My cat started pooping outside the litter box, why?

Question

My cat has been using his box just fine for months. It is an automatically cleaning one so the cleanliness is not an issue. We recently got another cat who uses its own litter box but the older cat started pooping on the rug outside the box. He will pee in the box and then hop out and poop on the rug instead. If you take the rug out he just won't poop at all. Any help?

My cat has been using his box just fine for months. It is an automatically cleaning one so the cleanliness is not an issue. We recently got another cat who uses its own litter box but the older cat started pooping on the rug outside the box. He will pee in the box and then hop out and poop on the rug instead. If you take the rug out he just won't poop at all. Any help?

Edit: The new cat has its own box!!! Please stop with the one box per cat rule, we already have that. And he has been using the automatic cleaning box the entire time we have had him so he is not scared of it.

Answer 1

HI, The cat feels not as important to you now you have another
one in the house and it knows its wrong and you wont be pleased but its for attention even if you are shouting at it. the cats is still getting your attention the wee bugger! and may be marking it territory but also it could be he is having problems with his bottom check to see if it is okay maybe a little sore. thats all i can think of

Answer 2

Some people find that an extra litter box is the answer. One for each cat, plus an extra one.
There is also a litter called "Cat Attract" - Petsmart sells it in their stores and online. It's guaranteed.

We moved the old cat's litter box into a completely different location in the house and used Cat Attract. The new cat continued to use to original litter boxes and the old cat liked having her own space and box.

Just a suggestion. Good luck

Answer 3

I used to have a cat that pooped on our rug to but it was really hard for me to get rid of him cause my kids were attached to him but i got tired of cleaning up after him all the time so i didn't have a choice but we ended up getting another one that was litter trained. GOOD LUCK on trying to litter train your cat again cause now that he tried the rug your cat is going to stick with the rug cause it is softer and a lot easier for your cat just to poop anywhere he wants to which makes him a very lazy and sloppy cat to deal with so just get rid of your cat and get another one that is litter trained already again or if you do take out your rug than you might have a chance of keeping your cat cause your cat might want to go back into the litter box, maybe you shculd give a try.

Answer 4

Cats can be territorial so this may be his way of showing you that he is unhappy. Sadly, we had a cat who did that, and it got worse instead of better. The vet was not concerned, and eventually, our wonderful cat died from the illness. Long story so won't go into it, but a vet should be consulted, just in case there is a disease. They will do a blood test and then you will have peace of mind. We put over a thousand dollars into the cat, and she still died. We found a good vet, but too late. (She called the first vet and really let him have a piece of her mind in the way she treated our cat.) So, do get help, and the vet you can trust.
We at first tried everything said here, such as super clean box, no sharing, watching food, and everything on the web. A good vet can get your lovely cat back to good health.

Answer 5

Theres a possibility that there may be something wrong with the cat. Something that we're unaware of. The cat may not like the litter box but rule of thumb is if you have more than one cat, you must have more than one litter box. I have one cat and she has a litter box upstairs and downstairs...since the new one is using the litterbox, the older cat may feel threatened and that his territory is being invaded...

Answer 6

Has the cat had diarrhea lately? Or been constipated? Sometimes they have a bad experience pooping and associate it with the litterbox! We have a cat with that problem. (she had bowel surgery and has bowel issues) We bought puppy pads and put them outside the box. Now, if she is scared, she can poo outside the box and cleanup isn't a pain.

Answer 7

Did the new cat poop on the rug first? If so- the older cat is probably trying to show whose rug it is.

Answer 8

well maybe your cat got scared of the auto litter box, but i have an out door cat and he just uses the bathroom out side

Answer 9

hi.. i've listed a source below.. the second question refers to an older cat who was doing the same as your cat -- there is a good bit of information, so maybe it will be helpful.

take care.

Answer 10

Have you ever thought about cleaning out your litter box!
Or maybe getting a new one!