are any more accidents. Hopefully not!!!

 

[auntie crazy]

Originally Posted by Nes

...Thankfully we don't see to have had any more "accidents". So this was all very strange. Perhaps it was just Tasha settling back in? I did immediately check the poop for worms - there weren't any.

Thanks for the suggestions guys! I'm going to keep them all in mind & we'll see if ther are any more accidents. Hopefully not!!!

Well, that's good! Hopefully, you won't have any more incidents!

 

[strange_wings]

Originally Posted by Nes

I was totally joking - CAN I ACTUALLY DO THAT???

That would be fantastic to know for the next time someone gets sick!!!

I'm not sure, because poo color can also help determine what sort of digestive issues can be going on. And never use red - it can look like blood.

Food sneaking is possible. Cats are very good at this. I'm currently having a heck of a time keeping a couple of mine out of the kittens' food. I know Tomas is the main culprit since chicken gives him diarrhea and near deadly gas.

 

[nes]

ARG!!

Someone pooped in my bathroom this morning...

Peaches used to do that sine when we first got her we tried to keep her locked in the bathroom (long story, but because of the step up into the bathroom the door doesn't close completely) that plan didn't work....

There was a week or so that she pooped consistently for no apparently reason until we just closed the door and she went back to the litter.

So maybe it's been her all along

.

At least this one was on a mat & easy to clean up!!

I did check in on the litter box this morning & have to get on hubby's butt - it's looking a little narsty! So I'll let the bathroom faux-pas go.