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Old March 11th, 2011, 11:33 AM
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My 4 y.o. cat poops everywhere in the living room

Hi one of my cats(4 y.o ,spayed, female) started pooping in the living room and it has been like that since half a year ago.. She pees in the litter box (located in the bathroom)but poops in the living room.. I clean the litter box after every time someone uses it and its always clean.. Any advice or suggestions?Every morning I wake up and I find a smelling surprise in the living room. I was talking mad at her a month ago when she does it and she was hiding when she did it and she sees me but i stopped because i feel bad. I have other cats and they use the litter boxes( i have a few litter boxes around the house)
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Old March 11th, 2011, 12:03 PM
BenMax BenMax is offline
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There could be a medical underlyning problem. What is the consistancy of the fecal matter? Hard, mushy, diareah, normal?
As you are a multi cat home..how many litter boxes do you have?
Have you changed the brand of your litter?
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Old March 11th, 2011, 12:42 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BenMax View Post
There could be a medical underlyning problem. What is the consistancy of the fecal matter? Hard, mushy, diareah, normal?
As you are a multi cat home..how many litter boxes do you have?
Have you changed the brand of your litter?
Hi!
The consistency is hard, I have 3 litter boxes and 4 cats in the appartment. I changed many litter brands and it doesnt help... she started doing it even more when a new cat came to live with us...
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Old March 11th, 2011, 12:55 PM
BenMax BenMax is offline
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Is it like cement hard? If so, then it could be due to constipation. I know this only because I went through it. Otherwise she was always clean.

There are some great cat savvy people that can try and help you pinpoint the issue.

For every cat there should be a litter box.
Did you try Feline Fresh cat litter?

How long have you had the new cat? Is the new cat sterilized?

Sugarcatmom and 14+K may be able to help.
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Old March 11th, 2011, 01:15 PM
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Originally Posted by BenMax View Post
Is it like cement hard? If so, then it could be due to constipation. I know this only because I went through it. Otherwise she was always clean.

There are some great cat savvy people that can try and help you pinpoint the issue.

For every cat there should be a litter box.
Did you try Feline Fresh cat litter?

How long have you had the new cat? Is the new cat sterilized?

Sugarcatmom and 14+K may be able to help.
no the poops are normally perfect..like a normal cats pooh. she has been doing it on the floor for half a year every single day. once we got the cat it is every single day and before we got the cat she was doing it once a week on the floor. we have the new cat for 6 months now. the new cat was spayed 2 months ago what is the feline fresh cat litter?
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Old March 11th, 2011, 01:18 PM
BenMax BenMax is offline
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Feline Fresh cat litter is not your normal clay clumping litter. It is a pine based litter I believe..and it does not smell.
Sometimes cats do not like to use the litter boxes that others use..so this may be a cause.
Did you try keeping her in a room on her own for a few days with the litter to see if she uses it?
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Old March 11th, 2011, 02:35 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BenMax View Post
Feline Fresh cat litter is not your normal clay clumping litter. It is a pine based litter I believe..and it does not smell.
Sometimes cats do not like to use the litter boxes that others use..so this may be a cause.
Did you try keeping her in a room on her own for a few days with the litter to see if she uses it?

where could i buy this litter? i will try to keep her in a room with her own litter box so no other cat can use it but i cant keep her always locked in one room..she will be sad.she hates being locked in only one room.
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Old March 11th, 2011, 04:38 PM
BenMax BenMax is offline
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Originally Posted by Monkas View Post
where could i buy this litter? i will try to keep her in a room with her own litter box so no other cat can use it but i cant keep her always locked in one room..she will be sad.she hates being locked in only one room.
I would try it for about 2 days. I would also let her out and not leave her in there all day but I would at night to monitor.
PM Sugarcatmom and/or 14+K. They will have some advice I am certain.
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Old March 11th, 2011, 05:31 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Monkas View Post
no the poops are normally perfect..like a normal cats pooh. she has been doing it on the floor for half a year every single day. once we got the cat it is every single day and before we got the cat she was doing it once a week on the floor. we have the new cat for 6 months now. the new cat was spayed 2 months ago what is the feline fresh cat litter?
Just so I understand the timeline, when did your cat FIRST start pooping on the floor? Has it always been in the living room? In the same spot in the living room or in various places? Do you use an enzymatic cleaner to get rid of any lingering odours (that you might not be able to smell, but a cat certainly could)?

How many litter boxes did you have before you got the new cat, and did you add anymore after you got him/her?

