Kitteh question...

[laylah]

my 10 month old Gizmo has been box trained since I brought him home last October. In the past week, twice, he has poohed on the floor next to his box. What a lovely thing to step in on the way to the bathroom :puke: Does anyone have any ideas why this may be happening? His box is cleaned at least 2x daily so I don't think that is it, plus this is a whole new behavior.

Thanks in advance.

Jenn

[WillParkinson]

1. Might be the litter...

Spilled over or under the box. Ours have done that on occasion.

[laylah]

2. Thanks Will but

I don't think so...little to no litter around the box. I appreciate your input though :hug: I'm thinking he is trying to tell me something, I just don't know what :shrug:

Jenn

[Maine-ah]

3. any other cats in the house?

my Mom has several, and some days it's literally a pissing match between a couple of them.

[laylah]

5. Not usually...my 7 yr. old female spends

99% of her time outside this time of year. Thank you for the input, though :hug:

Jenn

[Betty88]

4. Is the box big enough for him?

Could he just be hanging his butt over the edge? I had a problem with one of my boys, he started to spray high in the box and would sometimes pee over the edge. After trying several different cat boxes I finally got a 35 gallon Sterilite storage bin, cut a hole in it for access, and made him the biggest covered cat box you have ever seen. Now he can spray against the side of the box and he has plenty of room inside to turn around so his tail does not hang over the edge or out the door.

Also keep an eye on him he may need a trip to the vet. The only time Sam ever pooped outside of the box was when he was constipated

[laylah]

6. There's a thought; however,

his bm doesn't LOOK hard...ewwwwwwww :rofl: As for his box, it is a regular sized kitty box that has done him well the whole time...until now, if that is the case.

Thank you so much for responding :hug: OH, and a belated welcome.

Jenn

[laylah]

7. Thanks everyone...

Okay, must work today until 5 cst...will check back later. Thanks :grouphug:

Jenn

[Demoiselle]

8. I'm with Betty..

Covered cat boxes do protect again high sprayers...and over-the-edge poopers as well. And do keep an eye on him. He might have a health problem.
(I have six cats in the house. All of their cat boxes are covered. We'd be living in cat peepee land if they weren't.)

[laylah]

10. What do you mean by

"covered"? There is a "lid" or rim for it...is that what you mean? Thank you SO much for responding :hug:

Jenn

[Betty88]

13. Covered boxes

I use one of these with a hole cut into it for a door



The ones you get in the shops are like this



lots of different ones on the market.

[Demoiselle]

14. A covered box has a (roughly) 18 inch high dome over it...

it fits snugly down over the rim of the pan itself, is big enough to accommodate one cat customer at a time, and has a swinging door for access. I think they like their privacy, too.

[laylah]

19. Oh! I will have to check those out.

Thank you! :hug:

Jenn

[Gormy Cuss]

9. Call the vet.

When well behaved cats start dropping off presents in locations outside the litter box and you've ruled out turf battles and dirty or new brands of litter the next likely cause is a medical issue.

Gizmo may be experiencing pain when he has a bowel movement and therefore he associates the litter box with the pain so he's trying out a new spot.

[laylah]

11. Oh dear!

I don't have $ for a vet but will call the animal shelter on Monday and see if they have any options.

Gizmo is feisty as hell, cold nose, bright eyes, and no change in personality, if that means anything. In the meantime, I will ponder what you have offered. You are a dear, thank you for your advice :hug:

Jenn

[Gormy Cuss]

17. If you can't afford the vet, watch him carefully.

If he's having pain when passing a stool he'll probably look for another spot soon.
I hate to be an alarmist but I nearly lost a cat because what appeared to be a simple litter box avoidance was a serious blockage.

Please watch Gizmo over the next few days. He may just have had a temporary problem.

[Bossy Monkey]

12. Where's the litter box?

Cats can see in the dark, but not if it's utterly dark. I noticed that my bathroom is pitch black at night and got a night light. Magically, poop quit appearing right next to the litter box.

