What to do when cat keeps shifting infront of the litterbox
My cat has been shitting infront of the litterbox for a while now but the strange thing is, its always on the same place, and she still does shit in the letterbox, but also outside.
Many days i wake up and stand in shit and its been so annoying
Make sure your litter box is clean, and that your cat thinks it's clean. Cats want to be able to bury their waste, and if there's too much in the box for the cat's liking, they'll go somewhere else, and it's often right outside the box if there isn't something else they could use. It's important to understand that it's the cat's opinion that matters here, not yours: you may need to scoop it every day, even if there's only a little in it.
You may also need to move the litter box and clean the previous area, including and most importantly the place outside the litter box that gets used. Use vinegar if you can: it has a strong smell that cats don't like, but it won't hurt them like bleach can. Lemon juice works well for this, also. What this will do is make sure that this area doesn't smell like a place they have used as a litter box before.
Use vinegar if you can: it has a strong smell that cats don’t like, but it won’t hurt them like bleach can. Lemon juice works well for this, also.
Might try peroxide. It has no smell, as it breaks down rapidly into water and oxygen gas. It oxidizes waste compounds and destroys bacterial cells. It's the main active ingredient in commercial pet urine stain removers.
When cats shit outside the box, they’re trying to communicate something. Unfortunately they don’t speak English and sometimes resort to speaking Catshittese.
Are there enough boxes? You should have n+1 litter boxes, where n is the number of cats in the home. Also they should be scooped two or three times a day (before work, after work, and bedtime is a good routine). The litter should be about 3”/8cm deep: they need enough to bury their piss and shit, but too deep feels unsteady beneath their feet.
Is she a really big cat? She might want a bigger box. I once had a big fuckoff tabby who needed jumbo boxes with extra-high sides.
Maybe she’s having digestive pains. Does her shit look normal? If not, put the misplaced turd in a zipper baggy and have your vet check it out.
It could also be an emotional issue, like loneliness or anxiety or dominance, but make sure the litter boxes and digestive health are all in order before deciding that’s what’s up.
Totally understandable. When I lived in a small place, I only had room for one box, so I got the biggest thing that would fit and scooped as often as possible.
That reminds me, some cats are picky about litter too, just like some humans will only wipe their ass with certain brands of toilet paper. So it’s good to find a brand they like and stick with it, but I know how hard it is to experiment when there’s only room for one box.
Cats are quirky and can have many reasons to do that. If she is an older cat she may have arthritis and the walls of the box could be high for her to easily get over. Some cats hate covered litter boxes. If you changed litter brands recently she may not like the texture or smell. The box could be too small; I bought a large metal litterbox for mine before they quit peeing over the sides on the wall.
Emotional issues can cause outside box use too: new pet, roommate, someone moved out. All can have an effect.
Feliway has a pheromone spray or diffuser you can use that is supposed to help with issues like urinating outside the box which may help with the poop problem. Another brand called Comfort Zone has a "spray and scratch" that's slightly cheaper.
If the vinegar or peroxide that others recommended to clean the potty spot don't seem to do the trick, then you can buy an enzyme cleaner like Nonscents "stain and odor eliminator" to see if that will work.
Have you seen the cat take a shit outside the box? How close is the shit to the box?
My cat sometimes craps outside the box but it is just due to him not walking far enough into the box before squatting, so his ass is sticking out. The poop ends up just outside the door or smeared on the lip.
Of course not, there was never even a need to do that because shes really really really well behaved, she only claws when youre a stranger (outside, but shes not and outside cat anymore) So no, but i agree, declawing cats sounds horrible
I'd also advise a larger litter box. I used to have this problem with my giant tom cat (he weighed 17lbs not obese!), but never with my little Siamese. Got a larger box that the big guy was more comfortable using and never had the problem again
How bad does her shit smell? My cat has Inflammatory Bowl Disease. When she has a flare up, her shit smells absolutely horrific, she strains a lot, and poop often ends up outside the litterbox.
The other suggestions in this thread are great. I'd add take her to the vet and explain the situation. Also see if they can express her anal glands. My cat also had massively clogged anal glands which didn't help anything.
It's also possible she doesn't realize she's missing the box... we had an older cat that started doing this... she would get all her feet in the box, squat and shit on the floor right next to the box, then try to bury it. Got her a bigger box with slightly higher sides (still low enough she could easily access), and it fixed the issue
I have 2 kitties and this happened all the time. I had to introduce a third litter box for it to stop happening. And as others have said, clean them out every day. #poofreefloor
We had this problem recently; we took her to the vet because we thought it was a medical issue, but they found nothing wrong with her. Instead, they said it seemed like she was depressed and anxious, so they gave her a prescription for a teeny tiny cat-sized dose of Prozac every night, and it totally cleared the issue up. Turns out she was just really down a lot and didn't know how else to communicate it to us.
Already some good suggestions about making the litterbox way cleaner than your human senses would be able to appreciate. But I was just wondering if your cat is a tortoise shell? Seems to be a common behavior in those quirky girls.