One our cats in randomly pooping outside of litter box

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

Poor girl and certainly has a problem and is in discomfort...........sounds like she needs some probiotics from the vet and you need to sort out the food which is so much harder than it sounds.

Lupin also had intolerence to fish especially real fish given cos he had a bad tummy, that was instant !

Some two years on, fish cat foods are his fav an no more problems.

We went through months and months of special foods and eventually the probiotics that Souffle has got and it was that which finally cleared him.

It takes so long to get bad tummys sorted and wonder if this is also the orininal problem?

[Kay and Penny]

my Trigger has very loose and pale poop if he eats fish, especially the 'fish and fish derivatives' added to so many proprietary cat foods, including Felix meat flavours - the difference when I make sure he doesn't eat any of them is quite marked

there are no such additives in the Felix foil meat trays, Whiskas meat, Gourmet meat, and Sheba meat - but you will need to keep checking the labels as the manufacturers have a habit of changing the formulas from time to time

there is often fish oil in meaty dry foods too - you will need to check the ingredients to avoid these

I also find that it takes several days to know avoiding the wrong foods is working - I have thought more than once that Trigger has got over his intolerance, only to find a few days later that he most certainly hasn't - and it takes a few days for his poo to return to normal after I have removed the offending fish

[drz400sm]

Well, we thought all was going well with dinkers recently since changing the litter to clumping tigerino, but then we woke up to what seemed like a poop bomb in the house! 

There was one on the door mat, one in front of the litter tray, one in the middle of the room, and when I went to feed them she was meowing quite a bit and then went right in front of me in the kitchen!  The one in the kitchen was explosive though so I think she was in discomfort. 

Yesterday we gave them some whiskas fishy pouches instead of the usual meaty Felix stuff (NOT as good as it looks because this gives her diarreah), so I reckon this caused the problems we seen today.  I've put them back on felix for now but can anyone recommend a good meaty cat food and a feeding plan for us to follow?  I'm thinking she has a tolerance to fish, or something too rich...

[souffle]

Yes Gill is right you need to get rid of the fleas totally. They live and breed in the carpets and only bite the cats to feed on their blood and this cat has a bad reaction hence the itchy dermatitis. When you put the heating on I bet the fleas have become active again and you are back to stage one with the cycle. They will stay in the house till you break their breeding cycle
My cat was drinking loads and peeing oceans because she had renal (kidney) disease. This meant she became constipated and suffered like yours. The vet did blood and urine tests so we found out and she needed treatment with a drug called Fortekor I think it was which helped her kidneys work better so she did not wee so much and get constipated. She had wet food only and it was Royal Canin Renal cat sachets little and often however I would not suggest you started her on these until a vet has established what is going on!
If it is just plain constipation then I'm sure the vet could help with this too. I know it is costly to visit the vet but it is best to be safe and if you are unhappy with your vet you could ask another vet to take a look at the situation. Talk about the fleas, dermatitis, toileting issues and the drinking and weeing a lot and ask for a way forward.
Good luck with this.

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

To try and break the flea cycle and stop them biting it is worth trying stronghold because this neutralizes the fleeas and their eggs.........ummmmmmm neuters the fleas lol is best way I can explain, so no more flea aggs hatch and the fleas do  not have to bite to get their does of meds, just being on the cat after they have had stronhoild does the trick.

I only use it once a year and we just dont have fleas.

Its more expensive than others but worth it, also does mites and some types of worm...........not tape I think.

Its prescription only but if getting online do a good search first

[drz400sm]

This is the best post I have read in a long time!  She does pee all of the time without fail in the tray, so yes she must know what it is for.  She sometimes finds it hard to 'cut off' her stool as well on odd times, probably another symptom of constipation.  We do have a drinks fountain and she drinks from it a lot, hence why she urinates a lot.

I think I will just feed her wet food from now on because at the moment we give them half a packet of wet food each and a bowl of biscuits first thing in the morning.  Do you have any dietary plans for us to follow, food types as well, that we can go by?  Seeing as your cat suffered from a similar issue.

As for the meds, I was under the impression from the vet that it sorts out their hormone levels which eventually cures the condition.  But I do think it was an issue with fleas, even though they are predominately indoor cats with the rare outdoor occurrence when we let them.  We had a massive problem with fleas not long after curing her last bout of dermititus, the other cat is fine though.

Thank you so much for the info, this could be the result we are after!

[souffle]

So to clarify does she pee in the tray? If she pees in the tray she knows what it is for. I think the clue is in the fact you are saying her poops are small and can be very hard.
To my mind she is having trouble passing stools. She gets fed up being in the tray or struggles to poo and sometimes it hurts so she associates the tray with this or she gets fed up straining and walks while pushing and maybe scooting her bottom too.She likely starts off in the tray to be honest.
This is exactly what my renal cat was like to start with. Does she wee a lot? If she wees a lot it pulls fluid from the bowel making her poos hard and her constipated and so we have the issues you are seeing.
A full blood test screen and urine test may help to identify an issue is you were willing or if it is plain constipation feed only wet foods and maybe consider a drinking fountain to encourage her to take in more fluids. You can also get cat laxatives which the vet would prescribe but better to control the diet and sort it naturally. If she has occasional 'loose' days this could be due to back up behind the solid constipated stools.
I'm not a vet and talking from personal experience. Perhaps explain more exactly to the vet what is happening and keep a diary or what she does and how solid or loose her motions are.
If you get the medical all clear then is the time to try and sort out a behavioural issue though if it is due to a previous bad tray experience this may be tricky.
One thing though Ovarid is an anti-inflammatory med which will reduce the itching but it also has a female hormone in it. It will NOT treat the cause of the dermatitis if it is caused by flea bites which it frequently is so mind and treat those too if you are not already doing so. It does come with some side effects though so ask the vet about that too.

