my cat is sweetest cat ever and has never had issues with litterbox until now?

Question

i have always had other animals and he has always been fine. he is 8 years old and i have a one year old kitten whom he loves and a 5 year old dog. used to have a different dog and an older cat too but they both died. anyway, he is friendliest cat ever - but started pooping all over my house about 5 months ago. he used to hide it but now seems to do it nonchalantly. he especially likes the bathtub and he pees there too now. UGH! We have two littler boxes and keep them clean. the other cat never does this. I also dont scold him for it - i just say bad cat and sometimes spritz him with water. boyfriend says he might be mad because im not home as much and when i am the door is closed to keep him out of the bed. i am at a total loss.... i even changed the type of litter and everything.

Answer 1

First thing you do, is take the cat to the vet to rule out physical causes. The next step is maybe to add yet another litterbox. It sounds like you have one for each cat, but sometimes cats will prefer to poop in a different location than they pee, so one for each kitty plus an an extra box is a good idea. If there is no physical/medical reason, then stress or territorial issues is the next most likely reason - so the extra litterbox might help, and it also might help to use Feliway - it's a spray that mimics the pheromones of cats, that is supposed to help reduce stress and territorial problems.

Answer 2

Yep had the same problem more than once in my house with 4 cats... The best solution is to give them new exciting places to go. I have come to the conclusion that cats love to go to the bathroom and really get bored with the same old thing. What you do is go out and buy a new litterbox, and a new kind of litter... I suggest you buy a plain plastic tote instead of an actually litterbox, they are cheaper about $6 and my cats love them.. you just leave the lid off. then go get a different litter, if you are using clay try corncob or wheat litter or feline pine... just something new. I guarantee your cats will go crazy for this new bathroom and will start to use only the box again. Every few months rotate which litter box you use and switch litter. When you buy this new box, put your old one up after a few days of having them both out to make sure, then you can rotate boxes every now and them to make it new and exciting for the cats. This has worked for me every time... also make sure to scoop the box often and empty and clean it at least every 3-4 weeks. The first time my cats did that to me I was at my wits end for a solution so I just did whatever I could think of and switched everything and it worked. Since that first time it has happened again every 6 months or so they will start going out of the box and once I change it they are good to go in the box again for a few months... now I just rotate regularly and havent had a problem. Please try it, I know how it feels to be at your wits end my cats literally peed and pooped all over my basement and ruined my loveseat down there so I had to throw it out. but what I described worked!! Please try it and hopefully it will work so you can keep your cats!!!! PS put the new box in a new spot too even if it is only 5 feet from where the old box was, or if there is a certain area they are going put the box there! PPS I am not so sure about the multiple boxes being an issue I had 4 boxes one for each cat when they started going outside of the boxes.. when I did the switch I cut down to one box, that I scoop daily and it has been fine ever since.. I dont think it actually matters how many boxes you have as much as it matters to have the boxes really clean and renovated to be new and exciting every once and a while!

Answer 3

Did you by any chance get the other cat about 5 months ago as well? If so it is probably the other cat using the same litter box. Even if you do keep the litter super clean there is still a "smell" to them and some cats are very bothered by it. Even if the cats seem to get along normally there may be territory problems in the bathroom.

Answer 4

My cat once had a bladder infection and started peeing in spots around the house because she associated peeing in her litterbox with pain. Pooping around the house however, can't be explained as easily unless he has an intestinal problem. Check it out with the vet if you might think so, but from experience, I think you may just have a dirty cat on your hands. It's sad, but it's best to put them down. You can't have them ruining your house and no one else will take them. Up to you though...

Answer 5

Oh, had this problem with one of my cats. One day I caught him trying to pee in the sink. I meowed at him and lifted up the toilet lid. Would you know he stopped what he was doing and jumped up on the toilet and used it. He was squatting over the sink so I think it was pretty easy to learn squatting. I was so pleased and he prefers the toilet over the sink. lol.

A couple weeks later he layed down in the litter box. When I picked him up he cried. Turns out he had a blockage and he was trying new places to see where he could actually go. Associating the litter box with pain. See your vet. it is way expensive to wait 11 pm the night where he gets really bad.

Answer 6

When his habits changed, was there anything different in his life? New home, roommate, brand of litter, or stress of any sort? If not, take him to the vet to rule out a medical cause. I wonder, though, if you haven't made a change in the litter, litterbox or cleaners that he doesn't like.

...Pam

Answer 7

It might be territory, it might be age. Or something else. Please call your vet asap to get this cat checked out. Has he ben fixed? Might be something medical. Take care.

Answer 8

i think your boyfriend it right my suggestion would be to talk to some one at a pet store like pets mart good luck

Answer 9

ever thing i was going to say angelgir said it all!!!!!!! good luck i hope everything works out for you