How well do the cats get along? Sometimes the signs of animosity can be very subtle, without any overt fighting or hissing and growling. Something as simple as one cat blocking access to certain resources (such as food or litter boxes or the choice sleeping spots) by laying in the doorway is enough to cause stress and inappropriate elimination.

There could be a few things going on here, one of which is possibly constipation (maybe not constipation right NOW, but perhaps constipation in the past that caused her to associate pain while pooping in the litter box). What do your cats eat? Diet has a direct relationship to digestive health.

Are all 3 litter boxes in the bathroom? If so, one suggestion I have is to put an extra one (or 2) elsewhere, maybe even in the living room for the time being. If she starts using it again, you can ever so gradually move it to a better location like a closet.

Might be a good idea to get some Dr. Elsey's Cat Attract litter for now as well. It contains a blend of herbs that most cats can't resist peeing or pooping on.

Sorry for all the questions! There can be many variables in cases like these so it's important to sort out all the details.
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Old March 13th, 2011, 09:14 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sugarcatmom View Post
Just so I understand the timeline, when did your cat FIRST start pooping on the floor? Has it always been in the living room? In the same spot in the living room or in various places? Do you use an enzymatic cleaner to get rid of any lingering odours (that you might not be able to smell, but a cat certainly could)?

How many litter boxes did you have before you got the new cat, and did you add anymore after you got him/her?

How well do the cats get along? Sometimes the signs of animosity can be very subtle, without any overt fighting or hissing and growling. Something as simple as one cat blocking access to certain resources (such as food or litter boxes or the choice sleeping spots) by laying in the doorway is enough to cause stress and inappropriate elimination.

There could be a few things going on here, one of which is possibly constipation (maybe not constipation right NOW, but perhaps constipation in the past that caused her to associate pain while pooping in the litter box). What do your cats eat? Diet has a direct relationship to digestive health.

Are all 3 litter boxes in the bathroom? If so, one suggestion I have is to put an extra one (or 2) elsewhere, maybe even in the living room for the time being. If she starts using it again, you can ever so gradually move it to a better location like a closet.

Might be a good idea to get some Dr. Elsey's Cat Attract litter for now as well. It contains a blend of herbs that most cats can't resist peeing or pooping on.

Sorry for all the questions! There can be many variables in cases like these so it's important to sort out all the details.
Hi! Hi!
My cat first started pooping on the floor maybe a year ago but she was doing it at the beginning once a week even once in 2-3 weeks..
In my apartment i adopted 2 gray cats 4 years ago. they are brother and sister. they always pooped in their litter box and we never had a problem with it..when once about a year ago our female gray cat started pooping in the living room once in a while but the rest of the time she still pooped in the litter box. Now she poops every day in the living room and she poops in various places..sometimes i put some object on the place she does it more often.. like a small table and she poops on a different place in the same room..sometimes she poops randomly even if i dont put any object on the spot. I clean it with hot water and detergent for dishes sun light. The floors does not have carpet and its just hard wood..
6 months ago we adopted another female cat and after a week they all kind a get along.the new orange cat annoys the gray male cat and the male gray cat fights a lot with his sister (the gray female.) They started fighting probably a year and a half ago and they have this "one time" a night fight which i always have to wake up and try to separate them. most of the time the female comes to me in bed right away when the male fights with her so that i protect her from him..the female gray cat is overweight and her brother is very athletic. all 3 cats are spayed/neutered. ( i had one of my mother in laws cat for 2 weeks (they/we have 6 more in the other house but now my mother in law lives in the house and she takes care of the other cats because they like to go in the yard) my 3 cats in the apartment never go out...
so now my mother in laws cat is back to her house and i have 3 in my apartment with 2 litter boxes. i have added the second one when we got the new baby cat but that litter box is small and the old one is very big..
The female gray cat sleeps a lot during the day and the night and she is not very active. sometimes she may play but probably once a week...
i hope you understood what i wrote and i am very thankful that you wish to help me with an advice. if you have any other question or you didnt understand something please ask me.
thank you so much

one litter box is in the bathroom and one big one is in the laundry room. the door in the laundry room has a special big hole so they go through it. they have been using the litter box in the laundry room ever since i got them 4 years ago..

i will see for the litter you proposed and try adding another litter box in the living room.
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Old March 18th, 2011, 10:37 AM
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bumping the thread
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Old March 18th, 2011, 11:06 AM
BenMax BenMax is offline
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Originally Posted by Monkas View Post
bumping the thread
Do you have any updates? I am curious to hear if there has been improvement.
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Old March 18th, 2011, 11:43 PM
SamIam SamIam is offline
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The floors does not have carpet and its just hard wood..
This statement strikes me as very very odd. Elimination on a diggable, or at least remotely diggable surface is instinct, happens in wee little kittens as soon as they are eliminating without mom's help. You'll get cats who have bad aim, or prefer the couch or carpet to the litter, but solid hard smooth hardwood?