[drz400sm]

I think  would go back to the vets. The meds could be upsetting her system or there could be another cause such as constipation or not feeling the signal that she needs to go and just going before she knows it. Maybe it hurt once in the tray and she fears going in? Do the cats go out? If you removed the trays would they go outside? I feel for you as it is tricky and hard for you to deal with. Could you just put newspaper in the tray or even all over the floor?

I've literally only just yesterday started to give her 2.5mg of Ovarid every two days so it's not her meds, this started long before that.  She does seem to have tough poops more often than not, and sometimes they'll be the tiniest of poops in the tray and not big logs like the other cat.  When she has a loose stool, 9/10 times she will use the tray.  I did think about just putting newspaper in the tray but I was worried about wee making a stench without the litter being in it, but then I guess she could pee in the other trays?  We also put newspaper on the floor but I see that as encouraging her to use that area more often than not where as we are trying to deter her from pooping on the floor.  It is frustrating though and thanks for your sympathy.

[souffle]

I think  would go back to the vets. The meds could be upsetting her system or there could be another cause such as constipation or not feeling the signal that she needs to go and just going before she knows it. Maybe it hurt once in the tray and she fears going in? Do the cats go out? If you removed the trays would they go outside? I feel for you as it is tricky and hard for you to deal with. Could you just put newspaper in the tray or even all over the floor?

[drz400sm]

It sounds to me as if anything is worth a try!

As a matter of interest, has he always been called 'Stinkers' even before this problem?!

Her actual name is rinky dink, but other names develop accordingly...

[drz400sm]

as she never buries her poo, and doesn't seem to like litter at all for pooing, is it worth trying a tray with torn up kitchen roll and no litter? she seems to understand the concept of the tray itself, as she poops near it

She definitely knows how to use the tray because sometimes she will use it.  But she will always scratch outside of the tray and look back in it to see if it is covered up.  But as I said, we've tried litters such as, Thomas, catsan, the worlds best litter, yesterday's news, wood pellets but not torn up kitchen roll yet.  I'll try it but I think the problem may lie elsewhere.  It might be worth mentioning here that she has been diagnosed with miliary dermititus in the past and we treated it but recently it seems to have made a return...  Would this have an effect do you think?  We have just started treating it again with the pills the vet gave us.

[Lyn (Slugsta)]

It sounds to me as if anything is worth a try!

As a matter of interest, has he always been called 'Stinkers' even before this problem?!

[Kay and Penny]

as she never buries her poo, and doesn't seem to like litter at all for pooing, is it worth trying a tray with torn up kitchen roll and no litter? she seems to understand the concept of the tray itself, as she poops near it

[drz400sm]

Please, please, please can anyone suggest anything to help us with this pooping problem, it really doesn't make any sense to us at all as to why she does it.  We've tried nearly all the different types of litters now but nothing has changed.  She is very attention seeking, more so than the other cat (Princess), so maybe jealously plays a part when we show affection to her?  We really have no where else to turn to and are losing hope...

[drz400sm]

Spoke too soon...  big poop on the floor the past day or so, same room, between the two trays, right in the middle of the room.  What's going on???

[Lyn (Slugsta)]

Hurrah!

[drz400sm]

Well some positive news in the last week.  Dinkers is now using her tray!  We put a third huge tray where she was pooping and for the past week she has been using it without many mishaps, bar the odd bit of poop after using it where she hasn't cut it off properly.   She still tends to poop close to the edge of the box and still never covers it up, and continues to scratch on the floor immediately afterwards, but at least she's using it!   I think it's the third tray that did it, but why???  The next step is to change the litter to see if she prefers it better so she can cover it up.   She always looks back in the tray to see if she is actually covering it up so she must want to hide it...

[Susanne (urbantigers)]

One of my cats never covers his poo.  He will scrape around a bit beforehand but once he's done he just jumps out of the tray.  He rarely covers wees too. He sometimes jumps out of the tray with some poo hanging out of his bum and deposits it outside the tray (not intentionally, I think he actually doesn't realise it's still there!).   I do think it's a territorial thing and wanting to leave behind his scent.  My other cat covers both. 

It does sound as though your cat is using the tray in his fashion but just not actually pooping in it.  The not covering up sounds like she is a bit territorial.   Not sure what to suggest tbh but I hope you can find some solution.

[drz400sm]

Thanks for the link to some more litter to try, I'll add that to the collection we are building up to use.

