One of my two cats occasionally poop outside the litter box on the ceramic floor (litter box located in one of the bathrooms). We started using Feline Pine 2 years ago and about a few months into the introduction of Feline Pine, one of the cats started to poop outside the litter box. For a while, he did every day (he would still urinate in the litter box though). The other cat doesn’t have this issue. Then we started to clean the litter box more often (twice a day), the out-of-box incident reduced dramatically. How do we interpret this? It is just because the problem cat is more obsessive with cleanliness? Any advice or help is appreciated.

Sindy,

Please see the great article from Dr. Michele Gaspar on her Cat Chat Page (see the Feline Pine Home Page for a link to her page)!

Thanks!

Sindy,

I’m no cat expert, but it’s been my experience that more than one litter box is necessary, in different locations.  It’s sort of like going to the bathroom and finding the last person who used it didn’t flush.  If one cat has recently used the box, the second cat may go in and mark it (urinate), but not want to do his business in there.  A second box will give him the choice of still doing the right thing, just not in an unflushed toilet.  It’s worth a try, anyway, before starting with vets, meds, and behaviorists. 

Gail

I too have two cats that share the litter box.  I found that the one poops outside the box when I have not kept it clean enough for her taste.  If I keep up on it, she stays in the box.

Yeah, I agree that it sounds like your cat just doesn’t like sharing the box.  Other than that, my cat always poops outside the box when he’s having “poop problems.” This includes when he feels sick or if he’s having trouble getting the business done.

I guess I’m lucky, my two cats never poop outside the litter box… even if I’m a little slow in clean-up duty. Mooshu and Peanut are littermates and have always shared most everything. Right now they share a litterbox and a big waterbowl, but they have seperate food dishes. Not that it’s stopped them from sharing the same bowl if I don’t put food in bowl #2 fast enough! Mooshu is fond of digging… a lot… and I’ll occasionally find a deposit in front of the litterbox entrance, but it’s covered in sawdust and obviously been dug up like the fine treasure it is!

My issues are with scratching. Hubby is about ready to buy a cat-sized hamster ball. *sigh*

My cat is super old so when she goes poop it turns her into a hyper excited kitty..  Needless to say, She poops outside of the litter box often.
I would say it’s normal with any cat, they do weird things all the time.

Rachel

O_o My cats completly the opposite. He poops in the box but goes pee on our carpet. I’ve been using FP for about a month now and can’t figure out why.

I have this problem right now as well.  Been going on for several months.  I believe I cleared up one issue why it happens.  I have one particular cat that did not like the feel of feline pine pellets.  I decided to add feline pine scoopable to another box for her and a new guy cat that was given to us to help ease his transition and her problems.

Worked fine.  However my next vice that seems to upset her is - if the box is not spic and span every day she will go outside.  Even sometimes when the box is cleaned, I find surprises near it.  Not sure of the age, day or two because they like to hide.  Either way, it’s annoying and starting to irritate me.

This cat was found in the road as a kitten by us.  She is very nice, sociable and all that but does not like to be held and has an attitude against being touched unless she wants to be.  I think she has a little “wild” in her.

Lots of cats don’t like to use a litterbox with poop already in it. I have lots of boxes and pick the poop out of them every night. I’ve found a cool thing to help with that. Without naming brands, you drop the poop in, turn a handle and it wraps the poop in plastic and locks the smell in. The liner cartridge I have to buy monthly is a bit pricey, but with 5 cats, and my main litter box room right next to the bedroom, it is very much worth it!

I have one of those too!!! VERY worthwhile! I don’t go thru it quite as fast, but even if I did I’d love it anyway!  : )

The veterinary behaviorists recommend that there be one more cat box than there are cats in the home.

While some cats are very tolerant of cat box sharing, most cats prefer to have multiple boxes from which to choose.

Cats who are elderly often have inappropriate urination and defecation either with arthritis or other underlying medical issues.

Cats with arthritis generally don’t show signs of pain, but there are subtle changes :  Using a hassock or table to get from the floor to the bed; not jumping up on counters as before, etc.

Cats are fastidious creatures.  I often tell my clients who are less-than-willing to clean the cat box (and complain about their cat’s inappropriate urination/defecation) to think how willing they’d be to share a portable public toilet that is cleaned every few weeks!

Michele Gaspar, DVM, DABVP (Feline)