If the other cats are showing nocturnal territoriality of the litterbox, or perhaps a hallway, the newly added box should probably help

If it isn't working, maybe, given that the cat is fairly inactive at night anyway, lock her in the bathroom or laundry room overnight with a litterbox and no other cat?
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Old March 19th, 2011, 01:38 PM
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Hi Monkas:
A couple of things I will recommend if I could:
It is possible your girl was ambushed while using the box once or even more times and it has terrified her to the point where she refuses to use the box. Possibly a box located in a spot she considers "hers" may help. One away from an area frequented by the boys.
If the box is large it will give her the room to move around comfortably. You said she was a big girl. Maybe she just wasn't comfortable in the other boxes. I use under the bed storage boxes or a very large storage tote for my boxes. I find my cats like the size of the box as they can move around comfortably. There is also less mess to clean up with my diggers flinging the litter over the sides of the boxes.
Are the boxes you have kept meticulously clean? It could be she just does not like using a dirty box. If that is the case it is even more imperative to have her own box and that the box is kept very clean for her. She may just not like sharing or using a box that is dirty. A larger box will ensure she has a "clean" spot to use.
If you go with a new litter please make sure when changing over to it you do a mix of the old kind and the new. 50/50 is ok. Then the next time gradually increase the new until there is no more of the old kind of litter. Now when I say the "old" litter I do not mean use litter that has been dirtied. I mean take a new bag/box and put half in a litter box. Then take half of the new kind and add to the box and mix together.
Are any of your litter boxes covered? Some cats do not like the covered boxes as they feel too hemmed in and that is the prime time for an ambush.
When you are cleaning try using a mix of 1/4 cup rubbing alcohol, 1/4 cup white vinegar, 1 cup water. What you are using now is cleaning the spots but will not mask the smell of the ammonia for your girl. She will still be able to smell it so may think it is ok to use that spot.
Has she been to the vet lately to rule out anything health related?
You said she does not like the boys fighting. What are you doing to correct that? Are you giving her a spot where she can go to get away from that? She could be stressed and that is causing her to act out. Have you tried Feliway to cut the stress between the cats?
How were the cats introduced? Separated at first and allowed to meet slowly or thrown in with each other and what goes goes? All of this is very important to the running of a smooth happy house. If the fighting is still going on I would recommend separating the fighters. Put the newest one in a room by himself with his toys, litter box, scratching post, food and water. Do not allow them to see each other. In a day or two you can do a blanket exchange so they can smell each other on their blankets or a towel rubdown and exchange the towels. You can slowly work up to letting the cats see each other for a short time each day until there is no fighting. The fact that the inappropriate defecating increased after the newest one was included may be a good indicator.

If all else fails - retrain her by putting her in a room by herself with a box. You said she may not like it but I bet if it is your bedroom she is in she won't mind a bit. See if that helps at all.

Sorry for the length of this. I know some of it is repeated but I wanted to give you as much info as possible. Please be patient with her. It's taken her a while to get to this point. It may take a while to "fix" it.
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Old March 19th, 2011, 05:57 PM
SamIam SamIam is offline
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I found this info on Wikipedia, under anal glands, cats:

"In cats, these glands may become impacted, causing the cat to defecate outside the litter box, almost anywhere in the house. The veterinarian can empty the clogged glands, and defecating outside the litter box will stop immediately. Too often this problem is incorrectly interpreted as behavioral, when it is entirely a problem of clogged or blocked anal glands."
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Old March 22nd, 2011, 09:52 PM
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Hello, she is fighting with her brother. They started fighting a year or so ago. She is very friendly with the new cat though..they never fight..I clean the litter boxes as soon as someone uses it.. I even wake up at night to clean them.
I will bring her to the vet too, to see if he can clean her glands.
Can you please tell me what is Feliway? I have never heard of it. The litter boxes are uncovered.
She poops on the floor which is hard wood..it may be strange but she does it only there, although in a different spots in the same room..

so far no improvement..

I will try cleaning with a mix of 1/4 cup rubbing alcohol, 1/4 cup white vinegar, 1 cup water.

Thank you for everyone who replied.. if you have other advise or suggestions please do help me find the answer to our problem..thx!
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