Stinkers done it again last night, two tiny stools in close proximity to each other but in the usual room and usual spot (just inside of the entrance to the room).  I set up a webcam to record motion/activity all last night whilst we were sleeping to see if I could catch her in the act but sods law, she never went to poop...  Instead though, I found that nearly all of the triggers throughout the night were of Stinkers just going in and out of the room for a brief time.  There was one shot of Stinkers and Princess in the same room and Stinkers squared up to Princess as she was leaving, almost like she was saying 'get out!'.  It wasn't a viscious attack (it never is), just like your usual loved up cats having a bat with each other.

So do you think this could be a territorial thing, trying to deter Princess from entering the room at all by pooping right at the doorway to the room (the litter tray is right at the back corner of the room)?

[Sam (Fussy_Furball)]

I use Nuggies Tigerino litter (ultra fine, super clumping and baby powder scent) ...  http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/cats/cat_litter/clumping_litter

[drz400sm]

The problem seems to be getting worse by using this spray and not cleaning up the mess in the litter as often as we used to.  Since waking up this morning there was one stool in the usual spot at the side of the room where one of the litter trays are (must have done this when we were sleeping), so I sprayed urine-off on that spot after cleaning it.  And literally two minutes ago I hear scratching on the floor in the same room, so I walk in there after she darts out and now she has left me a stool right in front of the litter (well in front of the mat which is in front of it).  I have now cleaned this mess up and sprayed some more urine-off but it seems like she is having a rebellious day so far...

She has been using the tray on odd occasions though and when she does I reward her with affection and treats.  Weird...

[drz400sm]

Cheers for the replies!

When she does use the tray (the open one anyway) she will get in but put her leg up on the edge to poop.  We have tried massive trays before but she will still choose to poop right at the edge.  She never prepares the area before she does it and she never covers it up, the other cat on the other hand will.

She has been to the vet a couple of times but she is perfectly healthy and her stools are usually nice and solid, sometimes she gets diarreah or loose stools but I think she's just a little sensitive to some foods.

We are currently trialling some urine-off spray to clean up after she has gone on the floor to see whether this makes a difference.  We are also planning to use one of Jackson Galaxie's suggestions whereby you do not clean out the litter tray too often so her scent remains in the tray for longer.  Usually we scoop up the poop as soon as they go and we change the litter out and deep clean the trays once a week or so.  Now we are thinking we are doing this more for us than we are for them so their scent is being washed away to often.  We are also trying different types of litter, stuff like yesterday's news, wood pellets etc...  Out of interest, what's the finest granular litter out on the market at the moment?  We use catsan which, I think, is too course for their tiny paws.

[souffle]

I had this issue with our old cat when she got a bit constipated. I think she became unsure of when she was done or got our before she was done because maybe it was a bit sore. Sometimes I would catch her rubbing her bottom on the floor to try and empty her bowel. She did get some paste from the vets to help and feeding more wet food improved matters but I think it was a side effect more of her renal meds.
It may be an idea for the vet to check out and feel the tummy for very small hard stools or signs of soreness in the bottom.
Hope you can solve the issue soon x

[Sam (Fussy_Furball)]

This link may be of help:

http://www.purrsinourhearts.co.uk/index.php/topic,26577.0.html

[Lyn (Slugsta)]

What a nuisance for you! It is one of those times when it would be good to know what they are thinking. Have you seen her doing this? Does she squat outside of the tray, or does she squat in the tray with her bum overhanging? If the latter, you could try putting the litter tray inside a larger one so that any overhang is contained.

[drz400sm]

Hi,

I was hoping someone here could shed some light, and possibly a solution, to why one of our three year old cats randomly takes poops on our floor instead of the litter trays.

She was brought up with her sister from when they were kittens to use a litter tray (we have two litter trays), she has been using trays fine for all these years (albeit from the odd mishap now and again) but in recent months she started to take a shining to pooping on the floor (mainly the laminate floor next to one of the litter trays).

She doesn't do this all the time, now and again she will happily poop in a tray but she has never covered it up, she just walks out and scratches on the floor instead to simulate covering up the poop.  Also when she does use the tray, nine times out of ten she will poop right at the edge of it and sometimes over the corner.  I will note now though that she never urinates outside of the tray, and she usually covers this up.

We have a hooded tray and a non hooded tray in separate rooms and we are currently using catsan litter in both.  They are both away from any loud noises and from their eating/drinking area.  We regularly clean up any mess in the tray as soon as they use it and we change out the litter and thoroughly clean the trays every week or so, or whenever they look dirty or smelly.

We have tried numerous things in the past to try and rectify the problem but eventually she will go back to pooping on the floor again at random times for no reason (well in our heads anyway).  List of things we have tried include, but not limited to:

- Various types of litter (clumping, non clumping)
- More than two litter trays
- Different sized litter trays
- Added cat attract to the litter
- Plug-in Feliway in the area of the trays
- Putting a tray down where she usually poops
- Putting the poop back in the tray and showing her how it's done
- Changed food to different types

We are running out of ideas to try and feel like this is it for ever!  What else can we do to stop this from happening?

Please help!