I've had my cat for about 6 months now (since he was 4 weeks old) and the litter box has never been an issue until recently.

Instead of shitting in the litter box, he does it on the floor near it (not next to it...so he's not must missing). He has always had the bad habit of mistaking the tub for the litter box, especially when he's mad at me, but I can curb this by keeping some water in the tub. He would also get picky if the box got too dirty (if I leave for a few days) but I clean it out every evening.

I haven't changed the litter or the location of the box. He still uses it to urinate but at least once a day I'm cleaning up his shit. I even moved his food bowl into his fave "pooping" spot and so now he's just relocated to the other side of the bathroom.

Advice, help, suggestions, Chinese restaraunts?

8/22/2007 9:21:28 AM

Take him to the vet.

Cats are particular about their pooping habits. If he's not using the litter box, then it's a pretty good indication that something is wrong.

8/22/2007 9:24:42 AM

doubt he is sick

this is more of a behavioral issue

for example....if i fuss at him for being on the kitchen counters he will walk away quietly meowing (almost mumbling at me)

then i can hear him in the bathroom attempting to shit anywhere but in his litter box

granted this doesn't happen all of the time but it does about 25% of the time

8/22/2007 10:10:54 AM

My cat doesnt do this luckily, but she does do similar stuff as far as getting pissy and seemingly doing something intentionally to piss you off because they know it does. Mine likes to do things like grab my clean pair of boxers for when i get out of the shower and put them in her water bowl, or when I get up steal the cap to my drink and hide it hence causing my drink to go flat, annoying shit like that and I'm convinced its done intentionally to piss me off.

8/22/2007 10:19:52 AM

oh I know its intentional...if I see it in the process (no turds yet but squatting) I'll pick him up and put him in the litter box

he'll look at me, then walk off to go play without "going"

8/22/2007 10:25:59 AM

You could try putting orange peels in all of his favorite poop spots. Cats really don't like the smell of citrus.

8/22/2007 11:04:37 AM

Quote :

"Mine likes to do things like grab my clean pair of boxers for when i get out of the shower and put them in her water bowl, or when I get up steal the cap to my drink and hide it"

Sorry, but that's funny.

8/22/2007 11:20:22 AM

Quote :

"Take him to the vet. Cats are particular about their pooping habits. If he's not using the litter box, then it's a pretty good indication that something is wrong."

that is what i would do. cats are sneaky about things when they're sick.

8/22/2007 12:05:20 PM

you ALWAYS rule out medical concerns before assuming it's purely behavioral. Animals compensate very well when something is wrong, often giving little to no hints. If it is behavioral, something has changed to cause the cat to alter it's behavior.


Take the cat to the vet. If it were that easy to tell if your pet was sick, they wouldn't have gone to grad school for 4+ years.

8/22/2007 1:36:59 PM

My gf's cat shit on the floor once and I immediately blasted it with a super soaker. It did not ever do that again. Cat's are smarter than you think.

8/22/2007 1:53:33 PM

My big orange tabby does NOT like a nasty litter box. He shits right beside it once it has become too shit-laden for his tastes. Often, this occurs less than two days after I change the litter.

8/22/2007 2:13:41 PM

Quote :

"You could try putting orange peels in all of his favorite poop spots. Cats really don't like the smell of citrus."

True. Cats hate citrus smells. I tried to give my roommate's cat some orange sherbet ice cream and he just backed away from it and ran off. Every time I have OJ, he does the same.

And too.....cat ARE very picky. If their litter box is too dirty, they won't use it...said cat does that "shit" all the time. Goes and picks a corner in the LIVING room to piss in since his box gets ridiculously full.

8/22/2007 3:23:04 PM

I guess if you really wanted to punish your cat you could fill up a water gun with orange juice

8/22/2007 3:25:48 PM

throw it outside till its learns where to shit

8/22/2007 3:38:16 PM

cats are spiteful evil creatures

Ashley - do you remember "shitty kitty?"
My old cat Levi, lovingly referred to as "shitty kitty" hated me for making him be an indoor cat after he got hit by a car. So to get back at me he liked to leave piles of shit right in front of the front door so we'd step in it when we got home. He's do the same outside the bathroom door when I was in there. Once I moved to a neighborhood that wasn't near such a busy street and let him go in and out as he liked again.. he stopped shitting in the house. Unfortunately he passed away from a urinary blockage 2 yrs ago.

My former roommates cat liked to piss under the stairs in another house. It was difficult to get behind the stairs (due to a large fishtank) and next to impossible to clean. There really isn't a way to thoroughly get rid of the smell of cat piss in carpet.

I've had quite a few friends who have cats that just randomly start shitting and pissing in the house. One liked to piss on the bed and couch. I like cats but will probably never keep another house cat again for fear of the shit/piss problem.


Suggestions that may work
- take cat to vet.
- is he fixed? if not - fix the boy
- buy him a new litter box (or 2) and put it in another location (away from traffic)
- pheremone stuff. never used it. heard it works.
- don't piss him off

8/22/2007 6:11:09 PM

SOME cats are spiteful evil creatures


Either you all have some fucked up cats or my cats just have low expectations of me.

I've never had a problem with either of my cats going outside of the litter boxes, and I could let those boxes go rank for weeks (and I have) and they just keep shitting and peeing on the old shit and pee. (I definitely do not recommend this... it wasn't fun when I threw away those boxes)

Plus, I would love to see my cat do something "intentional" to get back at me. lol the worst thing my cat does is cry out loud for me to wake up in the morning (always about a minute right before my alarm goes off) or stand up on his back legs for me to pick him up (this is constantly).

