Is my cat pooping to much?

[Genevieve]

fingers crossed we have this sorted.
  for the advice

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

Yes it becomes a highlight of each Purrs day 

This is looking great now 

[Dawn F]

its terrible but we get very excited about this sort of thing!!!!

[Genevieve]

more poop in litter tray

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

Heading in the right direction 

[Genevieve]

don't want to jinx it but we have had two poops in the litter tray today and only one left on the floor over night 

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

Ummmmmmmmmmm you think  you are not stressed but I bet if she could talk she would say you are giving off stress vibes 

[Genevieve]

i'm not stressed by it, at the end of the day she is pooping on a nice easy wipe clean floor lol 
i am putting the poop in the tray so fingers crossed she gets the idea soon x

[sheilarose]

Try putting the floor-poop in the tray and stir it round a bit, get the scent inside the tray, then maybe she'll get the idea. It may take a little while for her to get used to the idea of a second tray being for poop too.

Oh and try to relax, stress is picked up by pets and this makes them more stressed themselves. The worse you get, the worse they become.

 

[Genevieve]

ok, we now have two litter trays and the poop is still going on the floor... aaarrrrggghh!!!

[sheilarose]

World's best is made from corn husks so you can flush this too, 

although I prefer just to flush the poop (the litter just dries it out then knocks off) but bag the weewee as our victorian sewers have enough to cope with, without clumping cat litter bunging up the works. 

[Genevieve]

pooping has calmed down now im only feeding her twice a day.
i think i will try her on different litter to see if that helps. i like the litter i use because its made of wood so i can flush the lumps.. but whatever makes kitty happy

thank you for your help

[lillylau]

I use the purely range at pets at home for my lot they love the wet and the biscuits last longer then when I used go cat also they are 50% meat not 4% as in other brands so that might help. Also it is not that much more expensive then go cat for a much better quality in my opinion.

[Gillian Harvey]

The poorer qualithy foods with cheap fillers in them, like Go Cat etc, will produce more waste for them to poop out unfortunately  Cats need high protein (from animal sources, not plant sources). I'd try a better quality food, wet preferably as its much better for them, but again, you need to look for brands without fillers such as cereals, rice, veggies and stuff like that. When looking at ingredients on can/packet, check that meat is first ingredient listed, if cereal is first ingredient listed, avoid.

Twice a day feeding is ok, but like some of the others, I break down my cats'  food into 3 small meals a day, which seems to work well for them. Mine poop about once a day/every other day, but they eat wet/raw with very little dry (just as a nighttime snack) 

I suspect, once the excessive pooping is sorted out, she will go back to using her tray as normal.

[sheilarose]

My girl Pursley will only poo in a clean tray, so if Missy needs to use a tray you've not noticed already contains one of her presents, this may explain why she's using the floor.

I've tried a few things:

Get a second tray and place it in another part of the house (out of smell range)
Change the litter you use for an odour control clumping one (I like world's best cat litter - it lasts ages)
If she doesn't like the litter, try newspapers for a while. Not met a cat yet that can resist newspaper. 

I think the Go-cat indoor food has appetite enhancers in it, when I've bought this it goes in a flash, they eat it like sweets, so it's not cost effective for our household. This may explain the quantities she's putting out.  I prefer a high protein dry food (Applaws is favourite at the mo) which they eat smaller quantities of. Their poo smells less and there's less of it.

I also top my lot up with wet pouches of whatever's on offer from the Felix/whiskas/Sheba range to ensure they get some moist food in their bellies, and they all like cat formula milk for breakfast 

Here's the Go-Cat feeding guide from their website, how close are your portions?

I also note the indoor food contains chicory to aid digestion - just a thought that Missy may have some intolerance to chicory or it just works a little too well 

http://www.go-cat.co.uk/Nutrition/Guidelines/

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

The guide for litter trays is one for each cat plus one, so you need two, This may solve the problem and I have one cat who will not use a tray if he has used it before and it hasnt been cleaned.

Cats also can have cling-ons which drop off some distance from the tray.

I have a 14 month old kitten who came to me at 10 months and I was told he ate Go Cat and Kitekat wet.......he wouldnt eat either! I have had loads of problems with his tummy and he is now on half special food and half Tescoes pouches!!!!!!!

Felix and Whiskers go straight through and he wouldnt touch other things.

What wet have you tried for Missy?

My big kitten eats loads and I try to give him food little and often so maybe 5 to six meals a day to try and allow his tummy a bit of time to deal with the last meal.

As his tummy has got better he doesnt use the tray so often.

I feed my big cats 3 times a day plus they have biscuits down most of the time.

[CarolM (Wendolene)]

Feeding twice a day is fine for a cat her age ( she's gorgeous by the way  - I  black cats).  Putting the poop into the tray after she has 'missed' and her as well might help or you could try a different kind of litter.  What type are you using?

[Genevieve]

hi, was at vets on tuesday for a check up and forgot to mention it, vet says shes a healthy cat
she is pooping in the bathroom near her litter tray (not so close where you think she has her bum over the edge of the tray) which makes me think its not painful
did have a long chat about food with vet as she is an indoor cat and i was worried about her becoming fat, i was leaving food down for her but from today she is being fed twice a day (is that enough) to see if that calms down the pooping

any clues as how to get her pooping in the tray? i know using more than one tray was suggested but i live in a smallish place and dont really have anywhere to put another one

 

[Teresa Pawcats]

Hi Genvieve
Poop one of my favourite subjects
5 times a day is far too many times to go.
Has she been adequately wormed with a good wormer from the vets? if so what and when.She certaily sounds like she is overeating or eating too quickly, that is of course providing the poop is of a reasonable size. It is possible that she is finding it painful to go which would explain her not using the tray.
A trip to the vet might be helpful also most vet nurses are trained to give dietry advice though I note Carol has already given good advise re food and litter.
How long have you shared your life with her?

[Genevieve]

we have no idea what she was fed on before, she is a rescue cat and wet food just goes straight through her.
she's been eating the go cat for about a week now but before that she pooped quite often

always scoop the poop.. she will maybe poop once in her tray a day and the others on the floor, usually during the night.

very confused

[CarolM (Wendolene)]

I'm no expert on the pooping habits of young cats and kittens but five times does sound a lot for a 1 year old cat.  I have recently adopted two 5 month old kittens and they go two or three times a day which I thought was a lot, having previously had oldies who went just once a day.  I have noticed that they go more often and the poop is softer if  I include dry food in their diet, so maybe a change to a diet including wet and dry food would help.  Was she fed on GoCat before you became her owner?  If not, it could be the sudden change that is having this effect (gradual changes are better).  I'm sure someone with more experience than me will reply but as you are worried perhaps a vet visit is called for.

As regards pooping outside the tray there could be lots of reasons, most of them quite simple.  Does this happen all the time or just sometimes?  If its all the time it could just be that she doesn't like to wee and poop in the same tray in which case an additional tray would solve the problem; or it could be that she doesn't like the feel of the litter in which case try a different litter.  If its just some of the time do you scoop the poop as soon as she has done it.  If not, it could be that she doesn't like to use a dirty tray so again a second tray would help.

[Genevieve]

Hi there, I'm new to the whole being the sole owner of a cat...

Is it right that Missy is pooping 5 or more times a day? they're relatively solid poops but there just seems to be to much of it?
Is it to do with her age? she is roughly 12 months old.

I feed her on go-cat indoor cat food biscuits.

thanks Genevieve (and Missy)

ps, she has started pooping on the bathroom floor instead of her tray, and its not like she is in the tray and missing because its a fair way from the tray, she is weeing in the tray.... any ideas?........... thanks x