Litter box woes?

Question

I have had my cat for 10 years now. Over the course of the last year, she has decided that it is good idea to poo NOT INSIDE the little box, but just right OUTSIDE of it. Frankly, its starting to piss me off now LOL. The box is clean and scooped so thats not it, and she has never urinated outside of the box. I dont get it, but everyday, there is a new "load" for me to pick up outside the box. I would try to scold her, but i never seem to "catch her in the act".
Any pointers?

Answer 1

Ya know, I think its just these older seniors...my cat is 15 and has just started to do that too, except she is doing it on my shag carpeting! Its a small rug in the bathroom close to her box and honestly, I think shes confused...I think she thinks its some type of grass, and she can kinda dig in it. I can't catch her at it either. Pisses me off too....but what can ya do with the little boogers? Ya gotta love em. Guess we gotta kind look at it as, some day they are gonna be gone and then we can't love them anymore, so..........best wishes and have a nice day :) missy

Answer 2

I know you say its clean, but it might not be clean enough her. I have 3 cats and this was happening to me as well. What I did was take vineager, bleach and water add to litter box and let it set for a good 15 minutes. If you can do this in the sun all the better. Then wash with dish soap (Dawn works great) and dry.

Have you moved the box to a different location or changed the type of cat litter you use? If you have she could be upset about it and is telling you to put it back the way it was!

If you switched litter cold turkey, you will need to go back to the old litter and do the gentle change. Add 25% of the new stuff to 75% of the old. Keep it this way for a good month. Then do 50/50 wait a month. Then do 75/25 of the new to old. then the last time you can do 100% of the new litter. If its to a new location try putting it back to where it was and see if that is the problem. If so, move it slowly to the new place you want it over the course of 2 weeks. She is an older cat and seems not to like change very much! This is a pain for us pet owners, but thats the breaks at having pets!

Place newspaper on the out side and just under the litter box to make cleaning up her "opps" easier on you. The last thing is to start cleaning her litter box more then you have. Now, that we have 3 cats we have to clean it twice a day.

Just like we age and don't like to be dirty neither do animals.

Hope this helps.

Answer 3

Have you changed the type of litter you are using? If so, perhaps she does not like the smell (if it's perfumed) or texture, in which case you should go back to the old stuff she was comfortable using.

Having said that, you mention that your cat is 10 years old, and so might have arthritis, making getting in and out of the box painful. You might want to put a phone book in front of the box as a "step up" for her and see if that works and if it does, then you must make sure that the level of litter in the box is also higher, so she can get out easily.

Cats are considered senior citizens at 10 years of age (though they can live as long as 25 years), so make sure her food is geared to her age (Royal Canin dry food has a line specifically for cats 10 years and over). You may want to (gradually) change her food so that her bowel movements are easier.

If this does not work, you may want to take her to the vet for a check up to see if she has any medical problems.

Answer 4

Sorry to say that it's an age thing. My cat is 17 years old and for over a year now and started out by continuing to urinate in the litter box but pool in our dining room. Our dining room only! For the past year, we've dealt with this. He's old and we love him so this will continue until his death. Over the last few months, he quit using both litter boxes (which have been completely cleaned many times before) and started to urinate & poop in the dining room. We bought a 3rd litter box & put it in the dining room. He sometimes uses it and sometimes doesn't. Here's what we do now. Keep a fresh litter box in the dining room he uses. We put a few pee pads underneath and around the box because he sometimes goes in the box or near it for the urine. This is much easier to clean up. He still poops all over the dining room. There's no favorite spot for him. If you love the cat, learn to deal with it in the best way you can. If you don't, know it's because of her age and find someone who can put up with it.

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Answer 5

Cats will not respond to screams, scoldings, etc. It takes training. You've to know when your cat is about to do her business outside the box, so then you run to her, not screaming, you don't want to scare her away...but you hold her and place her on the litter box and you point to her..."here, do it here". Do it several times, and she will get the point.

Answer 6

Dont scold her that will just make her do it more. An if you try to "catch her in the act" she wontbe very happy because cats don't like to be watched when they are "going".

Answer 7

yes most important is that the litter cold burn her when going. you need to buy good litter and that is sc ouplable one. if she is still doing this could be infection and has to be seen by vet there is something wrong for sure.

Answer 8

is there a cover on the box? Try and remove it if there is...