[GoCubsGo]

15. Or, something may have spooked him while he was using the box

If the cat doesn't feel same in the box, for whatever reason, they're not going to go back and use it again. Perhaps you might move it to another spot? Does each kitty have it's own box?

[laylah]

20. Box is where the outdoor light,

which I leave on at night, shines in the door nearby. I appreciate your thought :hug:

Jenn

[Curmudgeoness]

16. I have this problem too, and none of the suggestions I see here have helped.

Although I am not sure that the vet could have missed something. He suggested a little Vaseline every day in case it was constipation. You can try this, but I found that it just make it harder to pick up easily. My only success (although it is fleeting) has been to clean the spot where she is going WELL. Then it will be fine for a while again, then back to outside the box. I now keep a cheap washable rug in that spot so that I can wash it often.

[Rhiannon12866]

18. There's also Laxatone...

I know it's primarily used to prevent hairballs, but it's also a laxative and isn't it sort of flavored Vaseline? BTW, my friend recently acquired a cat from a friend, never had one before, so one of the things I picked up for Buddy was a tube of Laxatone. Got it right at the pet supply store where I get food... :)

Treating Cat Constipation with Laxatone
http://www.vetinfo.com/cat-constipation-laxatone.html

[laylah]

21. Someone else suggested constipation

but his bm's are hard and his behavior has not changed...bright eyed, cool/damp nose, zips around like a mad kitteh! I do put vaseline on his nose maybe once a month for the hairballs. I'll put a bit more on him today and see if that works.

Thank you for your suggestion:hug:

Jenn

[Curmudgeoness]

25. You say that his bm's are hard, and wouldn't that suggest

possible constipation? A normal bm would not be hard, and the harder it is, the more difficult it is to move out of the body. My vet did say to make sure the water is always fresh because maybe she was not drinking enough water---but that is not the problem.

And the reason I suggested Vaseline is because it is the cheapest remedy for hairballs and constipation that I have heard about. I am sure other specialty products will also do the job, but why waste money? But I have considered that there may be products with vitamins included that would be better if you are not sure what the problem is. They might be worth trying. Good luck with this. I know the dilemma.

[Rhiannon12866]

28. Cats often don't drink enough, so that could be a problem...

Some prefer running water, from the faucet or a kitty fountain. My beloved cat used to wake me up to get her a drink from a cup in the bathroom... :crazy: ;)

I also give the cats the water from canned tuna. They really, really like it, one is ready to climb up on the counter to get it, LOL, so they're sure to drink it... :)

[zanana1]

22. I keep the litter box on newspapers.

They surround the box pretty well, so if there's an out-of-box experience, it's easy to clean up.

[Curmudgeoness]

24. I do too, and my bad kitty goes just off of them---obviously

she doesn't care about my carpet, and seems to avoid the papers. I have a feeling that there is something about the carpet that feels better.

[bluethruandthru]

23. Did you change your brand of litter?

I've found that cats get used to one brand of litter and don't respond well when you change brands.

[laylah]

26. We were just talking about this today...

yes we did; however, it was no less than a month ago. Could this be a delayed reaction? :hug:

[bluethruandthru]

30. I would think it would happen right away - but I guess it's possible.

Maybe this new brand emits an odor when it's used that he just doesn't like. If there's nothing else out of the ordinary, I would go back to the original litter and stick with it. :hi:

[suzbaby]

27. My cat Oscar pooped outside of his box when his stomach wasn't well.

The vet said that sometimes the urgency to go just overwhelms them when their stomach is upset and they just "go." It can also be a way of telling you that he doesn't feel well.
Oscar was on antibiotics for a while. That didn't cure everything though. We ended up switching to a dry food that was for sensitive tummies. That helped incredibly.
Hope your kitty feels better soon.

[wysimdnwyg]

29. Has he been neutered?

When my last one got old enough to start feeling his oats, I had a problem with him going where he wasn't supposed to. After a bit of snipping, that problem was resolved.