8/22/2007 6:35:54 PM

he's been to the vet twice since this has been a trend (not solely for this reason) and he checked out fine each time

will get another litter box to see if that solves the issue and will probably try the citrus (i've scrubbed the floor with bleach and that hasn't helped)

danielle....i remember shitty kitty....i'm thinking this situation falls on those lines.....he does it if i'm at work too long, hasn't got enough attention, or generally fussed at


right now was a prime example....just got home from work and was checking my email...he jumped up on my desk and i put him back on the ground

he walked off....meowing loudly all the way to the bathroom

he's now sitting on my lap....purring revengefully


[Edited on August 22, 2007 at 7:40 PM. Reason : devil cat]

8/22/2007 7:36:56 PM

More loving, less bitching at him... bitch.


Oh, and 'No Go' works pretty good for pee problems.

[Edited on August 22, 2007 at 8:04 PM. Reason : ]

8/22/2007 8:01:57 PM

slut

you try not to bitch at the craziest, most compulsive animal that has ever


maybe i can get some kitty ritalin

8/22/2007 8:18:43 PM

switch litter

maybe the litter is not strong enough to hold odor for the cat's liking, and this will not make them use the liter box sometimes. get scoop away with crystals, or any name brand litter with crystals.

Quote :

"Take him to the vet."

this is the last thing you want to do in a situation like this, as you are just going to waste money. when cats are sick or hurt they like to hide, especially in dark corners, somewhere where their backs are to the wall on the only way in is the way that they are facing, because naturally they don't want to broadcast that they are weakened in any kind of way to the predator. this is probably one of the many reasons that the general consensus is that cats are smarter than dogs, as dogs typically do not attempt to cloak a weakness.

[Edited on August 22, 2007 at 8:35 PM. Reason : asdf]

8/22/2007 8:29:08 PM

Technically, you should have one more litter box than the number of cats that you have. If you have 1 cat, you should have 2 litter boxes. If you are unable to scoop the litter box on a daily basis, you should have multiple litter boxes or one that automatically cleans itself. (You would be amazed at just how peculiar some cats are about the bathroom habits.)

The only times that I have ever had a problem with one of my cats voiding outside of the litter box has been when I changed brands of cat litter (picky, picky), did not keep their litter box pristine enough, or illness. I would add another litter box, make sure that you are adding enough cat litter to the box (some cats are funny bunnies about this too), perhaps try another brand of cat litter, get the kitty to the vet, and make sure that you have removed the odor from the areas that have been previously soiled.

And personally, my husband and I were thrilled when our cats did their business in the bath tub when we forgot to clean their litter box. It's so much easier to clean out the bath tub than deal with the hassle of cleaning the carpet.

8/22/2007 8:35:54 PM

thats a ridiculous amount of litter that you are suggesting to use for one cat. all you need one good sized litter box, about 5-6 inches deep with litter, enough that they cat dig into like they like it, and not be lazy and clean it daily.

i have two cats that share the same litter box with no problems whatsoever.

[Edited on August 22, 2007 at 8:39 PM. Reason : rg]

8/22/2007 8:38:42 PM

When I said "technically," I meant TECHNICALLY. It is generally recommended that you have one more box than the number of cats that you have, but I've never had more than one box per cat. Some cats are just weird bout it and if this cat is just weird, it'll probably be easier to have 2 boxes than clean up his messes.

And right on with the brand switching. We tried to save money by going with the cheaper cat litter and our cats turned their noses up at the litter box. We went back to the crystals and they went right back to their litter box.

8/22/2007 8:45:49 PM

crystals do the trick everytime

8/22/2007 8:47:18 PM

i've used the cat litter that is solely crystals since i've had him and have really enjoyed it

and if i didn't do my best to keep it perfectly clean, then i could accept blame for the issue but thats not the case

he has a huge litter box that has about 4-5 inches of litter in it



i'll add another box with a different litter and see if that fixes it along with the citrus

8/22/2007 9:09:00 PM

If you already use that litter, you might want to consider their automatic litter box. When I got preggers, we bought one of these and we've been thrilled with it. With 2 cats, we are able to go nearly 2 weeks without touching or smelling the litter box.

http://www.scoopfree.com/

8/22/2007 9:21:04 PM

I love that crystal stuff....it is the best litter i've ever used

smell is non-existent (until its almost time to change) and i like not having to scoop out clumps (other than the solid wastes)

8/22/2007 9:33:31 PM

I found a poo outside my cat's box for the first time today and was fixing to pitch a fit over it, until I realized that the poo had litter stuck on it. So presumably the dumbass pooed in the litter box, then was just a little too vigorous in his burying.

And generally, if the cat isn't PEEING in the litter box it's a health issue. If it isn't pooing in the litter box it just hates you.

8/22/2007 10:02:57 PM

oh he pees in the box and occasionally poops in it....matter a fact today there was one pile of turd in the box and one pile on the floor

yay for me

8/22/2007 10:17:24 PM

Our cat would poop outside of the litter box when he got super pissed about something. For example, we fostered a kitten for a little while and we would come home to piles of shit all over the floor. As soon as the kitten was gone, he quit. If we didn't pay him enough attention, he would do it as well. Try paying more attention to your kitty. Maybe he feels neglected or something. I know you said he only does it when you scold him, but if he feels like that's the only attention you're giving him, maybe he's doing it to get your attention. Cats can be like children. Whether it be good or bad attention, some cats crave it.

8/22/2007 10:38:17 PM

I definitely don't think ALL cats are evil and spiteful but some certainly can be.
I guess i'm more of a dog person

I like taking care of the big cats though. I don't mind scooping their poop

8/22/2007 10:39:13 PM

i think he's almost bipolar....well kind of


he's crazy loving...purrs constantly....cuddles....so cute

then the meowing starts....and at that point i know i've got minutes to deter the pooping

8/22/2007 10:44:51 PM