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Why Is My Wife's Cat Crapping Outside The Litterbox In A Different Room

post #1 of 11
8/12/05 at 10:55am
Thread Starter 
seems to do this almost once a week and I'm not very happy about it
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post #2 of 11
8/12/05 at 11:24am
Do you have multiple cats? My bro-in-law's cats were doing this - seems they didn't like to use the box when the other cat's scent (poop scent that is) was in there. So they'd drop it out on the carpet.

He got an automatic litter box cleaner that cleans it after every use, and it solved the problem.

Even without multiple cats, some cats won't want to use "used" litter. Sometimes the litter makes a funky smell when combined with the urine. Some brands of kitty litter will cause my cat to stop eating so it won't have to use the litter box.
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post #3 of 11
8/12/05 at 12:02pm
My one cat, Ellis, has done this as long as I have had her. She poops just right outside the litter box on the floor of the laundry room. And as far as I can tell, there is no pattern to it. She does it when the cat box hasn't been cleaned out in a day or two and she does it even right after I have cleaned it out. I asked the Vet about it once and he suggested getting two boxes. Unfortunately, I live in a small place and would not have room for two boxes. So, I just keep a container of Lysol wipes in the laundry room and pick up the poop daily and throw it in the toilet.
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post #4 of 11
8/12/05 at 12:34pm
Make sure the litter box is always clean. Some cats are not too particular about this, but they all have a limit as to how dirty a litter box they will still tolerate.

Get a self-cleaning litter box or one that has carbon filters to avoid smell.

Try another brand of cat litter. The litter you are using may have a natural smell or composition you can't detect but your cat can, and he/she doesn't like it.

Finally, just try to move the litter box temporarily to the spot (if it's always the same spot) the cat keeps soiling. If this doesn't solve the problem, consider what draws the cat to this spot. Cats sometimes prefer a single spot as a "back-up" litter box, this could be triggered by the smell of another cat or dog having often slept in this place or having used it as a "back-up" litter box, even if it was just once. Essentially, the cat may be trying to cover the smell of another animal he/she doesn't want occupying the territory. Again, the cat's ability to smell different smells is far better than yours, and if e.g. you recently bought a house and a previous owner's (or owner's friend's visiting) dog or cat pooped on the carpet or just spent a lot of time laying in the same spot, this could be the reason. I doubt any cleaning will completely clean the carpet from all smells detectable to the cat, so in this case you'd have to install a new carpet.
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post #5 of 11
8/12/05 at 2:18pm
Thread Starter 
thanks for the responses

The cat in question shares the litterbox with 2 others
We originally had all 3 sharing 1 box but once the problem started we moved up to 2 boxes. Space would be tight to fit 3 boxes.
Not a problem with old scents as this is a new house with new carpet (other than his hijinx)
I guess the wife will have to do a better job cleaning it out more often and maybe trying a different brand of litter

Nothing is going to stop the cat in question from eating since it is so fat I thought most of the problem may be he is too lazy to get up off his @ss and move to the room the box is in at times
The box is in the mud room of our house while he has prefered to soil the carpet of our living room or family room when convenient for him
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post #6 of 11
8/12/05 at 2:45pm
Its a cat. Cats are insane.
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post #7 of 11
8/12/05 at 6:08pm
Maybe it's an independent minded cat who likes to poop outside the box.

(Took it from the Onion. )
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post #8 of 11
8/12/05 at 7:04pm
How new is the house? Cats don't handle change very well, and a move can unsettle them. Sometimes they'll pull things like this to express their displeasure. I once bought a new bed and the one cat that I then had peed in it two nights in a row, either his way of "claiming" it or saying he didn't like it. (For reasons that are too boring to go into I ended up moving house twice in one year, and my cats were extremely put out. They've only really just settled down and gotten back to normal and it has been nearly two years since that second move.)

The suggestion about the self-cleaning litter box is a good one for any cat owner. For someone with mutiple cats it is almost mandatory. (Mine is in the bathtub of the guest bathroom, which never gets used, behind the shower curtain. I empty the waste container into a garbage bag every morning as I leave the house and dump it in the trash.) The things are wonderful. I first got one when I used to travel often for a day or two here and there. That and water and dry food dispensers meant I could (and can) leave them for a couple of days without worrying.

Regards,

Joe
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post #9 of 11
8/12/05 at 10:13pm
I think it's litterbox related. We have three cats and four boxes. Cats don't always like sharing their litterboxes. Cats are very fussy when it comes to cleanliness and if their boxes aren't clean to their liking they'll go someplace else that they find cleaner. Could also be the brand of litter you use. We've had them refuse to use certain brands which I assume was because of the odor. We switched to a clay mix (very cheap at Wal-Mart) and haven't had that problem since.
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post #10 of 11
8/13/05 at 2:10am
A friend of mine uses two litter boxes due to the fact one of his cats will not use a kitty liter box unless it's been cleaned (not usually changing of the kitty liter but cleaning by detergent and water) chemically daily (he rotates the liter boxes daily). I think some cats are more finicky than others or at least territorial

That's why I'm a dog person, let them in/out in a fenced yard and the problems solved.
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post #11 of 11
8/13/05 at 7:41am
Quote:
Could also be the brand of litter you use. We've had them refuse to use certain brands which I assume was because of the odor.


Sometimes it is just the fact that it is different. Again, cats are creatures of habit. I've had my cats resist using a new brand of litter or of cat food for a day or so, then give up and use it when they saw they were not going to get their old brand back. (Cats can be like two year olds sometimes - and they're just as manipulative when it comes to getting their way. ) OTOH they absolutely refused to eat any other brand of canned cat food than Fancy Feast after I made the mistake of buying some on sale once. Mind you these are formerly feral cats who lived in a colony near the county jail and were fed the cheapest cat food by the deputies who would capture them, have them spayed and neutered, then release the older cats into the wild and try to find homes for the kittens. They were basically homeless scavengers living on hand-outs, dodging wild animals and other feral cats and probably happy to have any food at all. A couple of months of living indoors, safe and comfortable with me and they suddenly develop champagne tastes and turn up their noses at food they would have fought over not long before.

The old saying is obviously true, "Dogs have owners. Cats have staff."

Regards,

Joe
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